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6

MovieReviewMaveNov 14, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Grade: B-

In a Nutshell: Timed perfectly for the holidays, the talented cast gets slogged down with a sappy and predictable script that mixes a little bit of humor with a lot of family tension. Even so, did it tug at my heart-strings and successfully elicit tears from my eyes. Yup.

Uplifting Theme:
· “You can be the hero of your own life.” – Ruby (the lovely Amanda Seyfried)
· “Try and be the person you want to become.” - Narrator
Things I liked:
· The cute Christmas/Santa montage at the beginning will quickly get you in the mood for the holidays.
· While the movie focuses on Christmas, there are several shout-outs to Hanukkah.
· As a film critic, I appreciated the discussion that Ruby and Bucky had about an old Charlie Chaplin film and its inspiring ending.
· The storybook narrator offers interesting insights. SPOILER ALERT: The voice is from our beloved Steve Martin!
· Diane Keaton is timeless. And she always looks great in a scarf.
· One of the character’s names is Bo (played by Maxwell Simkins). That’s my son’s name!
· Sam (the loveable John Goodman) plays with words that always evoke laughter from the audience. He lists the famous Christmas reindeer as “Donner and Blitzen and Rudolph and Nixon” and Santa’s brothers as “Panta, Janta, and Mylanta.”
· The babies in the Maternity ward of the hospital are all dressed as Santa. Adorable.

Things I didn’t like:
· Everyone spends the majority of the film lying to each other, hiding things, and being disappointed in one another. Funny and unpleasant.
· The family sings Christmas carols together and it’s Diane Keaton who gets a solo….NOT the talented Amanda Seyfried. What the heck? Come on!
· Madison, the little girl played by Blake Baumgartner, says “You are such a D—k” several times. NOT adorable.
· There are a couple of offensive Jesus jokes. Seriously? Especially at Christmas time?
· Blatant product placement annoys me so much. In this film… McCafe.
· People often offer each other terrible advice. For example, Bucky the grandpa tells Hank (Ed Helms) to “go out and get some.”
· I’ve always thought Olivia Wilde was beautiful, but I really hated her arrogant, condescending, disrespectful, dishonest, slutty character, Eleanor.
· Sloppy French kissing. Funny, but gross.
· Interesting title. And I'm not even talking about the lack of proper punctuation. If the Coopers had just loved each other better, this film wouldn’t exist. The Coopers spend the entire film “searching for comfort and a little more joy” this Christmas season.

Funny lines:
· “You’re way too cute to be a Republican. Please tell me you’re not one of those Republicans who believes in Fox News, but not evolution.” – Eleanor (Olivia Wilde)
· “All we’d have to figure out is how long we’ve been together and what’s your name?” – Eleanor
· “I don’t think volunteering counts if you just talk about it.” – Joe (Jake Lacy)
· “Calm down. Man up and let’s lie to my parents.” – Eleanor
· “That was the best dinner I’ve ever had in my entire mouth.” – Aunt (June Squibb)

Interesting lines:
· About the holidays: “Everyone panics, as if you can schedule happiness.” – Bucky (Alan Arkin)
· “Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect married couples to grow at the same rate for 40 years.” – Narrator
· “You love everybody at arm’s length. Keep it up and you’ll end up alone.” – Bucky (Alan Arkin)
· FOMO = “Fear Of Missing Out.” Is that the new YOLO?
· “Isn’t it interesting that we want to run from our families and impress them at the same time?” - Eleanor
· “Such a fuss when everything we want is right in front of us.” - Bucky

Tips for Parents:
· The Coopers are definitely NOT role models for your kids: Infidelity, flatulence, selfishness, lack of respect and kindness. The good news is that they finally figure it out by the end of the movie.
· Some profanity and crudeness.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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5

Tss5078Nov 28, 2015

Over the past decade, we've seen a recent phenomenon in film, where producers cast many big names in a clip film, that all comes together in the end. While this may work well with superheroes, it has yet to be successful in regards to comedy.Over the past decade, we've seen a recent phenomenon in film, where producers cast many big names in a clip film, that all comes together in the end. While this may work well with superheroes, it has yet to be successful in regards to comedy. That is why the film, Love The Coopers can be defined with one saying, too many cooks in the kitchen. This film features a large and impressive cast, and the previews looked terrific, but I assure you, Ed Helm's little girl calling him a dick, is just about the only truly funny moment in this film. The story here has a lot of different angles, and they do come together quite nicely, but this film is not what it was intended to be, as the last thing I would refer to it as is a hilarious holiday film. A lot of people are going to see this film because of it's cast, and from young Timothee Chalamet to veteran Alan Arkin, this cast is remarkable, however the story is not, in fact this whole film was fairly dull. I expect a lot from the cast, but even Hollywood's best and brightest can't make a film work when the writing just isn't there. I love the concept and I really wanted to like this film, but in the end it's just a big disappointment.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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7

