Surviving Christmas (2004)
Average Rating: 3/10
Reviews Counted: 111
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 103
Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message
Average Rating: 2.9/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 30
Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message
liked it
Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 27,972
My Rating
Movie Info
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend
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Cast
-
Ben Affleck
Drew Latham -
James Gandolfini
Tom Valco -
Christina Applegate
Alicia Falco -
Catherine O'Hara
Christine Valco -
Josh Zuckerman
Brian Valco -
Bill Macy
Doo-Dah -
Jennifer Morrison (II)
Missy Vangilder -
Udo Kier
Heinrich -
David Selby
Horace Vanglider -
Stephanie Faracy
Letitia Vanglider -
Stephen Root
Dr. Freeman -
Sy Richardson
Doo-Dah Understudy -
Tangie Ambrose
Kathryn -
John "B.J." Bryant
Cabbie -
Peter Jason
Suit -
Phill Lewis
Levine The Lawyer -
Tumbleweed
Santa -
Kate Hendrickson
Santa's Photographer -
Bridgette Ho
Five Year Old -
Hailey Johnson
Little Girl -
Sean Marquette
Older Brother -
Caitlin Fein
Freeman Twins -
Amanda Fein
Freeman Twins -
Kent Osborne
Marley -
Bill Saito
Christmas Past -
Michael Patrick Bell
Christmas Present -
Amy Halloran
Fanny -
Joshua Siegel
Young Scrooge -
K. Troy Zestos
Chad -
Sonya Eddy
Security Lady -
Bernard Smalls
Security Man -
Ron Karabatsos
Deli Man -
Wynn Irwin
Customer -
Angela Gacad
Cute Girl At Play -
Tom Kenny
Man Wrapping Gift -
Joan M. Blair
Lonely Lady -
John Carter Brown
Depressed Donator -
William Thomas
Choir Director -
Karen Furno
Choir -
Linda Kerns
Choir -
Cynthia Marty
Choir -
Melanie Taylor
Choir -
Precious McCall
Choir -
Anika Noni Rose
Choir -
David Atkinson
Choir -
Reynaldo Duran
Choir -
Michael Kosik
Choir -
Jon Simanton
Elf -
Allison Queal
Elf -
Kacie Borrowman
Elf -
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All Critics (112) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (103) | DVD (12)
Pique on earth and ill will toward men permeate this mirthless comedy.
Top CriticThe movie is dead from the outset given the artificiality of the premise about a lonely rich guy who hires the folks living in his boyhood home to be his family for the holidays.
The moral is that money can indeed buy happiness.
Surviving Christmas is about as funny as a rubber crutch for Tiny Tim.
There's a lot to not buy in Surviving Christmas. I recommend not buying.
Maybe the worst thing that can be said for Surviving Christmas is that it doesn't succeed even on its humble level of aspiration.
Surviving Christmas is a mediocre ninety-minute sit-com; if you're looking for wit and humor, stay away.
You'll be lucky if you survive this dumb movie.
Ben Affleck needs to stop making movies.
You may not survive watching it.
Despite the talent involved, this fails to raise so much as a smile, let alone laughs and Christmas cheer.
If you thought the Ron Howard Grinch movie was the worst excuse for a holiday movie in recent memory, then look out: this one's worse.
A colossal turkey.
All that's vaguely funny or Christmassy about this are the sweaty beads of desperation which string together like fairy-lights across Affleck's forehead as he hammers out one lame gag after another.
Surviving Christmas can't decide whether it wants to be naughty or nice and the end result is a sometime funny story, but with a severe multiple personality disorder .
Affleck gives one of the clammiest, most panicked performances I've ever seen. The movie is drenched in his flop-sweat.
The premise has potential, as does the casting, but the script is so mind-numbingly lazy that it insults its audience at every turn.
With the release of this wretched film, star Ben Affleck takes one more ragged step in what seems his death march from leading man to celebrity game show guest.
Easily the worst Christmas movie of all time, and a surefire contender for the worst film of 2004.
Ben Affleck's Christmas "comedy" is a misfire under the mistletoe, even with a germ of a classic tale hidden under the ugly wrapping.
Audience Reviews for Surviving Christmas
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