A lonely, obnoxious young millionaire pays a family to spend Christmas with him.A lonely, obnoxious young millionaire pays a family to spend Christmas with him.A lonely, obnoxious young millionaire pays a family to spend Christmas with him.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 5 nominations
John 'B.J.' Bryant
- Cabbie
- (as John BJ Bryant)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe production was shot without a completed script. As a result, there were many delays and arguments over what to shoot. James Gandolfini admitted, in a behind the scenes interview, that most of the film was "improvised".
- GoofsThere are no mountain ranges, such as the one depicted, within hundreds of miles of Chicago. However, it's possible that Drew, with his resources, "whisked" the family away to Colorado for the day.
- Quotes
Drew Latham: Please! Please, let me stay here!
Tom Valco: No!
Drew Latham: I'll pay you.
Tom Valco: My family's not for sale, pal.
Drew Latham: I'll pay you $250,000!
Tom Valco: Welcome home, son.
- ConnectionsFeatured in HBO First Look: 'Surviving Christmas': Unwrapping the Comedy (2004)
- SoundtracksIt's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Written by Edward Pola & George Wyle
Performed by Andy Williams
Courtesy of Barnaby Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing
Featured review
A good way to describe Ben Affleck's performance ishow Doo-Dah's performance as Ebenezer Scrooge was described late in the movie. "He's not bad." "He's not that good, either." I may not be remembering that exactly, but it's close.
It's also never explained why Drew has so much money. He doesn't seem to be very good at his job, which led me to believe maybe a relative owned the company and he got an inheritance. But his family situation, explained late, which I will not give away, does not make this very likely. I will only say wherever his money came from, he doesn't have anyplace to go.
But nearly everyone else does a good job.
Christina Applegate is the standout performer here, with Alicia always giving everyone attitude until she finally gets to the point where she can stand Drew. If the movie was being made today, Kaley Cuoco would be perfect in the role. That's how similar their styles are.
James Gandolfini is so good as the overly protective but greedy father. No, he doesn't want this loser around ... oh, wait, you have money? Come on in, son. Tom doesn't continue his generous attitude without conditions, but more money could change his mind.
I saw the name Jennifer Morrison and then forgot about her, but she's not a blonde here. She was so good for so many years as Emma Swan, the real-world daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who was sent across a portal and eventually met her parents in the same real world. She's not that easy to like here, and while one expects her to be a minor character after what appears to be a breakup, she will be back. She's actually quite good (Emma too had an attitude) but greedy and shallow, and do we really want that for Drew?
Last night I saw Bill Macy as Walter for the first time in years as Norman Lear was honored by the Kennedy Center. That was nice, and it's always good to see him. Doo-Dah is the nickname of Drew's "Grandpa" (the reason for the quotes I will not reveal), and despite what they said about him as Scrooge, he is pretty good here.
And I will say this about "A Christmas Carol". Everyone in that does such a good job. I especially liked Ghost of Christmas Present. Too bad they have only a few lines.
It's fun to watch Drew's scheme almost fall apart in several scenes, and to see his family struggle to keep his secret when it becomes necessary.
The son in Drew's "family" spends lots of time on the computer and looks at porn--and one image is particularly inappropriate but it's better if you learn why by watching--so this is one of several reasons most kids shouldn't see this.
Yes, it's silly, and it's formula, and it's not quite family-friendly, but it's fun.
It's also never explained why Drew has so much money. He doesn't seem to be very good at his job, which led me to believe maybe a relative owned the company and he got an inheritance. But his family situation, explained late, which I will not give away, does not make this very likely. I will only say wherever his money came from, he doesn't have anyplace to go.
But nearly everyone else does a good job.
Christina Applegate is the standout performer here, with Alicia always giving everyone attitude until she finally gets to the point where she can stand Drew. If the movie was being made today, Kaley Cuoco would be perfect in the role. That's how similar their styles are.
James Gandolfini is so good as the overly protective but greedy father. No, he doesn't want this loser around ... oh, wait, you have money? Come on in, son. Tom doesn't continue his generous attitude without conditions, but more money could change his mind.
I saw the name Jennifer Morrison and then forgot about her, but she's not a blonde here. She was so good for so many years as Emma Swan, the real-world daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who was sent across a portal and eventually met her parents in the same real world. She's not that easy to like here, and while one expects her to be a minor character after what appears to be a breakup, she will be back. She's actually quite good (Emma too had an attitude) but greedy and shallow, and do we really want that for Drew?
Last night I saw Bill Macy as Walter for the first time in years as Norman Lear was honored by the Kennedy Center. That was nice, and it's always good to see him. Doo-Dah is the nickname of Drew's "Grandpa" (the reason for the quotes I will not reveal), and despite what they said about him as Scrooge, he is pretty good here.
And I will say this about "A Christmas Carol". Everyone in that does such a good job. I especially liked Ghost of Christmas Present. Too bad they have only a few lines.
It's fun to watch Drew's scheme almost fall apart in several scenes, and to see his family struggle to keep his secret when it becomes necessary.
The son in Drew's "family" spends lots of time on the computer and looks at porn--and one image is particularly inappropriate but it's better if you learn why by watching--so this is one of several reasons most kids shouldn't see this.
Yes, it's silly, and it's formula, and it's not quite family-friendly, but it's fun.
- vchimpanzee
- Dec 26, 2017
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Sobreviviendo a la navidad
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $45,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $11,663,156
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,441,356
- Oct 24, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $15,125,687
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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