Christmas Eve

As the message boards and the limited reviews have been somewhat merciless on this good-but-not-great movie, I feel duty bound to write a few good words. I decided to invest a small amount of money on the film, because I was curious how James Roday would do outside of 'Psych' (which I have generally liked). But I had a pretty good experience watching the movie. Critical and audience reaction doubtless has reflected the fact that it is not a comedy, nor is it particularly warm (!). The writer-director (I believe) wanted to discuss a number of large life issues. (The movie actually might have worked better on some ordinary day, as very few of the subplots actually resolve with reference to the holiday). Some of these are successful, some not. I particularly enjoyed the musicians in the elevator, and also doctors and patient. The scene with the five millenials (flaky girls, know-it-all, docent, and body builder) worked. So did the duo of Jon Heder and Max Casella. The solo of Patrick Stewart and the James Roday (sigh) did not work so well. All that said, however, the different reactions of the trapped groups was interesting and dramatic. The critics' views that they are all unlikable is Grinch stuff. The reveals of the interconnections among them (done with some subtlety) were the script at its best. All in all, a sort of Ship of Fools movie that ultimately worked, maybe because the formula is so strong. The critics and some of our acerbic friends on this site are way too negative.

I'm secular but usually get into the holiday spirit just out of habit (my family and several friends celebrate Xmas, and hey, there's no work on the 25th), so I figured why not watch a dramedy with Patrick Stewart? The movie is not terrible. The ending ties characters from different elevators together, so that's a plus. If anything good can be said about the film, it's that you dislike most of the characters less by the end, even the two who were written to be the most unlikable (played by Margaret Clunie and Roxanne Cook). Christmas Eve is a "White Christmas" in more ways than one: outside it's snowy, and 95% of the actors are white (which is almost demographically impossible for 6 random elevators in NYC). The token black dude plays a semi-imbecile (sembecile?) who figures it wouldn't be in the holiday spirit to urinate when trapped in an elevator. The token Hispanic dude is the one who causes the power outage in the first 5 minutes thanks to his Virgin Mary statuette dropping off the dashboard of his van (I am not making that up). Patrick Stewart enjoyed his role as a Scroogy billionaire a little too much, perhaps due to his off-screen socialist leanings. The cardinal sin (no pun intended) of Christmas Eve is the sick patient demanding that the atheist/agnostic physician pray for her. As someone who knows many physicians: Please, if you are religious, don't cow a secular doctor into this even if you have a poor prognosis and are trapped in an elevator. While it shouldn't've surprised me that the Virgin Mary statuette was also part of the ending (and was the subliminal instigator of events), I was nonetheless hoping for a little less religious silliness. Bill O'Reilly would probably endorse this flick as part of his waging war against the theoretical War on Xmas, and for that reason and those stated above, I will not endorse this flick (at risk of being shunned as a Grinch).

I really liked this movie. It has been getting torn apart by critics, but I tend to be member of the Birdman train of thought about Critics, "A man becomes a critic when he cannot be an artist…" This film isn't pretentious, nor is it trying to be anything it isn't. It is a thoughtful and goofy Christmas movie. If you feel like you need a laugh, you will find many in this movie. Highlights of the movie for me: -It is refreshing to see James Roday in something that isn't Psych. He does a great job being the most endearing creep there ever was. By the end of the film you feel really bad for him! -Jon Heder and Max Casella's elevator was just delightful. There is nothing more awkward then running into an old boss, especially one that has just fired you. Now imagine being stuck with that guy overnight, in a cramped elevator. They both handle the arc of their relationship well. Jon Heder does a great job at not being the abnormal nerd, but a character with distinguishable layers. -The film bears an overall message of the interconnectedness of us all, and how we need to slow down to see it. Cons for me: -A little more Roday would have been nice. Can we have a film just about his character? I mean he works at a morgue how cool is that. I will be seeing this again! Soon! P.S. Watch this movie with people, it's one of those movies that is better in a group of people, not locked away in a dark closet with your laptop.

