A Christmas Fury

I saw this when it was first released and found it even more compelling on second viewing.

The comedy is broad as the Atlantic Ocean, delivered by a cast whose faces and voices are familiar from the best Canadian TV comedy. The script blends regional humour with social commentary, taking us deep into dysfunctional family life. And only in Newfoundland could Christmas come with so many interwoven layers of chaos.

Your ears may take a bit to attune to the accents but it's a happily bizarre movie that well repays the initial effort.

This Christmas movie is hilarious you may have to watch it a few times to pick up some of the lines because of the accents but it is a great laugh with a great message. Funniest Christmas movie I've seen in a long time. Not for children.

With all the glut of Christmas movies, a person could die of sugar shock - Hallmark overindulgence. And the plots now, nothing to do with Christmas - boy meets girl and they have a Christmas dinner. Well, prepare to have a fast paced wacky shock. I've never been to Newfoundland and never met the Furey family so I sat through this film electrified by its non-stop surprising humour and honesty. And it has a Christmas message. Who is in the centre of the nativity scene but Nevaeh, a cynical, damaged child - all but unreachable? Dickens would have approved of such a character. There's a competition for the family business that is a bit reminiscent of A Lion in Winter. You may wish to view this film yourself before including the older or more prudish members of your family and I'm keeping back one star on this review for the few times I couldn't follow the dialogue because it was too fast and too local for me.

This movie hurt me. I had a fall and cracked a couple of ribs. I put this movie on as I expected it to be pleasant fluff. You got me. It was also very funny and heartfelt. My laughing caused pain but I didn't stop watching. Very well done Mary Walsh. Thank you and Ava Power is a find, keep her.

I watched Hatching, Matching and Dispatching (I can hardly believe) almost 14 years ago when it first aired on CBC. It's dark-comedy and rough around the edges style were such a relief when compared to almost everything else from the era except maybe Trailer Park Boys when we're talking about things from and in Canada. As a non-Newfoundlander I loved (still do) the tough-love and brutal honesty of the show, and was greatly disappointed when next year, it wasn't on the roster of 'comedies' that CBC produced.

It came as a great surprise when I saw that the Christmas Fury special was by and starring the exact same cast as the exact same characters, what, almost 15 years later? and with an even better topic; the horrors and joys of Christmas. The special retained much of the show's dark and brutal comedy, while deviating from the mockumentary style of it's 1st and sadly only season, it worked very well for an Xmas special and while maintaining it's light-hearted, never hard to watch style, it still took on some relevant issues such as the hardships of youths involved in the child protective services. From the ever-political Walsh, I expect no-less.

Though CBC's been quiet about any future HMD related programs, the success of this special, not to mention the great success of the entire cast (who seemed to have found their voices on HMD) gives me hope that maybe the CBC will do what's right and bring them back for future endeavors, or who knows, maybe another season?