Themes: Nothing Goes Right, Suburban Dysfunction, Family Gatherings
Main Cast: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Josh Zuckerman
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Bill Macy - Doo-Dah; Jennifer Morrison - Missy Vangilder; Udo Kier - Heinrich; David Selby - Horace Vanglider; Stephanie Faracy - Letitia Vanglider; Stephen Root - Dr. Freeman; Sy Richardson - Doo-Dah Understudy; Tangie Ambrose - Kathryn; John 'BJ' Bryant - Cabbie; Peter Jason - Suit; Phill Lewis - Levine The Lawyer; Tumbleweed - Santa; Kate Hendrickson - Santa's Photographer; Bridgette Ho - Five Year Old; Hailey Johnson - Little Girl; Sean Marquette - Older Brother; Caitlin Fein - Freeman Twins; Amanda Fein - Freeman Twins; Kent Osborne - Marley; Bill Saito - Christmas Past; Michael Patrick Bell - Christmas Present; Amy Halloran - Fanny; Joshua Siegel - Young Scrooge; K. Troy Zestos - Chad; Sonya Eddy - Security Lady; Bernard Smalls - Security Man; Ron Karabatsos - Deli Man; Wynn Irwin - Customer; Angela Gacad - Cute Girl At Play; Tom Kenny - Man Wrapping Gift; Joan Blair - Lonely Lady; John Carter Brown - Depressed Donator; William Thomas - Choir Director; Karen Furno - Choir; Linda Kerns - Choir; Cynthia Marty - Choir; Melanie Taylor - Choir; Precious McCall - Choir; Anika Noni Rose - Choir; David Atkinson - Choir; Reynaldo Duran - Choir; Michael Kosik - Choir; Jon Simanton - Elf; Allison Queal - Elf; Kacie Borrowman - Elf; Alex Désert
Credit
Sue Chan - Art Director, Erin Stam - Associate Producer, Jeanne McCarthy - Casting, Juel Bestrop - Casting, Mary Jane Fort - Costume Designer, Josh King - First Assistant Director, Mike Mitchell - Director, Doug Coleman - Second Unit Director, Craig McKay - Editor, Patricia Whitcher - Executive Producer, Randy Edelman - Composer (Music Score), Mary Ramos - Musical Direction/Supervision, Michelle Silverman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Caroline Hanania - Production Designer, Peter Lyons Collister - Cinematographer, Tom Priestley Jr. - Cinematographer, Betty Thomas - Producer, Jenno Topping - Producer, Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer, J.Paul Huntsman - Sound Editor, Doug Coleman - Stunts Coordinator, Harry Elfont - Screen Story, Deborah Kaplan - Screen Story, Harry Elfont - Screenwriter, Deborah Kaplan - Screenwriter, Josh Sternin - Screenwriter, Jeff Ventimilia - Screenwriter, Lisa Fischer - Set Decorator
Surviving Christmas is a 2004 comedy film, directed by Mike Mitchell and starring Ben Affleck. Despite being a Christmas movie, DreamWorks SKG released the movie towards the end of October. This was due to it being advanced from December 2003 to avoid clashing with Affleck's other film, Paycheck (a co-production of DreamWorks and its current sister studio Paramount Pictures). The movie had negative reviews and was a box office failure. It was released on DVD on December 21st, 2004, the same year it had its theatrical release.
Drew Latham is a wealthy advertising executive, driven by money, which results in him living a shallow, pointless life. After being dumped by his girlfriend, he faces the prospect of another Christmas alone, so he decides to visit his childhood home to rekindle his old holiday memories. Once there, he discovers that the house is now owned by another family, the Valcos. Not to be deterred, Latham offers them $250,000 if they will allow him to spend Christmas with them and pretend to be a member of their family. They accept and then have to put up with his annoying insistence upon doing traditional Christmas activities. After awhile, Latham starts to care about the Valcos, and he attempts to repair their marriage. He also develops an attraction for the Valcos's 'daughter.'
