Brandi is a cocktail waitress whose boyfriend Scott is being investigated by the FBI for misusing money he and his family were supposed to invest for other people. Jake is one of the FBI agents. After Scott is arrested, the FBI persuades Brandi to testify, but Jake believes Brandi needs to be kept away from Scott. A family emergency leads to Scott bringing Brandi home to meet his parents at Christmas. He tells them Brandi is his girlfriend, and she is all too willing to play the role. Jake's parents wonder how these two could possibly be together. His mother does a good job of hiding her frustration. But his father, a judge, reminds his son once again what a disappointment he is. His sister Stefanie became a lawyer and continued working rather than staying home with her daughter. Jake was supposed to be a lawyer like his father. Jake's family has money, but they seem more interested in impressing people than getting along with each other. Brandi grew up with a mother who kept getting remarried, and she wasn't used to 'the good life'.
The movie started out as a comedy, but about halfway through the laughs stopped abruptly. The rest of the movie was unpleasant too much of the time, though some parts were nice. The ending was satisfying but, given all the various twists, it was hard to imagine this happening. Many different directions would have been possible. Both Brandi and Jake's family ended up learning important lessons.
I thought Tyne Daly would be the reason to watch. She was good, but Jami Gertz was the standout performer. Brandi was sarcastic most of the time and very funny when she was. She could also be sweet as she saw what life could have been like for her, even though these people didn't get along perfectly. She was great with Stefanie's daughter Ashley (Alexandra Harvey, who was pretty good as a slightly rebellious preteen).
I could have been happier, but the movie was good for a while, and the second half was not exactly a disaster.
