Christmas farce an entertaining surprise
It was 28 years ago that adorable little Macaulay Culkin was left behind by his family at Christmas in the smash hit “Home Alone.” That movie proved so popular that it stayed in theatres well past the Christmas season. It was the No. 1 film at the box office for 12 straight weeks, from its release weekend of Nov. 16, 1990 through the weekend of Feb.1, 1991!
This week we present an independent film cut from the same cloth in “Christmas Break-In.” I am pretty sure this film will not perform as well as the one from 1990, but it offers up a lot of cute family fun at this time of year. “Christmas Break-In” opens Friday. It is rated General and is 87 minutes in length. It will show daily at 1:20, 4:20 and 7:05 p.m.
“Izzy is an energetic nine-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy’s parents can’t pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school’s janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it’s up to Izzy to save the day.” – Official site.
This movie surprised me in a favourable way. I had no expectations prior to viewing it but found myself entertained by this light family friendly comedy.
It stars Danny Glover (of the “Lethal Weapon” films and “The Color Purple”) and Denise Richards (of “Starship Troopers,” “Love Actually” and the 007 thriller “The World Is Not Enough”). It is simply a fun “Home Alone”-style farce about Izzy (played by Cameron Seeley, Hugh Jackman’s character’s youngest daughter in “The Greatest Showman”), a spunky nine-yearold boarding school student. On the last day of school before Christmas break, she is stuck on campus thanks to her workaholic parents (Richards and Sean O’Bryan of “Olympus Has Fallen”) who ‘forget’ to pick her up for winter break.
Meanwhile, a big winter storm is brewing, and a van full of on the run criminals seek shelter at the same school. When the bad guys enter the almost-deserted school, they kidnap the janitor, and close friend of Izzy, played by Danny Glover. Well it is up to Izzy to save the day singlehandedly. Through a combination of booby traps and comic events, she proceeds with her plan to not only survive, but to rescue her friend the janitor from certain demise.
It is nice to see a true, family friendly film with a Christmas theme – at this time of year. I hope you will make time to enjoy some good clean laughs and support independent cinema. See you at the movie theatre! Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article — len@moviemill.com. Hope to see you at the movies!