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Nothing Like the Holidays
User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5

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  1. crodriguez
    Dec 15, 2008
    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.
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  2. ChadS.
    Dec 14, 2008
    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
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
50 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    70
    The situations tend toward contrivance, but the atmosphere is easygoing and the actors seem relaxed even when everyone at the family table is yelling.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    70
    So "The Family Stone" becomes "The Family Rodriguez," and to their credit, the able performers wring as much mileage as they can from such familiar material.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    The troubles are broad, the plot twists giant, and the performances cheery in this carol to ethnic pride in Chicago's traditionally Latino Humboldt Park.
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