What I need is some Christmas Survival (2018).  Not the movie I am about to review.  That is rubbish.  Instead, what I need is the fortitude to get through the rest of these films.  Today’s example has a few things going for it over its legion of cinematic cousins.  First and foremost, it is not a romantic comedy.  The laughs it generates are of the disaster variety.  Having had my share of family mishaps around the holidays, I can appreciate them being played for laughs rather than the usual heartache that comes with these instances.  From a Catholic perspective, there is one moment when they are in a church on Christmas Eve singing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”  It is fleeting, but something.  The rest is a pointless string of stress inducing, Yuletide shenanigans that comes to an end at a little over an hour and a half.

Those shenanigans begin with a literal drip in Christmas Survival as the ceiling over Dan (Julian Ovenden) and Miranda’s (Gemma Whelan) bed is leaking water.  It is Christmas Eve, so not an ideal day for this to be happening.  Making matters worse is the fact that their ancient English countryside fixer-upper is about to be stuffed with several family members coming to stay for the holidays.  There are a lot of them, and they will be introduced as needed.  Further, Dan is about to leave for London to do his typical last-minute shopping, which means she will be on her own to make preparations around the house.  This might appear cruel, but he is also going into town to visit his marijuana addicted son, Harry (Jonas Moore), from his previous marriage to Miriam (Sally Phillips).  While on these errands, he also picks up Aunt Peggy (Patricia Hodge) to bring her out to Miranda’s childhood estate.  I put it in such terms because Miranda’s sister, Lyla (Joely Richardson), comes to the mansion while Dan is away.  Lyla is an actress in the United States, and has come with her agent/husband Trent (Michael Landes), and their two children.  As such, they are used to a certain kind of lifestyle that is at odds with the rustic setting.  Others get there as well, including Vicky (Ronni Ancona), Dan’s sister, but they are all waiting on Dan.  He arrives with Aunt Peggy with their Christmas Eve party in full swing and with the liquor flowing.  Much of this is owing to the Polish laborers that have being working on the house.  That night, Dan and Trent argue about the amount of presents that are being handed out between the modest haul from Dan, and the larger bag of presents from the wealthier Trent.  However, there are bigger problems.  Much of this is coming from Lyla and Trent.  For one thing, Trent is an alcoholic and is unfaithful to Lyla, having tried a couple of times to make out with Vicky.  Another is Lyla.  When her and Miranda had inherited their parents’ will, the house had gone to Miranda and the investments to Lyla.  Yet, with their Uncle John (James Fox) present to explain things better, Lyla claims that the money had been poorly used and she is close to being bankrupt.  With the prospects of the show on which she is working being renewed looking bleak, not to mention Trent’s behavior, Lyla is desperate for more money.  As such, she requests that Miranda sell their childhood home despite all the work Dan and his wife have put into it.  Speaking of Dan, as this argument is brewing, he is once again in London to exchange gifts with Harry.  While there, it is apparent that the young man has overdosed on something, forcing Dan to take his son to check into a rehabilitation clinic.  Upon returning home, Dan must deal with the disapprobation of the family, who are forced to eat a butchered turkey that Miranda had to cook in an outdoor oven when the gas cuts out.  Look, this is what this movie is: one crazy event after another, hence the title.  Describing it all would be as exhausting as it is to watch it.  Hence, I am going to paraphrase a little more.  The day following Christmas is boxing day, and the residents of the house take part in the traditional soccer match against the neighboring village.  Harry, who had escaped the clinic, joins in.  However, he becomes enamored of Soon (Jade Ma), an exchange student staying with Lyla and Trent in the hopes that it will improve the chances for a film deal for Lyla.  Miriam shows up at the house not long thereafter and, to her horror, catches Harry smoking more weed.  As such, he disappears to the roof where Soon eventually finds him, and there they form their bond while talking via FaceTime with her family.  While Soon’s little sister is thrilled by the conversation, her parents are less so.  Thus, since they happen to be in London, they drive to the countryside to collect Soon and tell Trent that any potential deal has been canceled.  Remarkably, this comes on the heels of a small Christmas miracle.  Just prior to the arrival of Soon’s parents, Trent had learned that Lyla’s show had been renewed.  This means that Lyla does not need the money, solving any kind of argument with Miranda.  At the same time, Trent declares his love for his wife, vowing to enter rehab when they return to the United States.  Since he seems to be in the giving spirit, he also offers to have Harry come with him.  As such, everyone begins to depart and Dan and Miranda finally get a moment to be alone, until the ceiling completely caves in from the leak.

With that cave in, Christmas Survival comes full circle.  It is a circle that Dan dreads, but this is less about things breaking in the house and more about the holiday.  His main complaint is the stress of it all, and I cannot blame him.  As I mentioned in the introduction, I have seen my share of awful arguments between family members, making me almost have the same feeling about Christmas as Dan.  What keeps me going is the knowledge that without that day, I would not be saved.  That is the best reason to celebrate.  Nonetheless, there are some other thoughts offered about this momentous day that are worth analyzing from a Faith perspective.  One of the characters gives a more general thesis that people hate out of inadequacy.  We see this in the tension between Dan and Trent as they pass out gifts on Christmas Eve.  It becomes a tense discussion between Dan, Lyla, Miranda, and Trent as to whether Trent should hold back on some of the gifts in order to not make Dan and Miranda’s kids seem like their parents love them less.  This is another reason for why the way we celebrate Christmas anymore is out of whack.  To be sure, we are all fallen people who are only capable of imperfect love.  Showing love through material items is imperfect.  This is on full display throughout the movie.  While there is some basis for wanting the young ones to appear to have an equal share, the fact that there is a conversation about the distribution of presents shows that the priorities of the season are misaligned.  When the Magi brought their offerings to Jesus, He did not offer them something physical in return.  His presence was enough, and this should be the best part of getting together with our loved ones on Christmas.  Everything else is immaterial.

Speaking of being “immaterial,” please comment below if you caught a plot to Christmas Survival during my discussion of it.  I certainly did not notice one while I was watching it.  Between that and some other adult situations, I would recommend passing on this one.