Dealin' Reel: Episode 7 - Nothing Like the Holidays

Ahh yes, the first holiday movie I've watched this season.  I must admit, I've had my doubts about this one for quite sometime, perhaps due to the "holiday" nature of it. 

Nothing Like the Holidays is about a Puerto Rican family which comes together for Christmas.  All of the children are grown and have moved away to their own lives beyond the comforts of home and family.  The problem is that they return to the discovery that everyone has hidden issues and general dysfunctionality.

The father has yet to tell his wife his secret.  This [obviously] creates some problems with their otherwise happy lives, as she assumes he is hiding the worst. 

One son has completed a tour in Iraq.  He is greeted as a hero by his mother, yet he is haunted by the ghosts of his struggles in the war.  He comes home with news that will potentially grieve his parents.  In addition, there are old relationships he must face.

A daughter returns as the "star" of the community, yet she is not quite as successful as they've made her out to be. The frustration creates a mess.  In the midst of it all, she finds love within a tormented man.

Another son is married, and his mother continuously begs the couple for grandchildren.  They are not ready.  As a matter of fact, they seem to have difficulty making other decisions within their lives.

As you might imagine, by Christmas Eve, everyone has learned everyone else's secrets, they've fought, and they're working on patching things up again.  The story ends on a happier note.  The thing that fascinated me so much about this is that it characterizes the relationships and problems we all experience every day.  It characterizes the way we should all be.  We should all be able to work things out like that.

I must admit that some of the things the characters in this movie dealt with, I personally cannot relate to.  But it was inspiring to see people who are much more affected, both emotionally and otherwise by these things discover that it wasn't quite so bad as they had thought.  In the end the entire family has been re-prioritized in a sense.

I highly recommend this movie.