Oh. What. Fun.
All-star cast featuring Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and relative newcomer Dominic Sessa as The Clauster Family who come together to celebrate Christmas. Oh whoops, it also stars the iconic Michelle Pfeiffer as Claire Clauster aka Mom. And like the introduction here, that’s the premise of the story — the mom, you know, the one who holds it all together, especially come Christmas time, becomes an afterthought. Sound familiar to all of the moms out there? All Claire wants for Christmas is to be make it onto the day time talk show for the ladies — Zazzy Tims, hosted by the lovely Eva Longoria. Is that too much to ask? There is one caveat: you need to be nominated as a "Holiday Mom." Will the Clauster family nominate Mom so she gets the recognition she deserves? You have to watch to find out.
The movie is absurd, but my kind of absurd. It’s an original directed and co-written by Michael Showalter who has a history of smart, funny, and weird storytelling that he crafted in sketch comedy shows and it shows – as each family member plays a weird version of Showalter that left me wanting more Clauster family adventures.
This film is best paired over the holidays with baked goods and family. And when you do watch, be sure to ask your mom or any mom to watch with you. If you forget, may Santa have mercy on you!
Rating: 9 out of 10 Belly Laughs.
