In anticipation of a family reunion around the time of Christmas, four generations of the same Cooper clan come together for their usual annual festivities. Upon each making their way to the gathering however, an unfortunate series of events, along with unexpected visitors, turn the night on its head, forcing many of them to revaluate their own life as well as their family bonds. Not the most cheerful and upbeat Christmas film this season, but one that provides a fairly festive and authentic festive feel.

Director: Jessie Nelson
Writers: Steven Rogers
Starring: John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Alan Arkin, Ed Helms, Olivia Wilde, Jake Lacy

Once December hits, we’re usually inundated with an ungodly amount of Christmas flicks and this year is no different. Love the Coopers seemed to me like it was a surprisingly good production but one that may not necessarily fill you with the most amount of Christmas joy this month. If, however, you’re open and subjective to a movie revolving around dysfunctional and less than perfect families, this might be an entertaining watch.

Listed primarily as a light-hearted comedy flick, it has to be said that there were one or two laughable moments throughout the entire runtime, but on the whole, the humour would have to go down as rather hit and miss, especially considering the fact that large parts of it was dark in nature and seemed to be rather crude, and at times a little cringe worthy too.

Something else that bothered me a little would have to be the storyline put forward. It seemed to me a little bit strange, confusing and difficult at times to keep track of, with lots of different subplots being injected into the film from various different characters – most of which were extremely pessimistic and downbeat in general, making it difficult to form any kind of emotional connection to them and their eventual outcome.

In terms of the casting, that seemed to be one of the primary strengths of the flick. John Goodman and Diane Keaton starred as Sam and Charlotte respectively, while Alan Arkin, Ed Helms, Olivia Wilde, Jake Lacy and many others, covered the vast array of support cast that was deployed. Finally, it’s also probably worth noting that Steve Martin was involved too – delivering narration for the voice of Rags.

Overall, Love the Coopers might not be the most uplifting and joyous family film to put on this Christmas, but it does manage to convey a truly authentic festive feel. Love the Coopers is currently streaming on Netflix.

“That feeling like you’ve landed in the wrong life… Everybody feels that way.”

Bucky – Love the Coopers