NeelyO

What's the connective tissue between Michelangelo Antonioni's youth-revolt meditation Zabriskie Point and Stanley Kramer's slapstick lollapalooza It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World? More than you might imagine, in Daniel Kremer's provocative essay, in which he ties together his youthful obsession with both films. The history of Death Valley in cinema, the rapid change of the 1960s, and more are brought to the fore. It's a mix of the personal - Kremer includes documentary footage of himself as a child, coping with a severe speech impediment - and the aesthetic - Kremer's observations have an understanding that reflect his own history as a filmmaker. Compelling viewing, no matter how you feel about either the Antonioni or the Kramer.

What's bound to be far more interesting than the dreadful Buttons is an article about the making of this movie: Why are Kate Winslet and Robert Redford BOTH narrating? Who snookered the venerable Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke into appearing in such a ramshackle production? How are there no credited writers or producers for this film? How did a movie with such an impressive cast manage to play for one night in US theaters before disappearing to DVD and cable? Why is this film so consistently cheap-looking? Who decided to make this a musical when the songs are consistently rotten? And why does director Tim Janis give himself name-above-the-title placement on both the opening and closing credits? (Is the official title supposed to be TIM JANIS BUTTONS?)

Sheer catastrophe, and not of the so-bad-it's good variety. Don't subject yourself or your unwitting families to this disasterpiece. It's enough to ruin your Christmas.

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.