La rivolta di Natale

I can see why Daphne Zuniga, touted as the next big thing 30 years ago never made it big in the movies. She was never a good enough actress although she has always steadily worked.

Unfortunately this is really her level, a bland Christmas movie with no underlying meaning apart from appreciate the mother of the household. Although the script never makes clear what is bugging Joy Robertson (Zuniga.)

Is it because she feels taken for granted as the Christmas party season approaches or that her kids will soon fly the nest and she thinks she will lose her purpose?

She goes on strike by not intending to do anything for the festivities, other mothers join her and a television news show takes note of the developing human interest story.

A rather superficial and shallow movie with some actors looking too old to be playing teenagers.

Stop treating your grown kids like toddlers (cleaning up after them, doing everything for them), and stop trying to make everything perfect. I Like the cast, and the concept had potential, but the end result is just bad.

This is a light and quite amusing family comedy. The first two thirds of this movie is quite fun and entertaining. Haven't really seen a movie where the men try to cook and mess up and it's quite laugh out loud funny.

Daphne Zuniga looks quite young for her age and is pleasing to watch - always wondered why she didn't get more roles. David Sutcliffe looks a bit young to be a father of teens. The later part kind of gets corny but it's a good movie for families with just sons and no daughters to watch (or daughters who don't help their moms). Watch it and appreciate mom a bit more.

Joy is overwhelmed trying to make Christmas perfect for her family even while they fail in one commitment after another. She goes on strike saying that she just wants her family to acknowledge how much effort it takes for her and pitch in. But as the strike progresses and takes on a life of it's own, she learns about herself, her family, her community and what makes Christmas special for families.

The acting is sufficient to carry the story through chaos and comedy and even some instructive moments.

I gave this a 10 because it did what movies are supposed to do: make us feel good. Ignore the negative criticisms made by some reviewers and just enjoy. Even though the grandmother was obviously too young looking, it did not keep me from enjoying the movie. By the way, David Sutcliffe was about 41 when this was made, so he certainly was old enough to be the father of teen boys. I put this movie in the category of the Hallmark movies.

This is a wholesome movie and I had a big smile on my face the entire time. I love the more dramatic series such as Daredevil, but once in a while it is nice to take a break from murder and mayhem and watch a simple, clean movie. Teens would probably find this boring, but not this old lady and many others like me out there!