Not bad for a tv Christmas movie. A little grittier than most and though it's not something to watch over and over, it kept me watching to see what would happen to these characters.
As others have commented, not everyone is like able, but that's how it is in a family. I prefer a more realistic story than overly nice (unreal) Christmas stories.
27 Reviews
Eh
blahblahblah9121 November 2019
Xmas movies are generally 5 stars and that's good for them.
dylanjk28 November 2019
Well...?
dustinbarr1 November 2019
Survive this movie
nkdiddy22 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I honestly thought Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas was cringey. I'm willing to bet the writers and Director took notes from Kirk himself. This movie has no plot, no relatable dialogue, a dreary story that's about as heartwarming as the turkey they cooked outside in an oven with no explanation to how they cooked it.
This movie fails on all counts. You know absolutely nothing about the characters, they're not relatable, not beleiveable, and the timing/delivery of lines makes this movie even more unbearable. If someone ever gave this movie any other rating aside from a 2 and below needs to get their head examined for a possible concussion.
Christmas movies should be joyous and fun. This is the opposite of fun. This movie will kill your Christmas spirit deader than the Ghost of Christmas past and there it shall remain. Holy hell it didn't even end on a good note. The credits couldn't have shown up fast enough. At least we knew what to expect in those credits. Absolutely abhorrent. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. WATCH SOMETHING ELSE.
THIS MOVIE WILL SPOIL YOUR CHRISTMAS.
What was the plot line
christageno-actor30 December 2019
Some of the actors were good. But it was like different characters playing individual roles that never quite became an ensemble. There were so many individual plots that nothing was interesting. Truly nothing was interesting about this film.
Not bad at all
kq99929 September 2019
For a Christmas movie with a well used storyline...that being just as the title says - Surviving Christmas with the Relatives - it is quite enjoyable. Not as silly or madcap as most...it is a good little timewaster to watch with the family after Christmas day winds down.
NOTHING TO UNWRAP HERE.
fionastaun19 November 2019
Entertaining and amusing
foxall-2109728 November 2019
You can't survive this movie
don_kihotis22 December 2019
Pointless and meaningless movie. Time wasting and very difficult to watch it until the end. If you manage to do so though, you end up looking at the rest of your family with a weird expression like: "what have we watched now"?
SUPER Sweet, entertaining, and had great casting ---- SPOILERS_----
arthousefilms-68-9397178 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was a delight to watch!! From the very first frame until the very last one, it delivered smiles and a great feeling all around.
The acting was superb! That physical casting was a little off between the two sisters, unless I missed something in their relationship where they had different parents. But even so, it was still super nice to see their acting together.
I LOVED ALL THE RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS!! The two parent leads (the home owners) were superb. All the others were incredible also.
To be honest, I bet this film would be a difficult and boring script read due to the ensemble slice-of-life style. But the writer and director were the same person and he really had a handle on bringing his vision to life. Every nuance, every detail, added to the overall emotional transport this film delivered.
There were so many memorable scenes that were a blast to see unfold.
It was so fun watching every single actor in their roles. Even the twins had me in hysterics.
************ SPOILER ALERT **********
The only reason I gave this film a 9 instead of a 10 is that it's wrap up after Christmas was not very compelling. I was hoping for more of an electric culmination of events, but it just kind of go solved in a non-dramatic way.
Still, it is a great film that I will love to watch again and again. Kudos to the director for creating his vivid vision and kudos to the actors for being so charming and awesome!
The acting was superb! That physical casting was a little off between the two sisters, unless I missed something in their relationship where they had different parents. But even so, it was still super nice to see their acting together.
I LOVED ALL THE RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS!! The two parent leads (the home owners) were superb. All the others were incredible also.
To be honest, I bet this film would be a difficult and boring script read due to the ensemble slice-of-life style. But the writer and director were the same person and he really had a handle on bringing his vision to life. Every nuance, every detail, added to the overall emotional transport this film delivered.
