Nothing Like the Holidays (2008)

52% of critics liked it
(95 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(31,832 ratings)

Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, and Elizabeth Peña star in Washington Heights director Alfredo de Villa's earnest family drama about the importance of familial relationships in times of personal crisis. The snow is falling and Christmas has come to Chicago. For the… More Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, and Elizabeth Peña star in Washington Heights director Alfredo de Villa's earnest family drama about the importance of familial relationships in times of personal crisis. The snow is falling and Christmas has come to Chicago. For the Rodriguez family, there is particular cause to celebrate this year; youngest sibling Jesse (Rodriguez) has recently returned home safe and sound after fighting in the war overseas. But as the members of the Rodriguez family converge on their parent's home, there's a strange sense of tension lingering heavy in the cool winter air. Despite the fact that Jesse is doing his best to get back in the good graces of his old flame, she seems reluctant to forgive him for leaving in the first place. Meanwhile, his older sister, Roxanna, has little to show for time spent chasing her Hollywood dreams, and eldest brother Mauricio (Leguizamo) is married to a high-strung executive who seems more interested in advancing her career than starting a family. But while none of this sits too well with concerned mother Anna (Peña), the bombshell she's about to drop could prove the straw that broke this family's back. When Anna announces to her children that she is planning to divorce their father, Eduardo (Molina), Roxanna, Jesse, and Mauricio instinctively pull together and begin to reevaluate their past while looking at the future in a whole new light. Later, as lingering resentments are let go and weakened bonds are reaffirmed, the Rodriquez family begins to experience the healing power of laughter while discovering that together as a family they are far stronger than they ever could be apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Alfredo De Villa
Written By: Rick Najera, Ted Perkins, Alison Swan
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 8, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Oct 27, 2009
Studio: Overture

Critic Reviews

Ben Lyons, At the Movies
There are some standout performances from some young stars on the rise.
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
Harmless, predictable, contrived -- if those are the best things you can say about a movie I think you should definitely skip it.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
With help from a lively cast and a twist on the formula, it seems fresh and enticing -- like a Christmas present you didn't know you wanted but are delighted to receive.
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
While there may well be nothing like the holidays, there's a lot that is dully familiar about the movie of the same name.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Though the turf is well-traveled, the characters' camaraderie and their palpable sense of ethnic pride trumps the predictability and makes for a tale that is pleasantly appealing.
Mike Mayo, Washington Post
The ensemble cast boasts some of the finest actors in the business. They do their best to breathe life into the stereotypes, but they simply don't have enough to work with.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
I swell with pride at this film as it's a respectable and thoroughly entertaining exploration of the bonds of a tightly knit large Puerto Rican family...
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
A warm, unabashedly sentimental drama...
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Familiar but funny holiday story with a Latino flavor.
Jeffrey Bloomer, Paste Magazine
Same people, different dishes on the dinner table.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A harmless, slightly charming and warm family drama.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
mesa stin amerikanila tis, skoyrainei poly ta pragmata prin ta afisei na paroyn tin poreia toys pros to aisiodokso ksempoyrdoykloma toy koybarioy tis
Michael Dance, The Cinema Source
Enormously appealing characters.
Bill Gibron, Filmcritic.com
just like the gifts one gets every year, Nothing Like the Holidays is a hit-and-miss entertainment experience.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The spirited, superb ensemble assembled by director Alfredo DeVilla lends the familiar proceedings pep and personality.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
De Villa and the ensemble cast provide a comfortable, lived-in feeling -- like your own family, only louder.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Nothing Like the Holidays most certainly is. It's about as welcome as a cup of canned eggnog and a slice of 3-year-old Claxton fruitcake -- and just as indigestible.
Lisa Ann Cockrel, Christianity Today
The movie is bland. Which is a crying shame when the source material has so much flavor.
Jackie K. Cooper, jackiekcooper.com
Not a great movie but it does have good likable actors playing good likable characters.
Jenna Busch, IGN Movies
Watching Leguizamo dance to the 'The Show' and compete in a 'who's got the bigger chainsaw/penis' contest was certainly funnier than Vince Vaughn in a short skirt or Reese Witherspoon trying to figure out how a breast pump works.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Everett J

nothing like a Latino Christmas movie in October:-) I've seen better, but I've seen a LOT worse("Surviving Christmas" anyone?)
Bruce B

