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Nothing Like the Holidays
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Metascore
50 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Debra Messing, Freddy Rodríguez, John Leguizamo
  • Summary: It's Christmas and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents' home in Chicago to celebrate the season and rejoice in their youngest brother's safe return from combat overseas. But when old disputes resurface and new surprises arise, familial bonds are stretched to the limit and the Rodriguezes realize they're going to have to pull together to make it through the holidays in one piece. Nothing Like the holidays is a hilarious and heartwarming look at a holiday one family will never forget. (Overture Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Christopher Borrelli
    88
    It's what we need at the holidays, and it's the modest goal of a modest little picture like this--to capture something heartfelt and real.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    60
    It's a formula, all right, but a strong cast goes a long way toward carrying it off. We get one, for the most part, in Alfredo De Villa's cheerfully familiar dramedy.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    25
    What's Spanglish for "oy"?

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. crodriguez
    10
    This movies was so good, reminded me of my family, there are 6 of us and when we get together it's a blast, we fight, we laugh, we dance and yes we get drunk and cry. This movie just teaches you to appreciate the time we have on this earth with family and friends. Watch it if you can.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. ChadS.
    6
    It's a bombshell, but a soft one, when Anna Rodriguez(Elizabeth Pena) announces to the family that she'll soon be leaving her husband(Alfred Molina) in the midst of their supposed golden years. It's a soft bomb because the screenwriter, in all likelihood, will prevent the marriage from actual detonation. The same crisis occurs in Woody Allen's "Interiors", this time it's the father who makes the bomb threat. Here, we sense that the bomb will go off; we know that Ingmar Bergman tropes negate any chance for reconciliation. "Nothing Like the Holidays" has no intentions of being a downer; rest assured, Anna will forgive Edy before the credits roll, because the title practically cries out "made-for-television movie", not tough-minded indie, or filmic exercise in rote Swedish formalism. "Nothing Like the Holidays" will play it safe; there's a tacit agreement between the filmmaker and his audience that the story won't venture into territory which can't be resolved. To the filmmaker's credit, "Nothing Like the Holiday" implies an edge; the filmmaker puts Edy in situations with his son's wife Sarah(Debra Messing) that is fraught with sexual tension. Given Edy's track record with women, and the advent of senior citizens popping Viagra like M & Ms, his daughter-in-law is susceptible to the male gaze, the geezer gaze, if you please, when they're together in the car, and later, in the laundry room. But there's no pass, a familial pass across generations(and also, an Iraqi war veteran(Jesse, played by Freddy Rodriguez) who's not merely depressed, but owns up to having violent impulses) would prove to be too complicated for a crowd-pleaser such as "Nothing Like the Holidays". A happy ending is imminent. And there's nothing wrong with that, per se. It's the holidays, after all.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

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