There were so many memorable scenes that were a blast to see unfold.
It was so fun watching every single actor in their roles. Even the twins had me in hysterics.
************ SPOILER ALERT **********
The only reason I gave this film a 9 instead of a 10 is that it's wrap up after Christmas was not very compelling. I was hoping for more of an electric culmination of events, but it just kind of go solved in a non-dramatic way.
Still, it is a great film that I will love to watch again and again. Kudos to the director for creating his vivid vision and kudos to the actors for being so charming and awesome!
I quite liked the simplicity of it.
adamjohns-4257527 January 2024
A Countryside Christmas/Surviving Christmas With The Relatives (2018) -
"Mummy! The pope mobile is here!"
The actors in this film were all very good and it was nice to see Gemma Whelan in a feminine role for a change and I mean no disrespect by that, it's just that I've only really seen her as Theon's sister in 'Game Of Thrones' (201-19) and a rough and tough lesbian in 'Queers' (2017), so it was a nice change and she made a good mum character.
I also really liked Julian Ovenden's Dad character of Dan, again I had only really come across him recently in his gay role in 'Bridgerton' (2020-). He was a pleasant father figure here and his performance in general was good.
I even enjoyed Ronni Ancona's part too. I have tended to find that she's quite extreme, but actually she was quite bearable in this one as Vicky. The character was nicely balanced.
They all faced a lot of issues that could have easily been resolved or avoided, but it would have been a very boring film without it.
And I must confess that it did start to drag towards the end where there was no suggestion that it was going to go anywhere and it didn't really, but it was still enjoyable, because it felt real for the most part, like a Christmas that I could recognise from a British home, because it wasn't all cookie baking and tree decorating and snowmen building contests, like the offerings from Hallmark and so on.
And that was the main gist of the film, a standard holiday with the kids at home, interrupted by the visiting relatives and no matter how much prep had been done, there still hadn't been enough time to do everything necessary. I start my next year's Christmas shopping as soon as I'm done each December, but I never seem to get everything else sorted in time, so I recognised the pressure.
It did smack of a typical Richard Curtis type of film in a lot of ways, because it was about a family that didn't really have any money troubles, but they thought that they were. That was no council flat or bedsit they were living in. They were also much more of a film family than a typical British dynamic in most realities.
It had some fairly good production values and nobody in the cast gave a duff performance, but there was room for improvement. It still felt sweet in some ways and had a great feeling of the season too.
721.56/1000.
"Mummy! The pope mobile is here!"
The actors in this film were all very good and it was nice to see Gemma Whelan in a feminine role for a change and I mean no disrespect by that, it's just that I've only really seen her as Theon's sister in 'Game Of Thrones' (201-19) and a rough and tough lesbian in 'Queers' (2017), so it was a nice change and she made a good mum character.
I also really liked Julian Ovenden's Dad character of Dan, again I had only really come across him recently in his gay role in 'Bridgerton' (2020-). He was a pleasant father figure here and his performance in general was good.
I even enjoyed Ronni Ancona's part too. I have tended to find that she's quite extreme, but actually she was quite bearable in this one as Vicky. The character was nicely balanced.
They all faced a lot of issues that could have easily been resolved or avoided, but it would have been a very boring film without it.
And I must confess that it did start to drag towards the end where there was no suggestion that it was going to go anywhere and it didn't really, but it was still enjoyable, because it felt real for the most part, like a Christmas that I could recognise from a British home, because it wasn't all cookie baking and tree decorating and snowmen building contests, like the offerings from Hallmark and so on.
And that was the main gist of the film, a standard holiday with the kids at home, interrupted by the visiting relatives and no matter how much prep had been done, there still hadn't been enough time to do everything necessary. I start my next year's Christmas shopping as soon as I'm done each December, but I never seem to get everything else sorted in time, so I recognised the pressure.
