How sad is this?

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This isn't the weirdest movie I ever saw, but it's high on the list. Although, weird doesn't necessarily mean bad. But, in this case, weird is kinda bad. This is a sort of ensemble-type film, and you either like or don't like some of the individual subplots.Sub-plot 1: John Goodman and Diane Keaton are planning on divorcing, with the precipitating factor being her refusal to go on a long-planned trip to Africa with him. But they want to have one last "regular" Christmas before they tell their family. This subplot is fine, although with age I think that Keaton has slightly lost her touch, and I never thought Goodman had the touch. As a result, while the subplot is fine, I wasn't that impressed with the acting in it.Sam and Charlotte are divorcing after forty years of marriage. Charlotte convinces Sam to wait until after their grown children (Hank and Eleanor), grandchildren (Hank's kids Charlie, Bo and Madison), Charlotte's father and sister (Bucky and Emma) and Sam's aunt (Fishy) have enjoyed one last "perfect Christmas" before announcing the planned divorce. As scenes shift back and forth across the Cooper family members, their memories also briefly appear on screen as younger versions of themselves.Subplot 2: Hank lost his photography job and his wife has left him, though she has flown in for the holiday Christmas. This just didn't work for me. Too much hand-wringing.Subplot 3: Eleanor has flown in for the holiday, but stays at the airport as long as possible because she dreads going home...although it was never clear to me why she dreaded it. The motherly nagging was pretty minor. At an airport bar she meets a soldier snowed in at the airport...even though there's not that much of a snowfall. They hit it off, though they are very different people. He agrees to act as her boyfriend for Christmas so that her mother will lay off the nagging. I didn't find Eleanor a very sympathetic character, although this part of the story was SOMETIMES intriguing.Subplot 4: Bucky -- the grandfather -- is eats daily at a local diner because he so admires a young waitress who hasn't gotten her life together. It's sort of charming, but I was never quite clear what his intentions were. Good...or a dirty old man? This was, at least, an interesting subplot.Subplot 5: The high school boy, awkward as can be, has a crush on a girl. They finally get together, but their Frenching and humping in public is illogical and disgusting.Subplot 6: Emma (sister to Keaton) gets arrested for shoplifting during Christmas shopping. She is arrested by a police officer played by Anthony Mackie. In the police car they get into a conversation in which the officer admits (sort of) that he is gay and that his personal life is a disaster. Okay. That sorta works...except Mackie is only a prop here because he lets her go because it's Christmas. Unfortunately, for Mackie, it's a dead end part.Finally it's Christmas dinner...and it's disastrous, resulting in an unexplained power failure during which Bucky suffers a stroke (yes, really). At the hospital they all kiss...well, dance and make up.Honestly, this film stinks, but has just enough good scenes that I couldn't turn it off. Perhaps most interesting is that the story is told by the dog (I'm not kidding), with voice portrayed by Steve Martin.To be honest, don't waste your time.

This was a decent holiday/family comedy film following several story lines. Among them were scenes with Dianne Wiest and John Goodman, Marisa Tomei being arrested for shoplifting, Amanda Seyfried about to quit her job at a diner (much to the chagrin of her favorite customer), and one of the daughters picking up a soldier at the airport so she can pass him off as her "lover" for her family for the family at the dinner. The whole thing is narrated by Steve Martin-you might be surprised by who his character is. My favorite scenes are John Goodman messing up the lyrics to the Christmas scenes;Seyfried's scenes at the diner;the scenes in the police car;and the scenes between Olivia Wilde and the soldier. You might want to check this out if you need a good family holiday film.** 1/2 out of ****

Review: I wasn't a big fan of this movie because I got fed up with the constant moaning from the various characters, who really had nothing to moan about. Its based around a dysfunctional family, who are getting together for Christmas at the family home but the mother and father of the family, Sam Cooper (John Goodman) and Charlotte (Diane Keaton) are having problems with there marriage, because they have grown apart since the kids have left home. Charlotte's sister, Emma (Marisa Tomei) is jealous of her sisters huge family, and she is caught stealing a present for her, whilst shopping in a department store. Officer Williams (Anthony Mackie) has to chaperone her to the local police station but after bonding in the police car, he decides to take her to the family home. Meanwhile, Charlotte's daughter, Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) becomes friends with a soldier, Joe (Jake Lacy) whilst drinking at the airport bar, and she manages to convince him to act like he is her boyfriend, so her prying mother will stop going on about how disappointed she is with her life. Charlotte's father, Bucky (Alan Arkin) falls for a waitress, Ruby (Amanda Seyfried), who makes him feel young and has the same interests as her but he doesn't make it known to Ruby, mainly because of the age difference. He asks her to come to the family home for Christmas, as she has decided to leave her job to pursue her dream. Charlotte's son, Hank (Ed Helms) is going through a divorce to Angie (Alex Borstein), so he is constantly searching for a job to support his kids. With Sam's senile Auntie, Aunt Fishy (June Squibb) and the family dog Rags (voiced by Steve Martin), also around the family dinner table at Christmas, all hell breaks lose when they finally get together, and Bucky takes a turn for the worse, which eventually brings the family together. I really did try to get into this film but the storyline was weak and the characters wasn't that interesting. The script also became a bit annoying, especially between Keaton and Goodman who were arguing about complete rubbish, and the witty side of the movie wasn't that funny. With such an impressive cast, I was totally let down with this film but I'm sure that dysfunctional families will enjoy it. Disappointing! Round-Up: This movie was directed by Jessie Nelson, who also brought you I Am Sam starring Sean Penn and Corrina, Corrina with Ray Liotta. She also wrote and produced Fred Claus, Because I Said So, The Story of Us, Stepmom and Danny Collins. Although I didn't really find this movie that interesting, it did make a profit at the box office, mainly because it was released close to Christmas. I couldn't see were the budget went, and I personally think that the director didn't take full advantage of the cast but on a good note, it does have a sweet ending, which was quite predictable.Budget: $17million Worldwide Gross: $42.4millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their comedies, starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Alex Borstein, Amanda Seyfried, Alan Arkin, Dan Amboyer, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde, Anthony Mackie and June Squibb. 2/10

I started this movie just because nothing was on (tube full of Xmas). I was first sucked in by the great John Goodman and the sublime Alan Arkin. Once Olivia Wilde's character started to develop I was hooked.I am gobsmacked to see how wrong the low ratings for this movie are. The unique characters and the depth of emotions, mostly love, are incredible. Maybe people want quick cuts and action and just don't know how to let a movie based on dialogue slowly draw them in and make you care about the characters, all of which are rounded and easily lovable,yet each deeply flawed in ways anyone that has lived a few decades will identify with. I am a tough guy in my 50s and I shed tears three times. Not only that,but several times I had to pause the film so I could ponder how the wise words about love and life relate to my life and mistakes. From this day on my life will be better because of what i realized was true,as displayed in this movie, about family, love, regrets. And I will forever love Olivia Wilde. Her scenes alone are worth watching this movie. If you can watch this movie closely and not shed a tear, you are dead inside and should immediately seek psychiatric help. Solid 7.5/10