Nothing Like the Holidays

A warm, unabashedly sentimental drama, Nothing Like the Holidays follows the extended Rodriguez clan as they assemble at the home of Edy (Alfred Molina) and Anna (Elizabeth Pena) to celebrate Christmas – with the bulk of the proceedings subsequently detailing the easy-going banter and arguments that inevitably ensue. Director Alfredo De Villa – working from a script by Alison Swan and Rick Najera – has infused the movie with an atmosphere of authenticity that proves impossible to resist, as the palpable chemistry between the various characters is consistently reflected in the ease with which they converse with one another (and there’s little doubt that this emphasis on the Rodriguez’s good-natured ribbing effectively perpetuates the familial vibe that’s established early on). It’s also worth noting that the film never quite succumbs to the eye-rolling histrionics one might’ve anticipated, which is certainly no small feat given the inclusion of a few admittedly melodramatic surprises and revelations (ie a certain person isn’t quite as healthy as they appear to be). Molina and Pena’s expectedly stellar work is matched by a uniformly impressive supporting cast that includes John Leguizamo, Luis Guzman, and Vanessa Ferlito, with Freddy Rodriguez’s poignant turn as Edy and Anna’s just-home-from-Iraq son a particular standout and a catalyst for some of the movie’s most heartfelt sequences. There’s ultimately little within Nothing Like the Holidays that viewers haven’t seen countless times before, yet the film’s air of pervasive congeniality generally makes it easy enough to overlook its reliance on overly familiar elements.

*** out of ****