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(About Our Ads) "SURVIVING CHRISTMAS" (2004) (Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Heavy None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None None *None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Moderate Mild QUICK TAKE: Comedy: Hoping to have the happy holiday extravaganza he's always dreamed about, a rich man pays a family of strangers, who are living in his childhood home, to act as if he's their son over the Christmas holidays. PLOT: Drew Latham (BEN AFFLECK) is a wildly successful marketing executive in Chicago who'd like to go to Fiji with his girlfriend, Missy Vanglider (JENNIFER MORRISON), over Christmas. Upset that he'd rather do that then spend the holidays with family -- especially his that she's never met -- Missy dumps him, leaving Drew in a quandary when no one will invite him to share their holiday festivities. Following some advice to make a list of personal grievances and then burn them at some place from his past, Drew tries to do just that at his former childhood home. Unfortunately for him, the current owner, Tom Valco (JAMES GANDOLFINI), thinks he's an arsonist and knocks him out with a snow shovel. When Drew comes to, he offers Tom, his wife Christine (CATHERINE O'HARA) and their 15-year-old son Brian (JOSH ZUCKERMAN) an offer they can't refuse. In exchange for allowing him to move in with them through Christmas and have them act like his family, he'll pay them $250,000. They reluctantly agree but make him pay more for a local actor (BILL MACY) to play the family's grandpa, "Doo-Dah." Things become more complicated when adult daughter Alicia (CHRISTINA APPLEGATE) arrives for the holidays and is none too happy to see that her family has let a seemingly eccentric man move in with them, money or no money. As the days progress toward Christmas and the Valco family dynamics finally come to the forefront, Drew hopes to have the happy holiday extravaganza about which he's always dreamed. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Those who are fans of someone in the cast or who might be interested in a Christmas-related film may want to, but this one's attractiveness to any other kids otherwise seems tenuous at best. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sexual content, language and a brief drug reference. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BEN AFFLECK plays a rich marketing executive who pays a family of strangers to include him as their son in their holiday festivities. A bit high strung, he has good-natured demands of them and finds himself falling for Alicia. He also uses some profanity and drinks a bit. JAMES GANDOLFINI plays the family patriarch who agrees to Drew's offer only for the huge payoff but is about ready to end his marriage to Christine. He drinks some and uses some profanity. CATHERINE O'HARA plays his wife who's not as happy about their potential financial windfall due to her failing marriage. She uses some profanity. CHRISTINA APPLEGATE plays their adult daughter who initially doesn't like Drew but eventually ends up falling for him. JOSH ZUCKERMAN plays her 15-year-old brother who's into computer porn and uses some profanity. BILL MACY plays the older actor that Drew hires to play his grandfather. He briefly smokes pot and likes what he sees of Brian's Internet porn. JENNIFER MORRISON plays Drew's high maintenance and a bit dimwitted girlfriend who breaks up with him when he doesn't seems as interested in family time over the holidays as she does. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 5 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Non-explicit, but sexually related dialogue (and writing on a computer screen) is present (some of it related to male masturbation), as is some material dealing with computer pornography (showing some scantly clad women and other shots that the characters see in full but we don't). Various women show some cleavage and there's some humor related to passionate kissing being mistaken for incestuous sibling behavior. Various characters drink and one briefly smokes what's identified as pot. Some imitative behavior is present as is some slapstick style material, while a man hits and knocks out another man with a snow shovel (played for comedy). Various bad attitudes are present, while some tense family material occurs (related to a failing marriage). Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Miscellaneous people have drinks in a brief scene. Drew pushes an ad campaign for an eggnog client with the notion that one must swill as much alcohol as possible to get along with the family during the holidays. Drew has some eggnog that presumably contains alcohol (based on the above comments). Tom has a beer with dinner. Tom has a beer while Christine, Drew and Alicia have wine. A comment is made that relatives sit around the house and drink your beer. Doo-Dah apparently smokes a joint as Alicia comes up after he quickly puts it out and asks, "Are you smoking pot?" A photographer appears to drink. Tom uses a nutcracker to open a bottle of beer. Christine and Missy's mom have wine. Tom has a beer, Alicia, Missy and their moms have wine, and Doo-Dah's understudy has a drink. Drew has a drink. BLOOD/GORE We hear Drew urinating as Christine accidentally walks in on him in the bathroom. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Alicia doesn't like Drew at first. Some viewers might not like Drew calling Alicia "Consuela" after saying he wants her to play the maid in the family. After a comment is made that riding a toboggan down a steep, snow-covered hill will be fun, Brian sarcastically says it will be in a Sonny Bono sort of way (referring to his fatal skiing accident). A photographer has used photos of Christine to make it appear that she posed in a porn shoot for him (and then posted that on the Internet). Drew tries to lie to Missy that the Valcos are really his family (and they go along with that for more money from him). Missy's mom has a condescending attitude about others. Alicia tries to undermine Drew's lying to Missy about Alicia's family being his, such as telling Missy that she's not fat while suggesting that Drew previously said that. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh sh*t," "Sh*t-hole," "This is bullsh*t," "Crapping," "Idiot," "Before I shove it up your ass," "Skinny little ass," "Why the hell are you waking me up?" "Right in the nuts" (testicles), "Freak," "What the hell is this?" "Jackass," "Pain in my ass," "Sucks," "Christmas cheer crap," "Shut up," "Trollops," "Knocked up" (pregnant), "Yuletide's a bitch" and "Screw" (nonsexual). During the opening credits montage, an old woman puts her head into her gas stove (as a bit of black comedy, but we don't ever see what happens to her). Some kids might be enticed to look for Internet pornography like Brian does. We see the X-ray of a young girl going through such a machine at airport security (as she crawls after the stuffed animal taken away from her). Drew burns a paper list of personal grievances at his childhood home. Seeing Drew burning that piece of paper on his front lawn, Tom hits him on the head with a snow shovel, knocking him out. Drew mounts the stair railing as if to slide down it backwards, but it breaks off to the side and he falls to the floor (but is okay). Brian purposefully drops a large computer monitor to the floor where it crashes and breaks apart. