Emily Keeter First, let me say, this is the best Christmas movie I've seen in a long time. While the idea behind it seems to be a stereotypical Hallmark Christmas movie, the movie addresses the issues in a decidedly non- Hallmark way. It doesn't just resolve with everyone forgiving each other because of "Christmas Magic" and it doesn't treat serious issues in a heavy handed way.While it has plenty of comedic moments, you shouldn't consider it a comedy. If you do, then it fails because, while the antics of the characters are pretty funny, it isn't a fall-off-your-seat-laughing sort of movie. It is a genuinely good movie about a dysfunctional family, children questioning the magic of the world, and a father who is desperately trying to be a better dad than his was.It is extremely well written and the performances by Joel McHale, Lauren Graham, Candice Bergen, and (of course) Robin Williams make this movie a must see for any Christmas or Robin Williams fans.

Simply-Red ***contains very slight spoilers*** I don't know what to say about the exasperated haters of this movie, so I'll just explain the movie…and life… This movie is rated PG. The Motion Picture Association of America created the ratings in response to people's desire to look at a simple rating to quickly determine if a movie is suitable for children…or tender little sensitive adult minds.The MPAA rating PG is stated as: Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give "parental guidance". May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.If you want all puppies and perfect Christmas fantasies/stories you should stick with G-rated movies and the Hallmark Channel where all the movies are nearly exactly the same…and safe for the sensitive.Christmas is not all mulled cider, puppies under the tree and red rider BB guns to everyone. For a lot of people, Christmas brings apprehension, family arguments and even depression and big let downs. People are so sensitive to having their little "Christmas Bubble" burst, that if they encounter negativity they want to plug their ears and yell…la la la la la… so they don't have to be exposed to it. When you set expectations so high, you are bound to be disappointed…that's life.That's life…this is the movie: This flick covers the not so perfect…perfection in the end. It's is a harsh, stark reality blast that culminates in a good ending with lessons learned. It's not a feel good move and the comedy is built deep in to the depression and dysfunction.The movie has most of the usual suspects, the bah humbug old man, the kids that already know Santa was a lie all along and the one young boy that still desperately wants to believe in Santa and the dad that desperately wants to provide that Santa for him because HIS dad squashed the idea of Santa for him at a young age.Through all the dysfunction, there is a deeper lesson learned and a reconciliation between a dad and son's long time difficult relationship. The grumpy dad learns a harsh but good lesson in the end.It really is a decent flick and very fitting for Robin Williams' last contribution. Everybody wants to remember him as that nutsy zany character with way too much energy. But, it turns out, like a lot of entertainers, that happy, crazy exterior concealed a dark depression within…and we all know he eventually took his own life in a very unflattering way to the shock of so many. This character of the unhappy old man fits the ending of Robin's life perfectly for me…it all makes more sense now.

steve beard I saw "A Merry Friggin' Christmas", starring Joel McHale-The Soup_tv, Ted; Lauren Graham-Evan Almighty, Bad Santa; Candice Bergen-Boston Legal_tv, Miss Congeniality and Robin Williams-The Crazy Ones_tv, One Hour Photo.This is one of the last 3 movies Robin Williams made before he died on August 11, 2014-This was made before Night at the Museum:Secret of the Tomb and there is one more that he did voice work on as a dog, called Absolutely Anything. This is a comedy where Robin plays a little different than what you are probably used to seeing him in. It is Christmas time and Robin is a grumpy old man in a dysfunctional family that is grumpy because his family, including his son Joel, is coming to visit for the holidays. Joel and his wife, Lauren, want to make a perfect Christmas for their son-it may be his last one to believe in Santa Clause-and of course, everything goes wrong. Besides all the bickering going on, Joel discovers that he left his son's presents at home, which is an 8 hour round trip, if he wants to make it back by sunrise. So Joel and Robin take a road trip while trying to work out their family problems. Candice plays Robin's wife. There are several recognizable actors in cameos; see if you can recognize who is playing the Hobo Santa. At the end of the movie is a dedication to Robin and how he made us all laugh-just not in this movie, though. There is also a scene after the credits involving two other characters, singing in a truck. As I said earlier, it is a different type of role for Robin so if you want a funny send off to remember him by, you will not get it here. It's not a bad movie, just different. It's rated "PG-13" for language and crude humor and has a running time of 1 hour & 28 minutes. It's not Robin Williams' best work but I liked it enough that I would buy it on DVD.

The_Film_Cricket If you ever had the intense desire to see what Robin Williams would be like if he played a character that channeled Archie Bunker, then you might have your wish granted by the comedy A Merry Friggin' Christmas. Yet, before you run off to see this, it might be kind to inform you that the concept is not quite up to its comedic possibilities. This is a dull, mean-spirited comedy about a family that gets together at Christmas, they fight, they scream, they hate each other, and their basic demeanor is about as warm as a jar full of hornets. Yet, we're supposed to like them.That idea, in other hands, might make for a great comedy. A Merry Friggin' Christmas is about as far from a great comedy as one can get, and is further deadened by the realization that this is one of the last films that Robin Williams worked on before he left us. There are only a finite number of his films left unreleased and it's really heartbreaking to watch him waste his gifts in a performance that has him playing a nasty old crank seated in his favorite chair, chomping on a cigar, sucking back the whiskey and reminding his family for the umpteenth time that HIS name is on the mortgage of this friggin' house! His name is Mitch Mitchler. He's an alcoholic who's been a constant source of disappointment since his kids were in diapers. In flashbacks, Mitch dispels questionable words of wisdom by telling his kids, "The only road to heaven is to realize there's no road to heaven." That's before his lays the hard truth on them about Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy. Did you forget that this was a comedy? By this point in the movie, it's not unreasonable.Actually (or rather mercifully) Robin is not the center of things. Our focus is given over to comedian Joel McHale in a serviceable performance as Mitch's son Boyd, a reasonably good-hearted dad whose goal in life is to spend the rest of his life being Mitch's exact opposite as a father. He has a lovely wife named Luanne and two kids, Vera and Douglas. As Christmas approaches, he makes himself the stated goal that he wants to give his 8 year-old son a Christmas that he will remember for the rest of his life. That's fine until Boyd drives the family 300 miles to his parent's house and realizes at the 11th hour that he's left his son's presents back at the house. That means that he has a very short window in which to drive back to his house, retrieve the presents, and be back home before the kid wakes up.Yes, this is a road movie, and yes that means his disapproving father has to travel with him. Why? Because then we wouldn't have a movie. What follows is not so much a narrative but a long series of wacky episodes involving car chases, slapstick, one-liners and offensive stereotypes. There's a cringe-worthy subplot about illegal Mexicans and Afhanis. There's an unfunny running gag about a drunk Santa Claus played by a usually delightful Oliver Platt. And there's the usual nonsense in which the family screams hateful insults at one another in a manner that, I guess, we're suppose to find funny. Then the movie moves into a third act in which we're suppose to feel for the characters because they give each other warm looks and the soundtrack cues our emotions.You feel bad when this movie is over. You feel bad for the actors. You feel bad for anyone suckered into this movie. You feel bad for being there. Whatever happened to movies in which families like each other? When the warmth of the holidays brought people together with good will and cheer why do we need a movie like this? This is the most wonderful time of the year. So why are we given a movie this friggin' unpleasant?