source: Christmas Eve

My wife ordered this based on reading reviews in IMDb, which I had always suggested is a good idea. Apparently she read only the first review, which gave it high marks. She did not notice the average rating, which was quite a bit lower. In addition to transparent characters, a predictable plot, and a disappointing ending which left lots of loose ends, it was clear that the script was not given any technical scrutiny. At the beginning of the movie, a single vehicle takes out a single ground-based transformer and wipes out the power for Manhattan. That can't happen. The fire department comes and cannot remove the van because it has become an electrical conductor which is supplying power to the only thing holding up all of the stuck elevators in the city. The most important quality of the elevator, which opened the door to building skyscrapers, is that the braking system, developed by the Otis Elevator Company, has fail-safe, mechanical brakes. They fail only if that part of the building is destroyed. But there's more... Although the van mysteriously supplies power to "elevator brakes," it also apparently supplies power to brilliantly light up all of the elevators in the plot. If, OTOH, the backup power system in (for example) the hospital is working, the elevators would be powered. And then there was the construction elevator, located outside of a building, which now traps a single passenger. This elevator seems rather clumsily built, in that if one leans on the door, it falls off, and you fall out, but you can hang on and climb back in if you're lucky. Still, it is temperamental. If you yell too much, it drops several floors and slams to a stop, warning you that something, somewhere, is angry with you. This elevator finally brings its passenger to tears, who finally regrets all of the horrible things he did. But was I warmed by the courageous woman who recovers from heart surgery in an elevator full of strangers, only to be told by her surgeon, right then, that she as a month to live? Well, she got over it in a few minutes, took control of the situation, and convinced the atheistic surgeon to lead the elevator in prayer, asking God if he could maybe do something. The dying woman was already getting snarky, goading the atheist to perfect his praying. Snarky and smiling, she finally let him finish. Really? Watching this movie was like buying a car. The more time you have invested, the more want to just get it over with. Too much time invested to go to the next car dealer...or movie. I voted this the worst movie my wife has ever picked. So far.

This is quite a quick and nice movie and quite a clever idea not really a story to tell just a moment in time where 6 groups of people are stuck in a lift during a power outage on Christmas eve. Time is spent with every stuck lift over the space of the film giving us a little insight into who they are and with a nice little connection at the end.

Watch this movie before you read some of the moronic reviews below. They are filled with racists and people complaining about racism and those who clearly need the plot spelt out for them. People look for all the flaws instead of enjoying a movie and I feel sad for their lives Over-all good but not great. it is deff, feel good but leaves questions at the end. 6.4

Christmas Eve is a light, charming Christmas movie. It works mainly because of all the talented actors involved. (You can look at the IMDb listing to see who they all are.) The plot involves different groups of people being stuck on elevators in New York City for several hours on Christmas Eve. We get to know the people and see how they react to missing their Christmas Eve plans. I didn't really care for a couple of the groups, mainly the hospital elevator and the group of musicians. However, the elevator with James Roday and a neighbor was especially sweet and touching. And I would just like to hang out with the people in the mall elevator! Give this a try if you're looking for a sweet Christmas movie to watch.

I was surprised to read that critics initially panned this movie. I saw it on cable and found it amusing, entertaining, touching, inspiring and intellectually stimulating. I was quickly involved in the plot and the off-beat characters and remained engrossed through the end. Even after the movie was over, I continued to worry a about the fate of some of the characters: What happened to the woman with the fatal ailment? Did she end up telling her husband that she was going to die? I suspect that one reason that critics underestimated this film is that it is different. For example, the humor is not slapstick or laugh-out-loud hysterical. Instead, it is quirky, droll and subtle. Another reason that critics may have been put off is the fact that the story seems more appropriate for a stage play rather than for a movie. The action is mostly confined to the interiors of a series of stuck elevators. Hence, there is not much physical activity. Because the setting is static, the movie, naturally, is talky---something that is not to everyone's taste. This movie has been under-appreciated. As more people are exposed to it on cable, I suspect that it will grow into a cult classic.

I'm secular but usually get into the holiday spirit just out of habit (my family and several friends celebrate Xmas, and hey, there's no work on the 25th), so I figured why not watch a dramedy with Patrick Stewart? The movie is not terrible. The ending ties characters from different elevators together, so that's a plus. If anything good can be said about the film, it's that you dislike most of the characters less by the end, even the two who were written to be the most unlikable (played by Margaret Clunie and Roxanne Cook). Christmas Eve is a "White Christmas" in more ways than one: outside it's snowy, and 95% of the actors are white (which is almost demographically impossible for 6 random elevators in NYC). The token black dude plays a semi-imbecile (sembecile?) who figures it wouldn't be in the holiday spirit to urinate when trapped in an elevator. The token Hispanic dude is the one who causes the power outage in the first 5 minutes thanks to his Virgin Mary statuette dropping off the dashboard of his van (I am not making that up). Patrick Stewart enjoyed his role as a Scroogy billionaire a little too much, perhaps due to his off-screen socialist leanings. The cardinal sin (no pun intended) of Christmas Eve is the sick patient demanding that the atheist/agnostic physician pray for her. As someone who knows many physicians: Please, if you are religious, don't cow a secular doctor into this even if you have a poor prognosis and are trapped in an elevator. While it shouldn't've surprised me that the Virgin Mary statuette was also part of the ending (and was the subliminal instigator of events), I was nonetheless hoping for a little less religious silliness. Bill O'Reilly would probably endorse this flick as part of his waging war against the theoretical War on Xmas, and for that reason and those stated above, I will not endorse this flick (at risk of being shunned as a Grinch).