It did smack of a typical Richard Curtis type of film in a lot of ways, because it was about a family that didn't really have any money troubles, but they thought that they were. That was no council flat or bedsit they were living in. They were also much more of a film family than a typical British dynamic in most realities.
It had some fairly good production values and nobody in the cast gave a duff performance, but there was room for improvement. It still felt sweet in some ways and had a great feeling of the season too.
721.56/1000.
The first few minutes is a good indicator
qui_j26 November 2019
2hrs of my life I will never get back.
gregpowrie24 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Sweet suffering Christmas stuffing. Avoid this at all costs. (In our case £4.49 ) I don't even know where to start, but here are some comedic "highlights". I would say spoiler alert, but that would imply there was anything to give away...
1) Lets laugh at the hard-working Poles, as they botch up renovations, get drunk, run from the job, then return as heroes.
2) Lets chortle at the small dog that accidentally swallows a viagra, and needs a cold shower.
3) Lets marvel at the entirely believable relationship between the two sisters, where one is an absolute cow, and the other insists on running around in a nightdress in a mansion that is supposedly sub-zero.
4) Lets applaud Patricia Hodge's agent for presumably negotiating a decent fee in a movie where she says and does nothing.
5) Lets guffaw at the addict son who defies the odds in 24 hrs to become a budding entrepreneur, under the guidance of another addict/sleazeball who doubles as husband of the year by the end of the film.
The large, unslaughtered turkey, "Gobbles" serves as the perfect metaphor for this slice of seasonal nonsense. It didn't even snow.
1) Lets laugh at the hard-working Poles, as they botch up renovations, get drunk, run from the job, then return as heroes.
2) Lets chortle at the small dog that accidentally swallows a viagra, and needs a cold shower.
3) Lets marvel at the entirely believable relationship between the two sisters, where one is an absolute cow, and the other insists on running around in a nightdress in a mansion that is supposedly sub-zero.
4) Lets applaud Patricia Hodge's agent for presumably negotiating a decent fee in a movie where she says and does nothing.
5) Lets guffaw at the addict son who defies the odds in 24 hrs to become a budding entrepreneur, under the guidance of another addict/sleazeball who doubles as husband of the year by the end of the film.
The large, unslaughtered turkey, "Gobbles" serves as the perfect metaphor for this slice of seasonal nonsense. It didn't even snow.
Had potential
ben-matters16 December 2019
Very tired boring movie
rlgouge17 November 2019
I promise to never watch anything written by this person again
hmb-5177824 December 2019
The writing is just terrible. Every single person is literally awful. Even the children, who go around collecting for charity, only to keep the money.
If you write yourself, this writer is a tosser.
2 stars for casting a number of Miranda alum.
If you write yourself, this writer is a tosser.
2 stars for casting a number of Miranda alum.
1 star is too generous
ifinkivgonecrazy3 December 2020
This is the most boring film I've ever had to endure. Do not waste your time. I would've turned it off had it not been for my stubborn husband saying he wanted to watch a Christmas movie.
Again, please do not waste your time!
Great Xmas movie
rmckenzie74727 November 2019
Racist
bethgreenb16 December 2019
I don't usually get worked up over stuff, but this is pretty bad. In the beginning of the movie the despicable character, Trent, talks about fancy cars while he's drinking Scotch and smoking cigars with his brother-in-law. You get the idea that he's a real and then he says, "I'm a Jew." In the rest of the movie you find out he's a rich drunk who can't hold down a job. He takes Viagra one night and when he gets rebuffed by his wife he finds a cousin and hits on her. Despicable. The movie should be banned.
Interesting but not necessarily exciting
empasam26 December 2023
I seemed to spend most of it shouting at Gemma Whelan (who I love & why I watched this) to get dressed! She spends a lot in time in a tiny shortie nightie, wellies & thick coat, at one time complaining that the (non existent) frost had got her sprouts! If it was that cold - and cold enough for her husband to wear a woolly hat in bed - she'd be wearing nice warm pyjamas. Don't know why that bugged me, but it did!
