Mainlining Christmas

When I say "Nothing Like the Holidays" is a frustrating movie, it's not because the movie is bad (which it isn't). Bad movies are rarely frustrating, because you don't expect or necessarily want much from them beyond for them to end. Movies I find frustrating are those which have exceptional elements that make you root for them to succeed, only to watch as they fall short of greatness. In this case, the "exceptional elements" are first and foremost its cast, which is significantly more impressive than you'd expect from a movie in this subgenre and budget. Alfred Molina, Debra Messing, John Leguizamo, and Luis Guzmán are in this, along with a number of less well-known but also excellent actors. In addition, the movie manages to take a tired template - the dysfunctional family at Christmas - and adjust the setting and story elements just enough to occasionally surprise you. The selling point here, aside from the cast on their own merits, is that this i...