Ben Stiller goes heartfelt for Christmas.
So David Gordon Green has been in a run of bad luck recently, the third Halloween Film, the first and last of his trilogy of Exorcist films and then this. This film does have some charm but reads a little like the more earnest comedies of about ten years ago mixed with Wes Anderson. In execution I would say it is derivative in intent but I would say that it doesn’t do it well enough to be even close to other similar films.
Honestly this is a film we have all seen too many times before, Ben Stiller plays an uncle called in to watch over his nephews after the death of their mother. It is only supposed to be for a few days until they find them a home, but can you guess what folks? He never leaves. Who could have guessed that. The fact of the matter is the film sets up Stiller’s character as this workaholic who lives for his job and yet he is all too quick to just give it up later in the film when they move in a different direction, this workaholic doesn’t even fight for it.
I think my major issue with the film is that the emotion just doesn’t feel genuine at any point. It feels insincere and in a film like this that is important.
Overall, it is clear what they were going for but it just didn’t stick the landing.
2/5
Pros.
It tries to be earnest
It does have a couple of sweet moments
Cons.
The emotion doesn’t feel real
It has pacing issues
The character motivations are bad
It has been done before
If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, customised film recommendations to suit your personality and tastes, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!
https://www.patreon.com/c/AnotherMillennialReviewer
Or if you would rather send me a donation if Patreon isn’t for you then please find a link to my donations page below
Another Millennial Reviewer 