Fresh and Exciting

As Good As It Gets

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Where do I get my 2 hours back? Total waste of time. Maybe if you are Puerto Rican you will find it charming, but I wouldn't care even if they were Italian ( which I am ). "Nothing" happens that you can't see coming, except maybe that the villain offers to be killed without a fight. But of course he is not gunned down because that would ruin the light hearted "gag" fun of the movie. Here's lots of spoilers that you might as well read since you will be hoping something different happens. The war hero .....isn't Dad isn't having an affair, but he has cancer which he was able to keep secret from everyone including Mother, until the "white" daughter in-law sees his pain. Mom is unhappy and wants a divorce until she finds out Dad has cancer. The "hollywood star" daughter isn't a star. The "white" daughter in-law chooses career over family until the end of the movie when she suddenly wants to "start trying now" to get pregnant. The bumper rips off the car when trying to pull down the tree. I could go on but you get the picture.

Holiday movies usually put a smile on your face or tears in your eyes. I'm afraid that very little of this movie impressed me. It is worth your try to relate with it. The scattered members of the Rodriquez family make their way home to their parent's house in west Chicago. Not only to celebrate Christmas, but also to welcome the youngest brother home from the war. Like any other large family gathering for a holiday...old arguments resurface, plus new surprises stretch the bonds of the entire family. The trailer led me to believe I would double over laughing...I didn't. But that doesn't mean you won't have your heart warmed and end up with that 'fuzzy' feeling.Except for Debra Messing, there is a Latino all-star cast: John Leguizamo, Freddy Rodriguez, Alfred Molina, Luis Guzman, Jay Hernandez and one of my favorites, Elizabeth Pena.

finally a movie is made about my home place in chicago.i was born and rise in humbolt park until left for puerto rico in 2002..the movie was wonderful,only two soft part..the Christmas neighborhood gathering singing thru out the area is long history but it was a touch..the part of a brother's revenge against a gang member is too soft.gangs don't go to soft in humbolt park..yes,puerto rican family are nice in humbolt park back in the old days but as violent took over in the mid 70's puerto rican are not as nicely as this movie show..but it's nice that humbolt park was done in a nice and lovely way and kept the violent ways that it is today..in just like the other ricans movie,i like it like that..that also make the puerto rican a group of people with heart and let's not forget west side story'' nothing like the holiday bring a lot of joys and tears into eyes as i see my homeplace turn into a romance,comedy and heart warm and the traditional puerto rican food in west chicago...i give it a 9 for showing the whole world how great we are in a very hard place to be happy..

It's a shame that most people probably will skip this film - because it's a good holiday film with a good message behind it. While you have films like Four Christmases out that are the same romcom you've seen 38 times in holiday format, Nothing Like The Holidays brings the audience together as one for a good family experience.NLTH boasts a great ensemble cast that really makes things work well, as each character is unique and genuinely interesting. I especially enjoyed the work from Freddy Rodriguez and Alfred Molina. Elizabeth Pena provides a great balance of comedy and drama as the matriarch of the family. Her role looked like a great role to play for any actress, as she got to be funny, as well as at the dramatic center of the movie. Debra Messing was also noteworthy and great.NLTH is a holiday movie (really, Spy, I had no idea), so it plays out as such. However, this is okay, because the script is original and tugs at you emotionally, always reminding the viewer of the importance of a strong family bond. There's a nice little twist in the end that pretty much explains everything that's gone on and ends the movie nicely, happily, and joyfully. You'll no doubt leave the theater a little more cheerful once you see this film.During the holiday season, Nothing Like The Holidays is a great movie to watch with your family, as you'll see some stuff you can relate to, and some stuff you can laugh at. It's a fun time for everyone, and the first truly original holiday movie to come around in the last few years. Kudos to everyone involved.