Surviving Christmas

Rated PG-13

~It's tough being rich and handsome~

____

By Todd Karella
October 22, 2004

Another Christmas movie joins the hunt for box office success, just in time for the holiday--Halloween??
It's not easy being Drew (Ben Affleck), unbelievably wealthy and having a hot girlfriend. At least that's what the writers of this film want us to believe
I'm sure you can feel sympathetic by just reading this.
In order to make us feel for him, his

Instead of dealing with his girlfriend, he decides to try and invite himself over to Christmas dinner with everybody in his rolodex. Nobody wants him.   Okay. Now we feel a little sad for him, but just a little.
   After accosting his shrink at the airport for advice, he decides to go to the one place he was happy as a child and burn a piece of paper with a list of all of his problems in order to leave the past behind.
    The only problem is that there is a new family living in his childhood home, and when he's caught burning something on the front lawn by Tom (James Gandolfini) he finds himself clunked in the head with a snow shovel.

hot girlfriend (and did I mention super rich also?) won't go to Fiji with him and is furious that he won't open up to her and discuss his own family.

Once he awakens he has an epiphany: He can spend the holidays with the Valco family.
   Reluctant at first, Tom gives in when Drew offers to rent them for the holidays in return for $250,000.
   Drew is a major pain as he runs roughshod over the family forcing them to be joyful and filled with the Christmas spirit.
   Everything seems to be

The Valco's daughter Alicia (Christina Applegate) suddenly shows up, and she's not happy with the arrangement. Since Drew never had a sister, she gets to be Consuela the maid.
As the two battle it out with one another, they find themselves becoming attracted to each other as well. A plot point that only a blind man couldn't see coming.
While the Valco's continue to play along, Drew finds out that the Valco's aren't the happy family that they first appeared to be. Tom and his wife Christine (Catherine O'Hara) are having marital troubles,

back on track and bring them together once again.
There are many Christmas films made every year. Some are great, some are terrible and some just fall right in the middle. While there are some truly funny parts, overall it ends up as one of those smack dab in the middle.

and their son Brian (Josh Zuckerman) won't even leave his bedroom.
Everything falls apart when Drew's girlfriend shows up at the house with her parents. But since it's a Christmas film we know

A traditional Christmas greeting

moving along as planned when a wrench is suddenly thrown into the works.

I'm freakin' Santa Claus

Drew-Ben Affleck

Drew gets a kidney for Christmas

Drew smells something bad

Alicia makes her plea to be the tree topper

everything will work out fine in the end.
Using his over-bearing personality and what he considers charm, Drew manages to get the family