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None, although parts of the song "Sweet Cherry Pie" play along with a photo shoot that Christine is doing. PROFANITY At least 5 "s" words, 1 slang term each for male genitals ("d*ckle" or something like that), female ones ("business") and breasts ("cans"), 6 hells, 4 asses (1 used with "hole"), 3 craps, 5 uses each of "My God" and "Oh my God," 2 each of "God" and "Oh God" and 1 use each of "Christ" and "Oh dear God." SEX/NUDITY Drew's assistant shows some cleavage. We see Brian looking at a porn site on his computer that shows some scantly clad women with some related, but not explicit writing on the screen (about "butt cheeks"). After Christine tells Tom not to be critical of the time their son spends on the computer as it might lead to future job earnings, Tom jokes that if he were paid for what Brian is doing in his bedroom, he (Tom) would have retired at the age of 17. After he hears that Drew will be taking over his bedroom, Brian complains and asks, "How am I supposed to...study" (when he wanted to say "masturbate" or something similar). We see a poster on Brian's bedroom wall that shows a cleavage-baring woman. Brian draws a cartoon figure of a woman with his finger in the condensation on a car window (that includes cartoon style bare breasts). When Alicia arrives and Drew wants to know who she is, Christine jokes that she's her illegitimate love child. Christine reads a line to Brian from a script Drew has written for all of them that states something about her letting Brian sleep with her like he never did (they're confused and Drew states that it didn't come off as intended). We see Brian reading what's presumably a porn magazine in bed, but we don't ever see the cover or its contents (just his reaction when others enter the room). When Drew points out that Christine has just absent-mindedly put a bra into Brian's sock drawer, Christine is embarrassed and tries to make a joke that her son is 15 and likes to experiment. Christine complains about married couples breaking up and states that in the progression of such matters, they go from making babies to stopping touching each other. When Tom states that his new old car has brought him attention including being propositioned by a hooker, Doo-Dah asks if it was the blonde with the "big cans" (breasts). Christine shows some cleavage while doing a photo shoot that has her in some sexy poses (with the photographer saying he thinks she looks erotic and the song "Sweet Cherry Pie" playing on the soundtrack). Missy shows some cleavage. Doo-Dah walks in on Brian looking at porn on his computer (there's something about naked Asian massage therapists on the screen along with a photo showing a young, shapely woman showing cleavage, etc.). Doo-Dah says that in his day they had to go behind the barn and pay a girl twenty-five cents to have her show them "her business." We see various porn titles on the screen (such as "Three-way cheerleaders") and there's some material about older women with a comment that they're old enough to know and still young enough to want to (have sex) and Doo-Dah likes that idea. They then start downloading an image that starts with feet in the air and then progresses down raised legs to reveal Christine in a porn pose (we don't see her crotch area and it's suggested that the photo has been altered to make it look like she posed nude). Doo-Dah asks if Brian can print that photo for him. Later, everyone walks in on Brian looking at this photo and a comment is made about Christine "shooting a V for victory with her legs" (meaning having her legs spread apart in an upright position). Thinking they're looking at a childhood photo of Drew (when it's really an apparently nude shot of young Alicia -- but we don't see it), Missy's mom states that there's no " little d*ckle" (or something sounding like that). Drew tries to cover and states that there is, but that since his was so long, his mom had to tuck it back between his legs. Alicia passionately kisses Drew. Missy's father, mad at his wife, states that she got "knocked up" in the past by someone else and tricked him into marrying her. Missy and her family see Alicia and Drew passionately kissing (with them still thinking they're brother and sister involved in some incestuous behavior). SMOKING None (other than Doo-Dah briefly smoking what's apparently a joint). TENSE FAMILY SCENES Tom tells Drew that he and Christine are thinking of breaking up and there are some scenes showing tension between them. Christine complains about married couples breaking up and states that in the progression of such matters, they go from making babies to stopping touching each other. Drew states that his dad walked out on him when the boy was four and that his mom always worked a double shift on Christmas. He then states that his mom died when he was in college, meaning he has no family. Tom is mad about seeing his wife in a porn picture and says he's going to stay at a motel. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Family relationships in general and particularly over the holidays. Internet pornography. During the opening credits montage, an old woman puts her head into her gas stove (as a bit of black comedy, but we don't ever see what happens to her). There's a brief visual joke where a seemingly lonely man in his apartment at Christmas is suddenly joined by his gay lover who gives him a peck on the cheek (seen from a distance through the window). VIOLENCE During the opening credits, a person trying to hang Christmas lights falls off a ladder, but we don't see the impact. Seeing Drew burning a piece of paper on his front lawn, Tom hits him on the head with a snow shovel, knocking him out. Drew mounts the stair railing as if to slide down it backwards, but it breaks off to the side and he falls to the floor (but is okay). Drew hits Brian with various snowballs outside while Drew plays like a kid and Brian just stands there (and is hit in the face, crotch and elsewhere). Tom then comes out and apparently pummels Drew with snowballs (we only see Drew afterwards, not looking happy). Alicia and Drew go careening down a steep, snow-covered hill on a toboggan, zipping through trees and then becoming airborne, spilling the two to the snow-covered ground (both are okay). Drew accidentally burns his hands on a hot oven tray. Alicia throws her Christmas gift at Drew when mad at him. Brian purposefully drops a large computer monitor to the floor where it crashes and breaks apart. Reviewed October 19, 2004 / Posted October 22, 2004