Alan
Arkin Diane Keaton John Goodman Marisa Tomei June Squibb
Olivia Wilde Amanda Seyfried Anthony Mackie
Ed Helms Jake Lacy
And you probably will end up loving the Coopers
in a film that many will see as a perfect holiday movie. Although don’t expect to be immersed in
warm fuzzy feelings throughout; this is a family that can throw barbs and
“gotchas” with hardly a twitch of an eyebrow. They all seem to have some gene that eventually and
invariably alienates the person they’re talking to. The script reads a bit like Little Miss Sunshine in its mixture of bittersweet, tender, and
outright comedy. The difference is
that in Love the Coopers there’s a
lot more bitterness in tone, especially in the beginning when everyone seems to
be writhing with unhappiness—or maybe it’s just anxiety about the upcoming
get-together.
The drama mainly centers around couples—not
necessarily the expected pairings.
The paterfamilias (Arkin) is alone in his old age, but has made a solid
friendship with a young waitress at the local diner (Seyfried). His daughter Charlotte (Keaton) has
been married to Sam (Goodman) for 40 years, but it looks like the parting of
the ways for them. Their current
issue is whether or not to announce their separation at the family celebration. Son Hank (Helms) is going through a
divorce, and he is not in good shape at all. His other daughter Emma (Tomei) is alone not by choice,
except maybe it has something to do with her not being able to form a bond with
anyone and tending to feel sorry for herself in being alone. We’re introduced to Charlotte’s and
Sam’s daughter Eleanor (Wilde) in the airport where she has bumped into Joe
(Lacy) who is headed out to report to duty. Present at the Christmas celebration are also a number of
grandchildren who are as quick-witted and verbal as their elders.
Certain interchanges between characters in the
drama really entertained and sparked my interest. One was Eleanor and Joe doing a complex, often
contradictory, mating dance that epitomizes budding relationships today. Liberal meets conservative, but
somehow, after many fits and starts, they find more common ground than
conflict. Another was that between
Emma and the policeman (Anthony Mackie) who arrests her for shoplifting. Being a life coach, she starts out
asking him about himself, but when it ends up, he is giving her valuable
advice. They end up helping each
other, and he is to be admired for insisting on appropriate boundaries.
The depiction of Sam’s and Charlotte’s
relationship is not terribly interesting—it’s rather hackneyed—and although
these are fine actors, I found myself yawning and fidgeting during their
interchanges. The best ones
(Eleanor and Joe; Emma and Officer Williams) entertain us and make us think,
and therein lies the best of this movie.
A soulful family Christmas with
meaningful observations on mating.
Grade: B By
Donna R. Copeland
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