Une Famille Formidable

"Directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger" are not words I was familiar with in a sentence. I was totally unaware The Oak ha stepped behind the camera. The fact a Christmas movie was getting shown in the UK in October says it all really. But I was intrieged and in the absence of anything else to watch, I gave it a go.

Plot In A Paragraph: Elizabeth (Dyan Cannon) is the star of a successful cooking show and author of several cookbooks. But when her manager, Alexander (Tony Curtis) sees forest ranger Jefferson (Kris Kristofferson) who lost his cabin in a fire, on TV he arranges for a special live show on Christmas, for Elizabeth to cook him Christmas Dinner. Only one problem Elizabeth can't cook.

I used to have a crush on Dyan Cannon from when I first saw her opposite Burt Reynolds in 'Shamus' and while she has clearly aged she still has a certain sexiness to her, and Arnie was clearly a fan of her ass, as he showcases it a lot. I've liked Kris Kristoffeson since I first saw him in a Burt Reynolds movie too, this time 'Semi Tough'. Both do fine jobs here, but Tony Curtis hams it up to good effect and steals the show.

I'm surprised by Arnie's directorial debut being a Christmas TV movie, and it certainly has it's faults, but it also is not without charm either.

Now I am a huge fan of the original. That film I just discovered about 2 years ago. I knew there was a remake so yesterday I finally I got to see it it.

In 1992, this remake of Christmas in Connecticut was made, starring Dyan Cannon This made-for-TV movie, was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also made a cameo as the man sitting in front of the media truck. In this remake, Elizabeth "Blane" is the hostess of her own cooking show. When her manager, Alexander Yardley, introduces her to Jefferson Jones—a forest ranger who lost his cabin in a fire— he asks her to make Jones Christmas dinner live on her show. As in the original, Elizabeth isn't as talented as she seems. This version was not as well-received as the original. As one critic wrote, "You'll be hungry for a better movie after suffering through this film.

I will say this film is not as bad as that critic has stated. The film starts off great but it does lose steam. The worse casting decision is that of Tony Curtis who is too over the top here. The film has a believable set-up and when the film sticks closely to the original it shines. In the last half of the when this film strays from the original is when this film encounters trouble. The first half of the film the original material is works great.

This movie is lighthearted and funny! I saw it when it first aired and I watch it and the original every Christmas season while I'm baking along with so many old Christmas movies.

The hunting scene is so funny and the final calamity filming Christmas Day is hilarious. Yes, it's cheesy but that's what makes it endearing. Shows that the simple things and just being present matter most.

Honestly don't know why they won't publish a review unless it's super long since I'm not going to give a rundown of the entire movie. It's definitely better that the new ones coming out every year so worth trying out.

I gave "Christmas in Connecticut" 5 stars instead of the ~3.5 it deserved due to its one redeeming quality: its radiant star, Dyan Cannon. Aged about 55 at the time the film was released, she's just as lovely, charming, and sexy as ever, and actually brings a measure of believability to her character, the beloved-by-America but ultimately fake TV chef Elizabeth Blane. The tired, utterly predictable script would have been even more insufferable in the hands of a lesser actress. Unfortunately, Cannon's bright spectre only serves to underscore just how less-than-mediocre the rest of the cast is. Elizabeth's TV "family" are completely unremarkable and forgettable individuals who bring little to their respective roles. Tony Curtis is meant to bring flair and comic relief as Cannon's manager/producer and would-be TV husband, but his over-the-top execution of the predictable slapstick jokes and comic gigs ultimately falls flat, leaving the audience to feel he's been horribly miscast. Kris Kristofferson, as Blane's western-woodsman forest ranger love interest, looks appetizing enough, but walks through his lines woodenly. And those are the more remarkable of the cast members, most of whom look like they've been plucked right off the main street of a small town somewhere in Middle America. The opening scene, where Blane is filming her TV cooking show, and the camera changes points-of-view to reveal the behind-the-scenes workings of the fake cooking show - including Blane's assistant (and the actual chef) crouching under the counter and handing up the finished dishes - is probably the best scene in this film, which gets more contrived and predictable as it progresses towards its inevitable conclusion, in which her ruse of being the perfect domestic doyenne is destroyed on live TV for all of America to see, and she predictably finds love with Kristofferson amidst the chaos.

I should add that haven't seen the 1945 original, so I am judging this film purely on its own merits. Schwarzenegger brings absolutely nothing new or interesting to a film whose best line may just be (coming from Cannon's fake grandson) "For $50, I can fake a nightmare and sleep in your bed!" (to prevent her from being stuck there with fake "husband" Curtis). With this as his sole directorial credit, it's no wonder he hasn't directed another movie since. Despite the fact that Cannon's sparkling performance is ALMOST infectious enough to make us all partially re-discover the magic of Christmas along with her when she hears Christmas bells while taking a (completely unrealistically set-up) sleigh joyride, it's just not enough to save the tired writing and inane attempts at humor. If you're looking for a nondescript, Lifetime-style Christmas movie to kill a couple of hours, Cannon's performance puts this film just a notch above the other formulaic Christmas rom-coms out there. Otherwise, I can't see any reason at all to waste your time watching it.

Look this isn't a classic like Barbara Stanwyks version of Christmas in Connecticut. But it's also not a word for word remake of the original script. Dyan Cannon is fantastic. Tony, Curtis, Kris Kristofferson, and Richard Roundtree round out the household names that are very good here , obviously having fun , but unknowns also shine like child actor, Jimmy workman, who went on the play Pugsley Adams in a couple of big movies as well as the actor that played the crazed Director . His last name I believe is Arnott. I mean, that guy is great , hilarious and deserves to have had a bigger career than he has had so far.

Sit back relax and enjoy the show; the last 10 or 15 minutes are terrific. I laughed out loud the whole time.

Again, it's just fun.