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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Salesrank: 982
Released: October 27, 2009 |
| Our Price: $10.34 |
| Used Price: $7.69 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Moulin Rouge!), Freddy Rodriguez (“Six Feet Under,” Bobby), Debra Messing (“Will & Grace,” “The Starter Wife”), and Alfred Molina (The Pink Panther 2) lead a hilarious ensemble cast in this humorous and heartwarming holiday story that is “laugh-out-loud-funny and downright touching." (MoviePictureFilm.com) It’s Christmastime in Chicago, and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home to celebrate the season. During the course of this eventful week, traditions will be celebrated, secrets revealed, old resentments forgotten, familial bonds re-affirmed and the healing power of laughter will work its magic. Nothing Like The Holidays is a “heartfelt,” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) gift for the whole family.
Description of Nothing Like the Holidays:
If Nothing Like the Holidays appears to have little in common with Frank Capra's small-town perennial It's a Wonderful Life, Alfredo De Villa's urban dramedy also mixes the bitter with the sweet. The fireworks begin when Eduardo and Anna Rodriguez (Alfred Molina and Elizabeth Peña) welcome their Puerto Rican brood to celebrate Christmas in Chicago: Iraq War veteran Jesse (Illinois native Freddy Rodríguez), struggling actress Roxanna (Death Proof’s Vanessa Ferlitto), and attorney Mauricio (John Leguizamo) and his tightly-wound spouse, Sarah (Debra Messing). While Roxanna finds herself drawn to family friend Ozzy (Jay Hernandez), a former gang-banger, Jesse struggles with his feelings for ex-girlfriend Marissa (Melonie Diaz), who's moved on in his absence, and Anna laments her lack of grandchildren, but when she announces she's divorcing Edy, a bodega proprietor, the entire clan decides to make the most of their last holiday together. If De Villa's intentions are honorable, and his cast is up to the task--especially Molina and Rodríguez--the two halves of his film make for an awkward fit. Jesse's shell-shocked veteran, for instance, belongs to a different movie than that of his wisecracking cousin, Johnny (Luis Guzmán). Then, when Ozzy picks up a gun in an act of revenge, domestic drama and ethnic comedy collide with the hood flick. Unlike the many brash and materialistic entertainments crowding the multiplex at the end of the year, Nothing Like the Holidays prioritizes cultural and emotional matters, but still registers as more of a missed opportunity than a contemporary classic. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Nothing Like the Holidays (Click for larger image)
Nothing Like the Holidays Reviews:
I'm reminded of another holiday movie... 
2009-11-19 - While watching "Nothing Like the Holidays" I was repeatedly reminded of the touching/dramatic/ridiculous/hilarious "Home for the Holidays" (directed by Jodie Foster). Dysfunctional family gets together for a holiday, hilarity ensues.
Both movies feature similar themes: family member in denial, family member with career troubles, family with an emotional struggle, and so on. And both movies were hilarious. "Home..." was funny in a mostly dry-witted manner, while "Nothing..." is nearly pie-in-the-face funny.
But the seasonal message from both movies is the same: Spend time with your family; whether you want to not.
Nothing Like the Holidays is a solid entry into the modern family editions of Christmas Movies.
GREAT STORY........!!!
2009-11-19 - Heartwarming holiday tail about Christmas with the Rodriguez family. The entire clan has gathered in Chicago to spend the holidays at the family homestead; one son is returning from a tour of duty in Iraq; the other "successful" son is trying to balance his wife's career aspirations with his desire for a child and his mother's yearning for a grandchild, while the Rodriguez daughter returns home from Hollywood with admissions that her life is not as successful and glamourous as otherwise thought...all the while trying to deny her attraction to a close family friend who struggles to stay away from a dark past. When the family matriarch makes a shocking announcement, the rest of the family struggle to cope....having know idea that there is an even bigger fight coming their way.
Full of humor and familial struggles and rivalries, Nothing But The Holidays provides readers with a window into an urban Latino Christmas...driving home that despite any surface difference, we are really all very much the same.
DYB
Worth watching
2009-11-18 - I got this mostly because I like Debra Messing and I really liked her in this role. The movie is not what you'd call spectacular or award winning, but it's cute and good for a few laughs. It would be a good movie to bring when visiting family for the holidays. There would likely be at least one character everyone could relate to.
Nothing New About Family Holiday Plot Basics, but Enjoyable Otherwise 
2009-11-18 - I'm a holiday movie addict. I love anything set to Christmas time. Well almost anything.
What I don't care for are movies that rely on time-tested story material with only minor changes based on family ethnicity and general dynamics.
I'm a realist; many American holiday tales look the same from family to family regardless of cultural heritage. Having been raised in several ethnically diverse households, the biggest differences lie in what we eat, when we go to church, and some activities the family does when they get together.
But the basic plot and players are the same.
Nothing Like the Holidays was enjoyable for its acting primarily. I got a few good laughs out of it.
Beyond this, I felt there were too many sub-stories going on that were only held together loosely by the meta-story. Further, I often found myself thinking "Oh, I've seen this character's story in __________".
Overall, this is a serviceable holiday film enhanced by Puerto Rican aspects. I wondered if this would be more enjoyable to Puerto Ricans (particularly in the Chicago area) or if they'd think it was too flat as well.
I give it three stars because it's a relatively cute albeit mindless holiday dramedy. And I love almost all holiday movies.
Charming Family Holiday Movie for Everyone
2009-11-16 - As the title of this film suggests, the Rodriguez family Christmas gathering is not exactly Norman Rockwell picture perfect, due to tensions and conflicts between their father, Edy Rodriguez (Alfred Molina), and their mother, Anna (Elizabeth Pena). The Rodriguez children come in from as far away as Iraq, with their youngest son, Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez) coming home wounded in action. While this film boasts a strong Puerto Rican ethnic flavor of life in Chicago's Humboldt Park district, the central themes are relevant to people from every ethnicity.
One of the most impressive things about "Nothing Like the Holidays" is it's wonderful heart, which shines through the inevitable brushes with cliché that all holiday films must face. It's a joy to watch the stellar cast create such a believable family of characters that every scene feels right and true... especially since some of the challenges being faced aren't neatly resolved in every case.
More of a drama than a laugh-a-minute comedy, this ensemble film hits the right chord when dealing with the ways some family members are treated differently than others, as well as the way some families seem like they're arguing every time they talk. While a good deal of the story line feels rather predictable, there are heart-warming surprises along the way.
