A Merry Friggin' Christmas

2014
PG-13
1h 28m

IMDb RATING

5.2/10

8.4K

YOUR RATING

Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.

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Holiday Comedy Road Trip Comedy Drama Holiday

Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt t... Read allBoyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.2/10

8.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The first of three movies released after the death of star Robin Williams.

Goofs
In the final scene in the front yard, as Nelson carries the baby, the neighbor's yard shows a blooming dogwood tree and flowering white shrub revealing the Christmas cold-weather scene was filmed in the spring.

Crazy credits
At the very end of the credit roll is displayed a picture of Robin Williams as his Mitch character with this dedication: "Dedicated to the loving memory of the man who made us all laugh. Robin Williams 1951 - 2014"

Connections
References Jeopardy! (1984)

Soundtracks
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Written by Edward Pola, George Wyle
Performed by Rufus Wainwright
Courtesy of Barnaby Music Corp. and Sycamore Music

User reviews67

Review

Featured review

4/10

A Sore Spot in the Last Chapter of a Great Comedian's Life

As a Robin Williams fan, I'm sad to say that this, one of his last films before he died, was not a good one. This is not the film by which you should remember the late great Robin Williams. It is an affront to his legacy as a great comedian and actor. This is a forgettable film that will forever be overshadowed by his much better performances, and relegated to the dustbin of sub-par forgotten Christmas films, of which there are many. Now I'm not criticizing Williams, I think he was a wonderful actor but this film thoroughly stinks and, well, he signed on to play a role in it.

The writing was pretty bad and the dialogue felt forced and unnatural. It felt like the actors were playing parodies of dysfunctional characters from other family films. Joel McHale was very dry and awkward throughout the film. His delivery did not come across as genuine and the scenes where he was supposed to be emotional felt fake. I felt the highlight of the film was actually the interactions between two side characters: Luann played by Lauren Graham, who you know as the mom from Gilmore Girls, and the always delightful Candice Bergen infamously known for her character Murphy Brown. There is a section of the film where these two, annoyed by the antics of their respective spouses, decide to drink until intoxication while reminiscing and goofing off. It is genuinely the highlight of otherwise dreary 88 minute mess.