Surviving Christmas

Online.. I've seen so many people talk about bad acting and just not funny. Sometimes I wonder if they're watching a completely different movie. This movie had me smiling from beginning to end. The acting was not poor at all. James Gandolfini was perfect and played off of Ben Affleck really well. Honestly.. I think maybe people might be just looking at reviews for like the box office and not even giving the movie a chance.. that's the only explanation I have for why someone would give this movie a bad review.

I came across this movie during the 2021 Christmas season.. I had heard about it before.. when it first came out and never had the opportunity to watch it. The movie kind of slipped my mind until I saw it available on a streaming service in 2021. Really enjoyed it! Had to be sure to watch it this year as well. :-). This movie will become a new Christmas tradition for me.

The cast of Surviving Christmas is a sort of hodge-podge of actors/actresses. I could not have imagined ever casting them together, but it works well in the movie. It is better than the average feel-good Christmas movie, but not destined to be a classic. The comedy is well dispursed throughout, and the movie moved along at a good pace. I have seen plenty of holiday movies, but never imagined one with Ben Affleck. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have seen an Affleck movie. (I have shunned them on purpose in the past - Well, OK, I did like Dazed and Confused). The movie, however, is entertaining, and only a few jokes fall flat. 7 out of 10 on the holiday scale.

What a funny and well played Christmas movie! I'm surprised I've never seen it before, after all it's almost twenty years old. Must be because of the low rating - probably rated by sour puss Hallmark sentimental X-mas movie fans without a sense of humor. A new holiday favorite, I will watch it again many times in the future. I read it was Razzle nominated for worst movie and screen play that year..what's wrong with people.. See and enjoy this different and humorous Christmas movie with lovely actors. It's great to see "Kevin McAllister's mom" as a completely different mom, she's awesome in this role as well. Loved the movie! 8/10.

Don't listen to the critics - this film is truly hilarious and, more to the point, touching.

I am not a real fan of Ben Affleck - I am somewhat ambivalent about hi - but he knocks the comedy ball out of the park in this film. Gandolfini is also excellent, as always.

Is this a holiday classic? Perhaps not, but in the tradition of Bad Santa, this is going to become part of my DVD collection as soon as possible.

Do yourself a favor - go see this truly funny movie! The only downside is your sides will hurt from all the laughs!

Merry Christmas!

I laughed so hard during this movie my face hurt. Ben Affleck was hilarious and reminded me of a pretty boy Jack Black in this role. Gandolfini gives his typical A performance. The entire cast is funny, the story pretty good and the comic moments awesome. I went into this movie not expecting much so perhaps that is why I was so surprised to come out of the flick thoroughly pleased and facially exhausted. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys comedy, can identify with loneliness during the holidays and/or putting up with the relatives. The best part to this film (to me anyway) were the subtle bits of humor that caught me completely off guard and had me laughing long after the rest of the audience had stopped. Namely, the scene involving the lighting of the Christmas tree. Go see it and have a good laugh!