Review: Nothing Like the Holidays (2008)

[Steve Rhodes]

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2008 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

Like a snowball going downhill, gaining size and momentum as it travels, the 
neighbors in a very Puerto Rican area of Chicago join in for a massive 
singing of Christmas carols. Going from door to door, the crowd and the joy 
of the singing increases exponentially.  And, the most surprising part of 
this Christmas movie is that this mass singing of "O Come All Ye Faithful" 
is not the least bit ironic.  Most Christmas movies use the season's happy 
tunes as merely a sardonic commentary on the awfulness of life.

The only thing ironic about NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS is the title, since 
the story is exactly like holidays, or at least the way you'd hope they'd 
be.

When the film opens, Jesse Rodriguez (Freddy Rodriguez), a soldier coming 
home from the war in Iraq, has arrived at the airport.  Greeting him are his 
life-long buddies, Johnny (Luis Guzman) and Ozzy (Jay Hernandez).  They are 
there to whisk him home to a big holiday meal, which his mother is busy 
preparing.  Along the way, they stop for a quick game of baseball, just like 
they did when they were young.

Right away, the charms of this heart-warming -- even if completely 
predictable -- film become obvious.  Shot under a bright winter sun, the 
thick snows glistens and sparkles.  In fact, the whole movie is so 
attractively shot by cinematographer Scott Kevan that watching the images 
alone becomes a major treat.

The best present, however, that NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS gives to viewers 
are the characters.  Universally likable, their foibles are easily dismissed 
or suspected of not even being true.

At the dinner table, Anna (Elizabeth Pena), the mother of the Rodriguez 
family, announces that she plans on divorcing her husband Edy.  It seems 
that he has been taking many mysterious phone calls lately, and she thinks 
he must be cheating on her.  That he doesn't deny it, in most stories, would 
confirm his guilt, but, in this one, it only reinforces in the viewer's mind 
the obvious conclusion that Edy has bigger problems that a discovered 
affair.

Other members of the family include Jesse's sister Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito) 
and his brother Mauricio (John Leguizamo).  Mauricio's wife Sarah (Debra 
Messing) is a high powered executive about to run a hedge fund.  With her 
creamy white skin, her bright red hair and her Jewish background, she is the 
only polar opposite character in the narrative.  But, as we learn, she fits 
in fine after all, and is happy to be a member of the Rodriguez family.

Sure, the family "bickers" a lot, but, except for the mother-father dispute, 
all of the arguing is merely playful.  In short, they are just the sort of 
family that you'd love to have ask you over to visit for the holidays.  One 
of the few problems with the story is that everyone gets along so well and 
is so close that, initially, it isn't at all clear who are family and who 
are friends.  This is a problem one wishes the entire world had.

Although NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS has its share of poignant moments, it 
isn't some sappy melodrama.  It's a sweet and endearing comedy.  My favorite 
parts come when the mother attempts, quite seriously but completely 
ineffectually, to discipline her grown children.  No matter how vigorously 
she demands that they must "get in the house" or "go to your room," her 
orders are universally ignored.  So it is when your kids grow up.  They 
probably never followed your commands very well when they were younger, and, 
now that they are older, your power over them has disappeared entirely.  All 
that is left is love, and the hope they you raised them well enough so that 
they can now make their own way in the world.

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS runs 1:39.  It is rated PG-13 for "thematic 
elements including some sexual dialogue, and brief drug references" and 
would be acceptable for kids around 8 and up.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, December 12, 2008. 
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century 
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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