A refreshing Christmas movie, without the trash that has recently been found in the newer Christmas movies. Luis Guzman has an outstanding performance in this movie. Shows the true feelings of a solider coming home and dealing with his emotions. What we have here is a Puerto Rican… More
A refreshing Christmas movie, without the trash that has recently been found in the newer Christmas movies. Luis Guzman has an outstanding performance in this movie. Shows the true feelings of a solider coming home and dealing with his emotions. What we have here is a Puerto Rican family celebrating a Christmas together. This one is worth getting and sitting back with open mind to enjoy. 4 1/2 stars from me. Merry Christmas
Ryan M

*** out of **** If one can get past the countless remakes, modernized adaptations, and clichéd love stories that tend to identify with most Christmas fare in the service of film; a film such as "Nothing Like the Holidays" might just come off as, oh I don't know,… More
*** out of **** If one can get past the countless remakes, modernized adaptations, and clichéd love stories that tend to identify with most Christmas fare in the service of film; a film such as "Nothing Like the Holidays" might just come off as, oh I don't know, refreshing. It's a good old fashion family comedy; taking place during the holidays and dealing with a very big family. And while this is, in theory, an ordinary family - how many recent Christmas films are composed of an almost all Latino cast? As one can predict, I'm about to dedicate an entire paragraph to naming the different members of the family; both by blood and extended. It mostly consists of parents, their kids (all of whom have grown up), and some long-time family friends. The parents are Edy (Alfred Molina) and Anna Rodriguez (Elizabeth Pena); the kids are Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez), actress Roxanne (Vanessa Ferlito), and Mauricio (John Leguizamo); the friends include Mauricio's wife Sarah (Debra Messing), thug-type Ozzy (Jay Hernandez), Jesse's ex-girlfriend Marissa(Melonie Diaz), and flamboyant joker Johnny (Luis Guzman). Jesse has just returned home from Iraq; and his family embraces him with open arms. Everyone is at home for the holidays; and it appears to have been a while since this has last happened. Once everyone has arrived, the great big family settles down for a nice dinner; which ends on a not-so-nice note. There are tensions and personal demons brought to the table amongst the good food; which will get in the way of the family's happiness throughout the story. There's a secret that father Edy feels he must keep, the possibility of a divorce for him and Anna, and some flawed relationships between other characters as well. But as you can probably tell, this is a Christmas comedy of warmth and heart; thus, everything will turn out for the best in the end. We know this - when walking in, at least - and if we're smart enough, we won't hold it against the film that it's as predictable as it is. Christmas movies almost always have to follow some sort of formula - especially when they're in the mainstream - nowadays, and "Nothing Like the Holidays" is one of the best holiday comedies I've seen in a long time. It may be sappy, but not in an annoying or preachy way. It's heartfelt, funny, and honest. For starters, the screenplay is smart; and it works, in part, because of the casting, which simply couldn't be any better. The actors get to be themselves in each individual role; and we sense that they are having fun with it all the way through. But then again, there are a few moments in the film meant to elicit some kind of emotion - perhaps one that is even, say, strong - so these performers are required to break free from the joy and develop into something more and something deeper, if only for a few moments. They are more than capable of doing so. The film is set in Chicago; a good choice of location for the story, I think. It gives the characters a lot to do, and some places to go, especially when certain ones (in particular) need some private time with a selected other. There's a wonderful scene where Roxanne and Ozzy go for a stroll at a local ice-rink; the conversation is heartfelt, the location is a perfect fit, and the atmosphere is warm enough to drown out the cold. There is indeed a surplus of other wonderful scenes to top it off in this movie; although it wouldn't do me much good to describe all - or any more - of them. I might lose some credibility. Think about why you go to Christmas movies in the first place. Do you go to simply watch the movie and bitch about it afterwards? Do you hate the predictability, the melodrama, and (gasp) even the warmth of the moment? If you're that sort of Grinch, then you won't find anything to like from this film; because it picks a narrative style and that is one of tradition. Sure, the film has its flaws - there are a lot of characters and therefore a lot of stories; some of them are better explored and fleshed-out than others - but that didn't stop me from accepting the fact that "Nothing Like the Holidays" is simply nothing like most of the other Christmas movies of recent. And if that, a great cast, smart dialogue, and a lot of heart aren't enough to truly satisfy you; then you've got a nigh incurable case of killjoy.
Jeff B

