Surviving Christmas with the Relatives

A family gathering in a half-restored English country house brings comedic uproar and dramatic confrontation in this seasonal offering from one-time Fatal Attraction writer James Dearden. Julian Ovenden and Gemma Whelan are the nice-enough, if somewhat bland hosts welcoming her flighty actress sister Joely Richardson and clan to the former family home where the two siblings grew up. Ovenden however, has his hands full too, since his teenage son by a previous marriage is battling a drug habit back in London. The film is aiming to contrast such weightier subject matter with a dose of yuletide farce, as the holiday frolics soon head off the rails, yet the story's more sinewy material lacks impact and the comedy only ever proves mildly amusing. We're left with a well-intentioned yet underwhelming catch-all of a movie, where the addiction element seems an odd fit within an otherwise fluffy, heritage-styled serving of British yuletide cheer.