Review: A Merry Friggin' Christmas

Any consolation at seeing Robin Williams in one of his last films is marred by the contrived, incoherent mess that is A Merry Friggin' Christmas. There's no getting around it - the movie is bad. What a shame considering the level of talent in front of and behind the camera.

First-time screenwriter Michael Brown tries for a story that should be annual holiday viewing like Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Story - heck, even National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, yet it is more fitting for the dead zone where not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. Williams plays Mitch Mitchler, self-proclaimed King of the Crappers, whose alcoholism ruined Christmas and the idea of Santa for his son Boyd. All grown up and himself the father of two kids, Boyd (Joel McHale) is determined that his son Douglas (Pierce Gagnon) believe in Santa for at least one more Christmas.

Boyd and the rest of the Mitchler clan are called back home to celebrate the christening of Boyd's younger brother Nelson's (Clark Duke) son; the christening happens to be set for Christmas Eve. Though Boyd "would rather be sodomised by an angry clown" than see his dad, he decides to go for the sake of his boy. Once home, the expected bickering begins. Mitch needles Boyd about his asthma and his family's veganism when he's not calling his daughter's husband a sex offender. Any attempts by Boyd to infuse the holiday spirit is jeered at by his nephew, a champion competitive eater, and his niece who posts videos of herself on YouTube.

Just when the night couldn't get worse, Boyd realises he left his son's gift back in Chicago. Intent on saving Christmas, he sets off on an eight-hour car trip. Accompanied by Mitch and Nelson, Boyd is forced to confront his resentment and maybe, just maybe believe in Santa once more.

The cast is shamefully wasted. There's Candice Bergen as the patient matriarch who's just happy to have her family together. There's Lauren Graham as Boyd's wife, who tries to offset his overcompensation with her practicality. There's McHale, of course, who barely registers and Oliver Platt, who stumbles in and out as a hobo Santa. Williams doesn't really let the freak flag fly and it's sad to see his quicksilver wit dampened by truly mediocre material.

A Merry Friggin' Christmas

Directed by: Tristram Shapeero

Written by: Michael Brown

Starring: Robin Williams, Joel McHale, Lauren Graham, Candice Bergen, Clark Duke, Jeffrey Tambor, Pierce Gagnon