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Surviving Christmas (2004)
Director: Mike Mitchell
Movie review
From Time Out London
At what moment, exactly, did Ben Affleck strip himself of all credibility? Was it back in 1998, after the open-bloused beefcake GQ cover? Was it the flabbergasting scene in the ‘Jenny from the Block’ video where he kissed J-Lo’s ass? Was it ‘Jersey Girl’ in its entirety? Troubled BenWatch constituents may take heart that at some point all this bad luck and worse judgement may transform itself into a little watchable pathos, but that day has not arrived in time for ‘Surviving Christmas’. Shallow ad exec Affleck, afraid to spend Yuletide alone after his shrill girlfriend dumps him, returns to his childhood home and offers a cool $250,000 to the Grinchy couple now in residence (James Gandolfini and Catherine O’Hara). The result has all the sophistication of a frat-house improv show after the keg’s been kicked. The moral is that money can indeed buy happiness.Author: JWin
Time Out London Issue 1789: December 01-08 2004
Cast & crew
Director: Mike Mitchell
Producer: Jenno Topping, Betty Thomas
Cast: Ben Affleck, Christina Applegate, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Macy, Josh Zuckerman, Jennifer Morrison full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: 12A
Duration: 91 mins
UK Release: Dec 3 2004
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