Surviving Christmas (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:108
Fresh:8
Rotten:100
Average Rating:3/10
Consensus: Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck ("Good Will Hunting"), Emmy winner James Gandolfini (TV’s "The Sopranos") and Christina Applegate ("View From the Top," TV’s "Married With Children") star in the... [More]
Starring: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara
Director: Mike Mitchell
Reviews for Surviving Christmas
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
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The moral is that money can indeed buy happiness. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Despite the talent involved, this fails to raise so much as a smile, let alone laughs and Christmas cheer. Full Review |
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1/5 |
A colossal turkey. Full Review |
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1/5 |
All that's vaguely funny or Christmassy about this are the sweaty beads of desperation which string together like fairy-lights across Affleck's forehead as he hammers out one lame gag after another. Full Review |
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1/5 |
The premise has potential, as does the casting, but the script is so mind-numbingly lazy that it insults its audience at every turn. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
Ben Affleck needs to stop making movies. Full Review |
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Pique on earth and ill will toward men permeate this mirthless comedy. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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You may not survive watching it. Full Review |
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1/5 |
If you thought the Ron Howard Grinch movie was the worst excuse for a holiday movie in recent memory, then look out: this one’s worse. Full Review |
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1.5 |
Surviving Christmas can’t decide whether it wants to be naughty or nice and the end result is a sometime funny story, but with a severe multiple personality disorder . Full Review |
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Affleck gives one of the clammiest, most panicked performances I've ever seen. The movie is drenched in his flop-sweat. Full Review |
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With the release of this wretched film, star Ben Affleck takes one more ragged step in what seems his death march from leading man to celebrity game show guest. Full Review |
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.5/4 |
Easily the worst Christmas movie of all time, and a surefire contender for the worst film of 2004. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Ben Affleck's Christmas "comedy" is a misfire under the mistletoe, even with a germ of a classic tale hidden under the ugly wrapping. Full Review |
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2/4 |
Watching this holiday dud is like opening a fantastic Christmas present -- a gift that is exactly what you wanted and that, shortly thereafter, unravels, breaks, or otherwise falls apart. Full Review |
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Survive this movie and Christmas will be a breeze. Full Review |
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The desperation apparent in Affleck's bug-eyed attempts at whimsy may be the most uncomfortable aspect of Surviving Christmas. Full Review |
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D- |
Can’t decide whether it wants to be dark or merry, and it bungles nearly every attempt at doing either. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Affleck may finally have found a use for his obnoxious personality, because Drew is amazingly annoying. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Surviving Christmas
October 17, 2007:
Total Recall: Ben (Affleck's) Bits
In Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck directs younger brother Casey in a mystery surrounding the case of a missing Boston girl. In the spirit of Total Recall, we decided to take a look... More...
March 12, 2007:
Ben Affleck Goes Straight to Video With "Man About Town"
Okay, we all knew Ben Affleck was having some problems, and earned a few Razzie nominations several years in a row, but he's still a movie star. Could it really have gotten to... More...
December 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: A Sly "Family Stone," A Towering "Kong"
This week at the movies, we have a giant ape {"King Kong"} and some yuletide dramedy ("The Family Stone"). Will the critics go bananas for these flicks? More...
October 25, 2005:
"Sky High" Director to Helm "Claus" Comedy
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a new holiday-themed comedy from Mike Mitchell, director of "Sky High." It's about Santa's disgruntled older brother, and it's... More...
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