lukechristianscNov 29, 2015

Yes we've seen this before and were getting it again it’s cliche’d, but director Jessie Nelson and writer Steven Rogers turn into a honest look at families and relationships. I can see why people hate this movie, it’s corny, dopey and theyYes we've seen this before and were getting it again it’s cliche’d, but director Jessie Nelson and writer Steven Rogers turn into a honest look at families and relationships. I can see why people hate this movie, it’s corny, dopey and they want something new, yet at the same time we need one of these movies. But it’s so hard to hate the Coopers, what were you expecting really? The film is a wacky big hearted eccentric blithe with gripping characters that you just love them so much and give them a big hug. Even though the cast is wasted here, they do a good job playing their characters. Charlotte Cooper (played by Diane Keaton who looks like a ghost in this movie) and Sam Cooper (John Goodman) are a long time married couple who been married for 40 years, who hold their Christmas Eve family dinner but not told them they were about to separate. Alan Arkin plays the grandpa, he is ticked off because his favorite waitress (Amanda Seyfried) at Pamela’s Cafe is leaving. Marisa Tomei is Charlotte's younger sister, despising her because her parents loved Charolette more because her life crap and Charlotte’s life was perfect and happy, she tries to get her something expensive, so she gets arrested for shoplifting, and chats with a stern officer (played by Anthony Mackie). Olivia Wilde and Ed Helms are Charlotte and Sam’s grown up kids. Helms plays Hank, he is out of work and trying to be a single parent and get through the divorce with his ex-wife Angie (Alex Borstein). Olivia Wilde plays Eleanor, she feels she’s unloved and hates when people kiss in public or show affection. So she meets an solider (Jake Lacy) at an airport on leave, whom both actors have bona fide chemistry with one another, also is amazing. June Squibb plays the aunt, who saves the film. SPOILER ALERT! Steve Martin is the voice of the dog Rags, who is narrates the story also has a couple secrets of his own. 3/4 stars… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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3

TVJerryNov 18, 2015

This misguided mess is trying to hit as many family holiday buttons as possible, but mostly manages to muddle it up. Four generations of a family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration and almost every one of them has aThis misguided mess is trying to hit as many family holiday buttons as possible, but mostly manages to muddle it up. Four generations of a family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration and almost every one of them has a story line: the geeky teenager's first kiss, the emotionally shutoff daughter, the jealous sisters, the couple on verge of a divorce announcement. You get the idea. Although the performances are decent and some of the individual moments are effective, the deluge of earnest conversations and vulnerable confrontations overloads any charm. And forget any laffs. The movie has noble intentions and an inevitable feelgood finale, but this turkey won't make it til Christmas.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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6

NickLikesMoviesNov 17, 2015

"Love the Coopers" is a horribly written mess. It's all over the place and extremely over narrated. But I can't deny that I was charmed by it. I'm well aware of the problems it has, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

FallsDownzDec 21, 2015

Okay before i go to saw this i already know the score it's looking
pretty bad but hey i'm a fan of John Goodman so how bad can it be ?
And it is pretty bad i must say the script is just horrible so repetitive so predictable and soOkay before i go to saw this i already know the score it's looking
pretty bad but hey i'm a fan of John Goodman so how bad can it be ?

And it is pretty bad i must say the script is just horrible so
repetitive so predictable and so unoriginal while the jokes is not all
that great but the thing that just throw away this movie is the
direction it's just like a disaster , overuse Voice Over , cheap cut
and editing , lack of creativity of telling the story it's like they
want to tell a story to a 3 years old kid or something it's just really
really bad.

But hear me this at some point i actually think this movie is not that
'bad' the thing that keep me entertaining is the relationship between
Amanda Seyfried and Alan Arkin characters it's just so great so
interesting and the only in this movie that feel real also they acting
is just great (if this part goes to make another movie alone i will
definitely go see it)

And then the ENDING happen and ruined the entire movie for me i was
like so angry when i left the theater, almost 90% of the movie is
garbage fine i'm okay with that but when the 10% is so great and they
just like throw it in to garbage can at the end i just can't handle
that.

In the end Love the Coopers is just plain bad is near garbage (but not
actual garbage) it has a diamond in it's terrible terrible stuff but
they also ruined it at the end , so avoid it at all cost.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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0

TheKavehJNov 13, 2015

Love The Coopers is the worst movie to start the Holiday Season. The film is a boring and clichéd attempt at a good Christmas movie, and the result is just awful.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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0

Deborah367Nov 15, 2015

Most depressing holiday movie ever. Almost walked out. Boring and morose. Holiday movies are supposed to be uplifting and enjoyable, not sad and depressing

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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9

AcaciaDec 14, 2015

This movie was not on my must see list, but a friend really wanted to see it. I expected a stupid, slapstick, family "comedy" with lots of crude jokes and pratfalls. Wrong! I really enjoyed this movie! I found myself getting very involvedThis movie was not on my must see list, but a friend really wanted to see it. I expected a stupid, slapstick, family "comedy" with lots of crude jokes and pratfalls. Wrong! I really enjoyed this movie! I found myself getting very involved with the individual stories of each family member. This is not a horrible movie. The story I was least interested in was the line involving Ed Helms. It was not memorable for me. The plot line with Olivia Wilde was probably the most engrossing, but Marisa Tomei's story was pretty cool too. The thing I cared least about was the story involving Diane Keaton and her husband John Goodman. It was horribly contrived and not believable at all to me. It is not "The Family Stone" for sure, but it is better than. Any other Christmas family movies.… Expand