If you ever wanted to see The Family Stone essentially remade and aimed at the Hispanic demographic, well this is pretty much it. So many of the characters in these two films are interchangeable and the plot this one follows closely mirrors that of Stone as well. The big difference is that Stone felt a lot more authentic and heartfelt, and the cast was much stronger in every way. Because this one follows in its footsteps, it really feels like a retread and you can see everything coming from a mile away. Another problem I had with this was how much it tried to shove its multiculturalism down your throat. This is a film that is squarely aimed at a certain audience, and its hard to get full enjoyment out of it if you don't fall into that demographic. That being said, it was a fairly solid holiday comedy. Debra Messing, John Leguizamo and Freddy Rodriguez were all great - especially the latter, who was really charming and easily the most interesting character in the film. But in the battle of this season's Yuletide-set comedies, I have to give the edge to Four Christmases. It may not match this one in terms of heart, but it was certainly funnier and more entertaining. Still a decent film worth checking out at some point. B-

Eh, boring, partially entertaining flick. Nothing Like The Holidays is Nothing special.


C-

This is definitely like "THE FAMILY STONE" but nowhere near as wonderful. "NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS" is decent, but easily forgettable.

6/10 (B-)