The Film: Love The Coopers

What We Know So Far: Four generations of a family attempt to get together for the Christmas holiday but as the family members all have odd idiosyncrasies and become involved in unexpected events, the perfect holiday celebration isn’t as easy to have as they hoped.

The Trailer: (Official #1)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TSX_0rwPNc?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=640&h=360]

OUR TAKE

David’s Take: Once again, another family Christmas film where everything goes wrong but is sure to be fully resolved with a heartwarming ending. The trailer is a collection of predictable circumstances and tried and true holiday movie tropes with high quality actors trying their hardest. Large ensemble films are always a gamble, and typically fail as they are too cumbersome and leave no room for any kind of growth in the characters. This looks to be the same as in the recent big budget debacle, New Year’s Eve. The very talented cast includes John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Ed Helms, Anthony Mackie, Marisa Tomei and Olivia Wilde. They are effortlessly watchable, but trapped in a formula that is simply overwrought and overdone. The trailer does very little to encourage interest as it runs down a checklist of Christmas cliches like it’s shopping at a Big Budget Christmas Movie Warehouse. It’s so aggressively banal, it’s insulting. 

Dan’s Take: Great… Oh wait, you can’t hear sarcasm through internet text. Well, that is to say this movie looks not great. While some amazing actors appear in this comedy, there isn’t any amazing comedy in these characters. Sure, John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, and Diane Keaton are pure delights… in the right role. And, sure, Ed Helms has been affable in a few roles. However, this holiday film looks like torture. Much like David, Love the Coopers instantly reminded me of those shoddy debacles of Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving Night (wait, that isn’t one… yet). Let’s just say I’m not much of a fan of many romantic comedies, let alone the Avengers assemble versions where there isn’t enough screen time to care for anyone. Despite starring the beautiful and compelling Olivia Wilde, this tired stuck-in-a-lie concept is like some sort of venomous bile violently expelled from a vacuous sitcom void of life.

What To Look For In The Trailer

David Says: Well, for me, the Sneak Peek Moment is hands down the moment when Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) brings the man she just picked up at the airport to pretend to be her boyfriend to her parent’s house. Is it because of the awkward and unfunny joke about being a recovering alcoholic? No. Is it the silly Christmas costume Diane Kearton is wearing? No. Is it the new “boyfriend” suddenly upping the ante and saying they are engaged and Wilde’s “surprise” sound? No. It’s that this is the lowest point, the Moment when the producers outright mock the audience, believing we are so incapable of intelligent thinking that we would accept this utterly implausible moment and think it’s charming. It’s actually infuriating because this is such vapid drivel, such lazy writing and filmmaking that I feel disheartened by what lies ahead for mainstream cinema that talent like this that can only find work in films this abhorrent. We here at TMI work hard to find the best moments in film and are committed to such, but there are bad movies and there are bad moments. This hasn’t even been released and it’s one of the worst I have ever seen. 

Dan Says: Well, from my glowing earlier observation, I think you can imagine how hard it is to troll the depths for some semblance of a highlight… Give me a moment to find this Moment… Thanks, David, for suggesting this one (that’s sarcasm again). I think he just wanted to test me out, and see if I could give a negative review. The greatest part of TMI is choosing the best moments in film. However, with a review or trailer analysis we’re picking the best of what’s available. So here we go. The trailer for Loathe the Coopers contained at least one minor chuckle from this disgruntled viewer. My Sneak Peek Moment is when John Goodman, driving his grandchild to meet a mall Santa, tries to get her excited. He says they’re about to meet “the one and only Santa.” Cue a long line of Santa’s outside. This was the best laugh out of the predictable bunch of telegraphed jokes, and comes at the expense of kinda sorta ruining childhood. Tread with caution. Listen to Virgil, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”