MovieChat Forums > Surviving Christmas (2004) Discussion > defending surviving shristmas

defending surviving shristmas

posted 20 years ago by giggidyalright
14 replies | jump to latest

hi,

last night i rented surviving christmas andi must say that it wasnt bad. i would give it 2 & 1/2 stars. i have a couple reasons why it was avoided like the plague at the theaters. 1- because it was a CHRISTMAS movie relased around HALLOWEEN. had they relased it the same time as chirstmas with the kranks, i think it would have gotten better reviews. 2- hating ben affleck was the popular thing to do(and we all know that the popular things isnt always right. so if it had ben affleck on the poster, critics and movie goers were going to hate it. but i think his new movie about the agent who gets his journal stolen will do better, since it has a better plot.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] TheDesertRat 19 years ago

I haven't seen it, but I just have to say that I'm surprised anyone liked it. It is arguably the biggest flop in cinema history. It grossed less than a million dollars in theaters and was released on DVD 2 months after it came out in theaters.

[–] jmsyme 19 years ago

"I haven't seen it, but I just have to say that I'm surprised anyone liked it."

What sense does that make? What adult says things like that out loud? Or types them for others to see?

And, check your facts.

[–] TheDesertRat 19 years ago

You're right about the check your facts thing. I was way off on the amount of money it grossed. It actually made about $12 million.

When I said "I haven't seen it, but I hust have to say that I'm surprised anyone liked it." All I was saying was that based on the previews, reviews, and what I heard from people that did see it, it was awful, and I was surprised that anyone actually liked it enough to go online and defend it. You're pretty stupid for trying to assert that this wasn't an intelligent remark. You may not agree with what I said, but that doesn't make it illogical. If I had said that I hadn't seen it, but I didn't like it, that would be stupid.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] jmsyme 19 years ago

It simply is not an intelligent thing to say that you are surprised that anyone liked something that you do not have first hand knowledge of.

[–] mordavus 19 years ago

Hmmm... The only bit I really laughed at was when the mother used a meat cleaver to cut the big marshmallow into smaller bits and then sweeping them into the cup.

[–] cannygeet 19 years ago

I rented this last night and actually said to the bloke in the video shop "I think this is going to be crap". However, it wasn't.

People will argue with my opinions and it may be that I was in just the right mood for it. I'm very fed up with the big grossing comedies turning out not to be funny. The Wedding Crashers, Bruce Almighty, Hitch have all been received better than Surviving Christmas but they have only raised a chuckle at the best. I did find Surviving laugh-out-loud funny.

I agree that Affleck is the biggest problem with the film. People hate him and therefore dislike his movies but in this I found the character really funny in a goofball kind of way. The classic farce stuff at the end was something out of the birdcage and I had to rewind the bit when his Doo-Dah came in and was black because I laughed too hard and missed the following line.

It's a Christmas film and I do have a penchant of liking them. Scrooged and Christmas Vacation are fantastic and Surviving Christmas is right up with them. Its far better than the whimsy stuff of Elf. I'm really looking forward to Bad Santa after this one.

[–] korn_kid_mike 19 years ago

this movies was okay, it had its funny moments.

[–] sbanta25 19 years ago

This movie wasn't nearly as bad as that dismal flick "Christmas with the Kranks." I laughed a couple of times watching this movie, although there were a few cringe-inducing scenes as well. Kranks, on the other hand, made me physically ill when I watched it.

[–] mspank 19 years ago

You got physically ill from watching a movie?

I just can't think of anything that needs to be said after a statement like that.

What happens if you watch really bad stuff like Sci-Fi channel original movies? Do your limbs drop off or something?

LOL

[–] seanspotatobusiness 19 years ago

I wasn't aware people hated Ben Affleck (don't pay attention to celebrity gossip) but I thought his performance was just fine. He was *meant* to come across a little crazy. I loved it.

[–] Cletus-Vanne-Damme 19 years ago

I totally agree. The movie was getting horrible reviews. So I went to see it in the theatre with my Dad and we both loved it. The movie had me with the opening monologue Affleck had about drinking spiked eggnog. When I heard that, I knew the critics were going to be wrong. The popular thing to this day is to diss Ben Affleck, which I can't understand because he is a great actor. I'm not afraid to say it. I love Ben Affleck. And this is one of his best performances. Even if a lot of the film was improved, it didn't fail in the comedy department. There are lots of things that people can relate to in this movie. Loneliness, marriage difficulties, relationship problems, wanting to see your old house. I found it to be very touching and I'll defend this movie till the day I die. It is a holiday staple in my house.

[–] kimbo71 19 years ago

I agree...this movie was a very typical (and enjoyable) Christmas movie. I was pleasantly surprised and laughed out loud several times.