A Merry Friggin' Christmas

I can't quite say if I enjoyed this movie or not. I initially wanted to see it because of it starring Robin Williams. (RIP) But then I saw the rest of the cast listing and was locked in on my decision. However, the movie itself left me with a mix of emotions. For a movie staring two hilarious actors, Hale and Williams, the mood was just a little too serious throughout. And even the humor was clouded in a way by something more depressing. There were funny parts to be sure, but it wasn't nearly as funny as I'd have hoped for. The storyline was decent except for the underlying current of utter despair that simply oozed out of this movie's pores. So, yeah, not my favorite movie by any means, but it had its moments. I'm really sad to think of it as being the last one we'll get from the great Robin Williams. I was hoping for something at the end of the credits, and in that I was not disappointed. The dedication to Williams was very touching and sweet.

Family is not pretty all the time and Movies with a great cast dont always make a great movie. It was a good movie though and it ended better than it started. I'd watch it again next Christmas.

As a Robin Williams fan, I'm sad to say that this, one of his last films before he died, was not a good one. This is not the film by which you should remember the late great Robin Williams. It is an affront to his legacy as a great comedian and actor. This is a forgettable film that will forever be overshadowed by his much better performances, and relegated to the dustbin of sub-par forgotten Christmas films, of which there are many. Now I'm not criticizing Williams, I think he was a wonderful actor but this film thoroughly stinks and, well, he signed on to play a role in it.

The writing was pretty bad and the dialogue felt forced and unnatural. It felt like the actors were playing parodies of dysfunctional characters from other family films. Joel McHale was very dry and awkward throughout the film. His delivery did not come across as genuine and the scenes where he was supposed to be emotional felt fake. I felt the highlight of the film was actually the interactions between two side characters: Luann played by Lauren Graham, who you know as the mom from Gilmore Girls, and the always delightful Candice Bergen infamously known for her character Murphy Brown. There is a section of the film where these two, annoyed by the antics of their respective spouses, decide to drink until intoxication while reminiscing and goofing off. It is genuinely the highlight of otherwise dreary 88 minute mess.

Going to start this review of by saying that the world is at such a loss without robin Williams as this feel good xmas comedy shows just how great of a actor he was. the film starts off bit slow but then once robin Williams character comes into the plot it becomes interesting. the plot is a simple one which I feel helped this film evan more and you can read the plot above in the info next to the picture. The jokes and one liners are great and funny and despite all the mishaps it gives off a nice message and just in time for xmas as let's face it films like "jessabelle, horns, dumb and dumber too" don't really give you a festive feel. So if you want a original xmas comedy with a great cast a funny drunk santa and a overall feel good film for this time of year then be sure to go watch this film.

If you liked Four Christmases, this is like an entire movie set at Brad's dad's house, and that's a good thing. This is a dark comedy about a family with past hurts. We loved it. Disfunction is real life people. If you like Four Christmases, Bad Santa, or Surviving Christmas then give this a go. Life is ugly. Stop pretending Christmas is a just like a Hallmark movie and have fun.