Review: ‘Nothing Like The Holidays’

Jerry:

Nothing Like The Holidays is an enjoyable holiday movie. It was a bit more on the dramatic side than I thought it would be based on the ads I had seen but it usually works well. There are also some genuinely funny moments, mostly in one-liners delivered by a fast talking Luis Guzman.

The movie is an ensemble piece about a Puerto Rican family getting together for Christmas for the first time in 3 years. Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez) is a soldier coming home from Iraq who still has feelings for his ex-girlfriend, who now has a kid and a new boyfriend. His sister Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito) is coming home from LA where she has been struggling as an actress despite everyone in her family calling her Hollywood. Their brother Mauricio (John Leguizamo) is coming home with his uptight wife (Debra Messing) who is unsure if she wants kids at the moment despite his pressuring her. As you can see, a constant theme of “coming home† is present and everyone brings their problems with them. The one exception to this is the family matriarch (Elizabeth Pena) who is actually thinking of leaving home since she thinks her husband (Alfred Molina) is cheating on her†¦again.

Of these stories, Jesse’s is my favorite and it seems to be the one that is most complete. Freddy Rodriguez gives an excellent performance and is the standout performance of the cast. The parent’s problem is somewhat clichà ©d although it does still work in this film. While their story has a predictable end, it is reached in an unpredictable spur of the moment way. I would have liked to see more focus on John Leguizamo and Debra Messing’s characters but they are both good in the roles they are given.

The least fleshed out story is Roxanna and her Hollywood dreams although it is fine since it’s a familiar story and there is not much need to elaborate on it. The problem is that in order to counterbalance her story taking place through one sided phone conversations, they gave her a fling with an employee working at her dad’s store. Their relationship is pretty obvious from the start but there is an unnecessary backstory involving his brother being killed by a gang and him wanting to take revenge. It is the most clichà ©d of all the stories and it just seems unnecessary. It weighs down the film and takes away time that could have been spent with the family.

Despite the problems I have with the extraneous storyline, I have no problems with any of the actors. Each actor gives a great performance, which one would expect in an ensemble film such as this. Leguizamo, Rodriguez and Ferlito have great chemistry that makes them believable as siblings. Debra Messing plays the uptight businesswoman well and she seemed to have fun letting loose towards the end. Alfred Molina and Elizabeth give solid performances as the parents hitting a rough patch. As I said before, a lot of the humor comes from Luis Guzman and he is definitely welcome as the comic relief.

Overall, this is an entertaining Christmas movie. It tries to make you relate to the family rather than give you a ton of cheap and tired holiday jokes recycled every year in a new package. Let’s see how that and it’s Vince Vaughn-lessness works out for it.

[Rating: 3 out of 5 Presents, 4 out of 5 if you are Puerto Rican or interested in Puerto Rican holiday customs]

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com