Surviving Christmas

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2:15

Surviving Christmas

PG-13

Released Oct 22, 2004

1h 30m

Holiday

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

8%

Tomatometer

116 Reviews

30%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A wealthy executive, Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) has no close relationships and becomes nostalgic for his childhood home as Christmas approaches. When he visits the house and finds another family living there, he offers the residents, Tom Valco (James Gandolfini) and his wife, Christine (Catherine O'Hara), a large sum of money to pretend they are his parents. Soon Drew tests the couple's patience, and, when their daughter, Alicia (Christina Applegate), arrives, things get increasingly tense.

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Critics Consensus

Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

You'll be lucky if you survive this dumb movie.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 28, 2010

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Pique on earth and ill will toward men permeate this mirthless comedy.

Mar 5, 2007

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David Germain

Associated Press

The 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.

Mar 5, 2007

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...erratic yet mostly watchable...

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 31, 2021

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Eddie Harrison

The List

Tasteless, miserable and utterly flaccid, Surviving Christmas truly lives up to its reputation as the last turkey in the shop.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 23, 2019

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

In 2003, moviegoers received a gift in the form of Bad Santa; the following year, they got a lump of coal in the shape of a Bad Movie.

Rated: 1.5/4

Dec 29, 2018

Full Review

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J M

This was a really tough watch - and with a 7% Rotten Tomatoes rating, I'm happy not to be in the minority for once. There is nothing more painful than watching an actor TRY to be funny - and fail. Poor Affleck. At least he was having a good hair day. And being surrounded by more adept comedic performers doesn't help matters, although no one, including my beloved Catherine O'Hara, manages to remain unscathed. The romantic storyline between Affleck and Applegate is appalling and makes me want to re-evaluate my smart aleck Hallmark remarks. A plot line involving a young teenager's porn addiction seems gratuitous and in poor taste. And even though I'm seemingly full of negatives, I didn't HATE it as much as I have some other holiday films. I'll settle for a strong dislike. Although wasting a comic genius like O'Hara should be grounds for cinematic assault charges. - Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger (Facebook)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

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Eye C

The stupidest premise of all, but at the end, the performances of Gandolfini and O'Hara saves the movie. Entertaining and funny, but Affleck doesn't makes a good job,

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Bri C

We've made it a tradition to watch this movie every Christmas. It's a fun watch for us and Catherine O'Hara is fantastic!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

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Narciso R

The only reason why I gave it 2 stars is because Gandolfini was great. Affleck was his usual self, worst batman EVER. NRJ.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

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Beth Y

I don't understand why this movie gets such a bad rap? It's great! It's on the list every year of our must see holidays movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

Uzma M

I cant believe James Gandolfini agreed to be part of this tripe.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/01/24

Full Review

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Mike Mitchell

Director

Ben Affleck

Drew Latham

James Gandolfini

Tom Valco

Christina Applegate

Alicia Valco

Catherine O'Hara

Christine Valco

Josh Zuckerman

Brian Valco

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Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Who Are You Renting For New Year's?

1:57

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Worst Christmas Ever

2:10

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Role Playing

2:11

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - A Lifetime of Lonely Christmases

2:04

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - There Was No Real Family

2:11

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Fiji Time

2:13

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Contractually Obliged

2:05

Surviving Christmas: Official Clip - Burning My Grievances

2:10

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Surviving Christmas: Trailer 1

2:15

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Synopsis

A wealthy executive, Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) has no close relationships and becomes nostalgic for his childhood home as Christmas approaches. When he visits the house and finds another family living there, he offers the residents, Tom Valco (James Gandolfini) and his wife, Christine (Catherine O'Hara), a large sum of money to pretend they are his parents. Soon Drew tests the couple's patience, and, when their daughter, Alicia (Christina Applegate), arrives, things get increasingly tense.

Director: Mike Mitchell
Producer: Betty Thomas, Jenno Topping
Screenwriter: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG
Production Co: DreamWorks SKG
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Brief Drug References|Sexual Content)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $11.2M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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