Weihnachten bei den Campbells

You might recall Brittany Snow from the Pitch Perfect movies. This movie had that same odd dialogue where characters say really odd, inappropriate or absolutely crazy things.

I am a HUGE Justin Long fan and I was really looking forward to this little Christmas truffle. But his character is really strange, like he grew up with the Amish.

Again - odd dialogue.

I ended up watching it all, attempting to jive with the vibe, but it's really not all that good.

That being said, it COULD have been good, perhaps with some tweaks in various areas. And, I did enjoy Brittany and Justin, even with his odd character.

Apparently this was filmed where it was really cold and there was a lot of snow which they used to great affect.

Also, it was great seeing Norm after all these years. NORM!

Come on, people: this movie is a PARODY of Hallmark Movies! It is SATIRE. That means the inappropriately raunchy comments, how the parents are doing weird things like rough sex, purple drank and huffing paint are meant to MAKE FUN OF THE ULTRA-CLEAN HALLMARK MOVIES. It is HILARIOUS.

The R-rated dialogue, the incredibly awkward and cringeworthy break-up, the completely out-of-character Justin Long, and the ridiculous past love, are all meant as JOKES. Justin Long is SUPPOSED TO ACT TERRIBLY, with a TERRIBLE ACCENT, and completely inappropriate machismo. If you don't believe me, watch the extra behind the scenes clip on the DVD (yes, they still make those).

The plot is ridiculous, the movie is completely predictable, but some of the one-liners are bust-out laughing funny if you realize the movie is a SPOOF.

Christmas with the Campbell's is not exactly your typical Christmas rom-com. Definitely not Hallmark level. We have some raunch and multitudes of sexual innuendo, but no actual sex/love scenes.

It does actually have a few funny moments but it's mostly forgettable. Well except for Justin Long's attempt at sounding like some weird cross between Yellowstone's John Dutton and Rip Wheeler to sound not so nerdy I guess. It's so distracting. He's a likable actor but not when he's trying as hard as he was here.

Saw afterwards that it was co-written but Vince Vaughn which I believe explains the sexual content and raunch.

It's like "guy who bought a boat" got his own SNL movie. There are so many many bizarre choices, too many bizarre choices to not be on purpose.

"There are them smells"

Justin Long has really turned in something so special.

Brittany Snow does a good job selling the madness. The parents are right out of the movies Seth Rogen will make when he's older. George Wendt remains magical.

Peppered in are several "50 shades" level quadruple entendres about baked goods for the family focusers to avoid.

I can't wait to watch this at midnight at the Esquire.

Or it could just be thirty something American pie. I'm high.

No this is not a family friendly Christmas movie. It's almost an anti-Christmas movie. After I realized it was meant to be a spoof of the Hallmark movies it made more sense. I personally have a like/hate feeling towards those movies. So predictable and saccharine sweet. If you only watch one once in a while it's cute, but too many and you feel nauseous and depressed from the sugar crash. This silly movie hit just right. I needed a few laughs. I knew most of these actors were better than they were playing so it was funny to realize they were over the top on purpose. Justin Long must have used every cliche comment ever used by a sappy good ol' boy out there. I thought there were a couple of moments where you could tell he and the cast were trying not to laugh at their own lines. The old people being the crude ones was a bit over the top. The boyfriend was hilarious as the jerk. If you don't like cheesy Christmas stories and have a slightly naughty sense of humor this movie might be just what you are looking for. If you are a Christmas movie fanatic and only want the most sweet stories, you'll hate this. Definitely not appropriate for kids.