Jacob (Wilmer Valderrama) and Abbie Randall (Lucy DeVito) have taken their 10-year-old Claire (Antonella Rose) on a sudden summer vacation to visit her grandfather Lawrance (Danny DeVito) at his hotel in Italy. The family usually makes this trip to the Dolomites every Christmas, so Claire is a little suspicious as to why they’re heading there in August. Lawrence is surprised but happy to see his daughter and granddaughter, but also wonders about the reason for the trip. Abbie reveals to her father that she and Jacob are planning to break up, and that they brought Claire to this place where she feels safe to cushion the blow when they deliver the news—and that they want him to be the one to do it. Claire doesn’t take the news well, and insists that if they’re not going to be together this upcoming Christmas, that they celebrate all of their usual holiday traditions now in August instead—and maybe that will remind her parents of why they should be together. But the first step is getting her other grandparents—Rose aka “Gams” (Andie MacDowell) and Mark (José Zúñiga)—to fly down for the celebration as well.
As Lawrence tries to give his granddaughter the Christmas celebration she wants, there is a lot of other chaos around the hotel to deal with as well. It turns out that other members of the family also have their own secrets they’re trying to hide, and as truths start to come out, things get a bit complicated, and Lawrence often finds himself stuck in the middle. Meanwhile, Lawrence must deal with the constant complaints from a wealthy annual guest who doesn’t appreciate the winter theme during his summer holiday. He has also agreed to help keep a guest with whom Mark has a history (Valeria Cavalli) from running into him or his wife. And he enlists the help of a priest to snoop to figure out why his daughter wants to break up with her husband. Helping Lawrence with all of this is his bumbling assistant Otto (Adrian Dunbar) “who came with the hotel”, a well-meaning man who doesn’t really pick up on social cues, and often says the wrong thing, getting Lawrence into trouble.
I was expecting A Sudden Case of Christmas to be more of a laugh-out-loud comedy, but there is also a lot of heart in addition to the humor, exploring themes of family, traditions, love, romance and relationships. The film has a bit of a Hallmark Holiday Movie feel to it, but that’s not meant in a negative way—we’re only in November and I’ve watched at least a dozen of those already this year! The film finds this perfect blend of humor, drama and holiday cheer. There are lots of different stories going on at the same time, but they are woven together in a way that feels natural, and all of their characters feel fleshed out.
Danny DeVito is a lot of fun in this role, acting as both the sweet, loving father/grandfather, and the comedically flustered guy trying to deal with all kinds of chaos. His real-life daughter plays his daughter in the film, and this adds an extra level of charm and chemistry to the characters and their relationship, which feels so natural and real. Antonella Rose, who plays 10-year-old Claire is so delightful, and we get some really fun moments early on as she meets up with her young friends she sees annually at the hotel&mdas;only to discover that things are a bit different in the summer. Claire is making documentary of her summer vacation for school, and provides some narration and commentary over this footage. Often stealing the scene is Adrian Dunbar as jack-of-all-trades (and master of none) Otto, who is hilarious—he sometimes reminded me of the oddball character Michael Richards played in Transylvania 6-5000. No matter what Lawrence needs—driver, piano player, server, front desk, etc&mmdash;it seems to be a part of Otto’s job. The rest of the brilliant cast, including the ever-lovable Andie MacDowell are also great. Each of the characters has some more dramatic element to their storyline as well as comedic moments, and all of these actors deliver on both.
The grand Italian mountainside hotel is a beautiful location for this romantic holiday tale, and even though the film is set in August, it really evokes the holiday spirit as the decorations come out and the family partakes in all of their annual traditions. With the holiday season underway, this is the perfect time to check out this film.
A Sudden Case Of Christmas opens in select theaters, digital and On Demand November 8, and arrives on DVD November 19. We were sent a watermarked digital screener for review. Since this doesn’t represent the quality of the final retail product, I won’t go into detail on the audio and video presentation of the release. I’m not sure if there will be any bonus material included on the digital release, but the DVD case lists a Trailer and a “Behind the Scenes of A Sudden Case Of Christmas Featuring Interviews With The Cast”. The featurette was not available to screen so I cannot comment on its contents.
What’s Included:
-
Digital specs may vary by platform/retailer.
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.35:1
- HDR10+
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English
Film: (1:31:45)
Extras:
-
The DVD case lists a Trailer and a “Behind the Scenes of A Sudden Case Of Christmas Featuring Interviews With The Cast”, but these don’t appear to be included in the digital release.
Final Thoughts:
A Sudden Case Of Christmas is an entertaining comedy/drama with a fun cast and a beautiful setting. It features a story that is both heartwarming and humorous, with some interesting twists and turns. The film is being released on 4K digital as well as DVD, but it looks like the bonus material may be limited to the physical release. A Sudden Case Of Christmas is certainly worth checking out this holiday season.
A Sudden Case of Christmas [DVD]
35% Off $22.98 $11.57 (as of December 16, 2024 12:07 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
A Sudden Case of Christmas
$7.99 (as of December 16, 2024 12:07 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
