People are voting emotionally.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fantastic!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

A lonely, obnoxious young millionaire pays a family to spend Christmas with him. Surviving Christmas is nowhere near as bad as everyone was saying for years and it's totally nowhere near as bad as a 19/100 which it got in Metacritic and sure some characters are not get developed really well and it's not the greatest Christmas movie ever made but i still enjoyed it mostly because of Ben Affleck i think he was hilarious and James Gandolfini was also really good i also liked the reason why he spend Christmas alone with nobody around him and even tho there could be more emotion in it and and like i said certain characters for example like the son could have been developed much better but still it was pretty funny, dramatic at times and the whole cast did a nice job.

Being something of a big Christmas movie fan, I came to this with some trepidation after reading other reviews - but decided to give it a go with no prejudices and you know what, it's fun - it does what it is supposed to in a Christmas film, builds up tension and drama but then gives you a happy ending - perfect, and the cast are top notch.Forget what you read about all the troubles with scripting etc etc and timing of release of the movie, the fact is that it is a very enjoyable Christmas movie - yes, it may be a little "join the dots/movie by numbers" but come on...it's Christmas, it isn't supposed to be or trying to be Citizen Kane for goodness sake!

I really enjoyed this film, and I think it is more interesting and certainly more believable than the ridiculous scenarios foisted upon us by the writers of Christmas Vacation. The performances by all the cast members ring true, again as compared to the aforementioned supposed "classic" National Lampoon production. The story makes sense, as set up in the beginning when Drew gets dumped by Misty, and Christina Applegate's performance is authentic. The chemistry between Ms. Applegate and Mr. Affleck is palpable and I was won over by their growing attraction to each other. The supporting cast, particularly James Gandolfini as Ben's "father" and Katherine O'Hara as his "mother" , create interesting, well rounded characters whose lives come together again as the result of the new family situation they find themselves in. bill Macey is very believable as Drew's grandfather , or "DooDah." I realize I am probably in the minority in terms of finding the film quite entertaining, but that is the truth.

Grab your eggnog and sit back to watch Ben Affleck and James Gandolfini push and pull this dysfunctional family into the holiday spirit one battle at a time. This movie is the one you want to pop in just after you get home from a long day of shopping. With such strong actresses as Catherine O'Hara and Christina Applegate, the guys have a tough time claiming all the comedy here. But you will laugh out loud all through this film. Each new cast member is added just at the right moment and you will be wanting the story to go on even after the final battle has been won.'Surviving Christmas' will become one of the family favorites and one not just to be watched during the holidays.