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.

I know, I know. It probably sucked. And i really don't like Dyan Cannon; talk about a chick who's afraid to age.

But i LOVED this movie. It was a total 'feel good' production... no big downers, only delight.

try it, with an eye towards entertainment. i'm sure you'll like it!

(admittedly, this is no "Auntie Mame" :)

I thought this movie was very funny and light-hearted, which IS the point of a comedy. Everyone knows re-makes always take a certain poetic license. I thought there was a great relationship with Cannon and Kristofferson and he was perfect as the crusty woodsman. Cannon carried her part off with great panache and that million watt smile. The supporting actors all performed beautifully also. The "son-in-law" who was also auditioning, the faux daughter who was the real cook, and of course, Tony Curtis as Mr. Yardley, proved once again that he is a comedic genius.

This is laid-back entertainment, not a Shakespearean tragedy. Lighten Up People!

There are risks in doing remakes. When I saw this, I had not seen the Stanwyck film. I just found this about as dull as can be. The whole thing with trying to cook a dinner for a forest ranger and having to hide the fact that she can't cook and going through the gyrations they do, just doesn't work. Is her career really going to hit the skids because the tree guy might find out? Two really tiresome actors, Dyan Cannon and Kris Kristofferson (I like his music) walk through their roles and produce something they hoped would sell at Christmas time. I imagine they managed to put a few people in the seats at the time, but I doubt it has had much of a following. It's just a weak film and can fade into the woodwork of cheap collections of Christmas movies.

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.