I felt that some parts of the story were unresolved - something would happen either without explaining why or how, or it wouldn't be discussed again. And then everything suddenly became all right again.
Based on some other reviews I guess it might have been edited for TV.
Interesting if you want a glimpse into 3 days in the lives of a dysfunctional family, but not if you want a "traditional" nice & tidy Hallmark-type Christmas movie.
I felt that some parts of the story were unresolved - something would happen either without explaining why or how, or it wouldn't be discussed again. And then everything suddenly became all right again.
Based on some other reviews I guess it might have been edited for TV.
Interesting if you want a glimpse into 3 days in the lives of a dysfunctional family, but not if you want a "traditional" nice & tidy Hallmark-type Christmas movie.
Survive through this movie. If you dare
d_penn25 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was so ridiculous. Even an hour into the movie I had no idea what the plot was supposed to be. So many different plot lines going on at the same time. I lost interest halfway through. Cliche after cliche. Of course there is no Internet. Then the silliness about the Turkey. And of course so funny when a woman gives a man a black eye ( next time reverse the gender. So of course there is the usual misandrist comments. And why has drug addiction become so funny ?
So unoriginal and such a waste of talent.
A tasteless movie that has little to say about Christmas. Drug use, voyuerism and using Christ's name during the profanity laced dialog makes this story a real loser. Avoid.
None of it made any sense, 30 minutes of it was Christmas. Really bad cliche, bad romance. No character was likable.
So unoriginal and such a waste of talent.
A tasteless movie that has little to say about Christmas. Drug use, voyuerism and using Christ's name during the profanity laced dialog makes this story a real loser. Avoid.
None of it made any sense, 30 minutes of it was Christmas. Really bad cliche, bad romance. No character was likable.
Wants to warm your heart.
radarchisels19 December 2021
Different than American a Christmas movies, refreshingly so.
gatorgus4828 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Deserved a 7, but the low scores are ridiculous. Well acted, quite amusing in parts, and more real than most.
It ended a bit too neatly, but showing people with warts and all. People are messy.
But, nicely done and better than most American Christmas movies.
It ended a bit too neatly, but showing people with warts and all. People are messy.
But, nicely done and better than most American Christmas movies.
A Fixer-Upper Christmas!
JenExxifer23 December 2022
I give this movie 10 stars because it's nice to watch a movie where Christmas is celebrated in a home that has more problems than mine!
I wasn't sure when the movie first started, since the first word in the movie is cursing, but once I saw the living conditions, I was on board!
Besides the problems of living in a fixer-upper, I appreciate the family dynamics of siblings with different families who don't necessarily get along, but they endure each other and make the best of what they've got.
Lots of funny humor when it comes to the awkwardness of family situations, and the highs and lows of family gatherings, but not what I would consider to be a family movie; just because there are kids in it doesn't mean it's for kids.
I would recommend this movie for adults who are happy to be spending Christmas away from relatives, because with a family like this it's more than enough!
Now that IMDb requires 600 characters for a movie review, the real shame is that all the one-sentence bad reviews of this movie don't get removed!
I wasn't sure when the movie first started, since the first word in the movie is cursing, but once I saw the living conditions, I was on board!
Besides the problems of living in a fixer-upper, I appreciate the family dynamics of siblings with different families who don't necessarily get along, but they endure each other and make the best of what they've got.
Lots of funny humor when it comes to the awkwardness of family situations, and the highs and lows of family gatherings, but not what I would consider to be a family movie; just because there are kids in it doesn't mean it's for kids.
I would recommend this movie for adults who are happy to be spending Christmas away from relatives, because with a family like this it's more than enough!
Now that IMDb requires 600 characters for a movie review, the real shame is that all the one-sentence bad reviews of this movie don't get removed!
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