Every holiday season brings a selection of flicks calculated to give moviegoers a saccharine sweet viewing experience. More often than not, however, these forgettable lackluster efforts often seem earmarked for the discount bin of the local video store from the get-go. Try as it… More
Every holiday season brings a selection of flicks calculated to give moviegoers a saccharine sweet viewing experience. More often than not, however, these forgettable lackluster efforts often seem earmarked for the discount bin of the local video store from the get-go. Try as it might, the well-intentioned Nothing Like the Holidays cannot fight this fickle finger of fatalism. The casting rings perfectly but the story panders to so many clichés and stock characters that the audience will be feeling like they are experiencing holiday déjà vu all over again. Moviegoers will laugh, they will cry, and they just might sleep too. In this PG-13-rated dramedy, secrets are revealed and bonds put to the test when the far-flung Rodriguez family (Leguizamo, Rodriguez, et al) reunites in Chicago at Christmastime. The cast’s game players certainly invest a lot of verve into the film, which boosts its likeability tenfold. The ensemble-composed of John Leguizamo, Freddy Rodriguez, Jay Hernandez, Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Pena, Melonie Diaz, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Ferlito, and Debra Messing-give the project their all. This bullishness, however, does not stop the fact that John Q. Moviegoer has eaten this sort of fruitcake before—and countless times to boot. Personalities clash, revelations are made, love rears its head, and pratfalls ensue. The Hispanic infusion lends the material uniqueness, but the movie ultimately falters by shouldering each character (and filmgoer) with an axe to grind. The storyline involving Hernandez’s gun-toting vendetta will surely set eyes a-rolling. Still, if good intentions were gradable, the movie would get high marks. Bottom line: Nothing doing.
Nicolas K

A family drama, which has it's share of laughs and tear-jerking moments. Acting is good all around, even if I was watching it off season, I enjoyed it.
Yinalí R

So-so. Being so that I'm puertorican.
Remi L

It honestly felt like a [INSERT RACIAL/CULTURAL MINORITY HERE] family comedy/drama about the awkwardness of coming home to spend Christmas with the family. You could insert any race or culture you want and it wouldn't have felt new or refreshing. You have the… More
It honestly felt like a [INSERT RACIAL/CULTURAL MINORITY HERE] family comedy/drama about the awkwardness of coming home to spend Christmas with the family. You could insert any race or culture you want and it wouldn't have felt new or refreshing. You have the psychologically-screwed-up son coming home from war in Iraq (Freddie Rodriguez), the actress daughter who embellishes her success (Vanessa Ferlito), and of course the other son who is married to a woman of a different race/culture/religion and has no kids (John Leguizamo and Debra Messing). Then of course, there's the tension between the matriarch and patriarch. I was hoping this movie was going to be so much more than it was, but it felt kinda flaccid. I even thought Luis Guzman, who I love, would liven things up with random wisecracks, but they fell flat too. Everything about it was predictable, it brought nothing new to the table, which makes it all the more disappointing when you have hilarious comedians like Guzman and Leguizamo starring. Skip this one.
Leo L

Great holiday movie that centralizes around a close-knit family celebrating Christmas together. The Rodriguez family welcome the return of family member Jesse from his last tour, and the return of Roxanna (who has not returned in years). Mauricio and Sarah both being bombarded about… More
Great holiday movie that centralizes around a close-knit family celebrating Christmas together. The Rodriguez family welcome the return of family member Jesse from his last tour, and the return of Roxanna (who has not returned in years). Mauricio and Sarah both being bombarded about questions of whether children will arrive quickly or not. Filled with lots of drama, laughter, and an everlasting strong bond of familial ties. Great cast- Freddy Rodriguez, Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Peña, John Leguizamo, Jay Hernandez, Debra Messing, Vanessa Ferlito, Luiz Guzman, and Melonie Diaz. Worth seeing!
Erin C

I really liked this movie! I was pleasantly surprised. Good cast, and the family relationships felt real to me. Very cute!
Sarah P

It was okay to watch once, but I don't think I'd watch it again. There were a lot of talented people in the cast, but it was more like a lifetime movie - something entertaining to watch in passing.
Jason C

Wow. I didn't think I was going to like this movie, and although it's no Christmas classic, it was really good. Even with the family turmoil it came across as a positive type of movie. I never knew there were so many notable hispanic actors, and they put almost all of my… More
Wow. I didn't think I was going to like this movie, and although it's no Christmas classic, it was really good. Even with the family turmoil it came across as a positive type of movie. I never knew there were so many notable hispanic actors, and they put almost all of my favorites into this one movie.