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Any number of the films we now think of as unassailable holiday classics -- Christmas in Connecticut, White Christmas, even It's a Wonderful Life -- were dismissed as corny and formulaic in their original reviews, so it's no surprise that Meet the Coopers met the same fate. But I suspect time will be kind to this one: it's warm without being gooey, the humor is sharp and observant, the ensemble is top-notch, and the soundtrack is quite lovely.

If, like me, you're a fan of the dysfunctional-family Christmas comedy (The Ref, La Bûche, A Christmas Tale), this one may well sneak up on you and enter your annual holiday rotation. If I ever get to update my holiday film guide "Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas," this one would definitely go in.

I started this movie just because nothing was on (tube full of Xmas). I was first sucked in by the great John Goodman and the sublime Alan Arkin. Once Olivia Wilde's character started to develop I was hooked.

I am gobsmacked to see how wrong the low ratings for this movie are. The unique characters and the depth of emotions, mostly love, are incredible. Maybe people want quick cuts and action and just don't know how to let a movie based on dialogue slowly draw them in and make you care about the characters, all of which are rounded and easily lovable,yet each deeply flawed in ways anyone that has lived a few decades will identify with.

I am a tough guy in my 50s and I shed tears three times. Not only that,but several times I had to pause the film so I could ponder how the wise words about love and life relate to my life and mistakes. From this day on my life will be better because of what i realized was true,as displayed in this movie, about family, love, regrets. And I will forever love Olivia Wilde. Her scenes alone are worth watching this movie.

If you can watch this movie closely and not shed a tear, you are dead inside and should immediately seek psychiatric help. Solid 7.5/10

I was not expecting "Gone With The Wind" or "The Godfather," - we just needed a break, something light-hearted - and "Love the Coopers" delivered. There are many scathing reviews about the plot and the characters and the clichés. Evidently what we needed yesterday were clichés - because we enjoyed it.

Yes it was predictable - yes it was cliché ridden, but we have to remember this is a Christmas movie - and in our age of cynicism, foreign threats, daily shootings in the "hood," and politically charged nastiness, sometimes we just need a little break and watch something which is warm- hearted and positive.

If you want nasty "realism" try "August: Osage County" or "Glengarry Glen Ross" - both of those show people at their absolute worst. But if you want a light, uplifting story, "Love the Coopers" will fill the bill.

"The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live." George Carlin

My favorite Christmas movie is Bad Santa, so you know where I'm coming from when I write that Love the Coopers is partly lovable. An upper-class family reunion at Christmas time is Mt. Lebanon, Pa., is fraught with anti-Christmas episodes, barely excluding anyone in the Cooper family from trials that threaten to sabotage completely the elders' attempts to have everything end as in It's a Wonderful Life.

As I reflect on the film family, where even the elders, Charlotte (Diane Keaton) and Sam (John Goodman), have problems—they are divorcing after 40 years, I think of the many challenges of my family, down to grandkids, that threaten to decimate the holiday cheer. However those speed bumps seem to strengthen rather than weaken the family.

The film wisely lets the rough notes be played by the young as well as the old. For example, twenty-something Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) cannot seem to hang on to a man despite her charm and unusually good looks—she's the strongest plot component and deserves more face time. Teen Charlie (Timothee Chalamet) angles for his first kiss while being bullied and humiliated on the path to victory.

Most poignant non-family reveler, Ruby (Amanda Seyfried), has a deep, Platonic connection to patriarch Bucky (Alan Arkin), an odd combination with 50 years between them and a satisfying one at that. It is possible to infer that just about everyone is looking for love, but usually in the wrong places. Although the film does not make that search easy, it has so many funny moments, more than the dark doings should allow, lightening and heightening the aspirations of the characters.

As for the rest of us left with holiday reunions, take comfort: Even the dysfunctional Coopers find enough love to make it through to the next Christmas.

This is by no means a drama, nor a comedy, but I classify it as a dramedy about real life issues. Family members argue. Family members are sometimes uncomfortable around each other. Husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, have ups and downs in their relationships. All families remember good times and bad times and so do the Coopers.

This is not a warm and fuzzy feel good movie that you finish seeing and you are left with an uplifting feeling of happiness . What you will see is a point of view as if you are sitting at the Cooper's dinner table yourself and as hard as you might try to avoid it, you will consciously take a side with one family member over another.

This film has an all star cast and the family and spouses interactions are sometimes intense but honest in their current feelings towards each other. I especially enjoyed all of the scenes between Alan Arkin the Cooper family patriarch and his waitress actress Amanda Seyfried which take place at his favorite diner.

There are too many scenes throughout this film to mention them all but Olivia Wilde and the war veteran she meets at the airport actor Jake Lacey evolved quickly as each of them dug deep into the others psyche, and I wished there was more that we could have listened in on.

I will be sure to watch this again sometime as it is one of those memorable films, not in a good way, but it may help remind us all to forgive, not forget, but to share our feelings and whatever the outcome the truth should come out. I give this dramedy a 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.