Surviving Christmas with the Relatives is available on DVD and digital 11th November. To celebrate the release of this cracker of a family-comedy, we are looking back on the seasons with five more of the most Chaotic Family Dinners on Film.
Family: it’s a tricky thing to capture. Instead of sugar-coating the relationship between far-flung in-laws, smug cousins and distant siblings, Studio Soho’s newest caper proves it can be more fun – and more honest — to throw them all together for the holidays and see what unfolds.
Taking place over 3 days in the decrepit home of their late parents, Surviving Christmas with the Relatives follows two polar opposite sisters and their broods (with a roster of brilliant British stars such as Gemma Whelan and Patricia Hodge) just trying to get through the festivities unscathed. It revels in the mad behaviour we only indulge in within the relative safety of family gatherings; with killer turkeys, fistfights by the log-fire and dinner dished up in a frozen field. This Christmas, it’s not all candy canes and cuddles.
Thanksgiving Dinner with the Weston/Aikon’s – August: Osage County
Meryl Streep was Oscar-nominated in 2013 for her role as the matriarchal banshee in this screen adaption of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Drug-addled, widowed, and baffled by the at turns celibate, incestuous or infidel love lives of her daughters (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, and Juliette Lewis)– Streep’s Violet takes her last living joy in ruining dinner by picking at her tablemates between every bite. By the time the yams are served, Roberts has slam-dunked them to the rug before her own daughter’s eyes.
Steak, well done, with The Incredibles
In Brad Bird’s definitive take on the comic-book genre, the domestic mundanities of an All-American suburban family are blended seamlessly with their super-powered vigilante side-hustle. No better is the concept rocked for comedy than during this makeshift parent-child intervention at a weeknight dinner. Violet (Sarah Vowell) turns invisible to get out of talking about her crush, Dash (Spencer Fox) avoids his greens with hyper-speed, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) catches cutlery debris with impossible arms, and super-strong Dad (Craig T. Nelson) cuts through his plate with his steak knife – and all before dessert!
Frog for breakfast with the Bakers
Cheaper by the Dozen features the baby-faced iterations of icons Alyson Stoner and Hillary Duff among the bustle of siblings, but even they aren’t adorable enough to keep a smile on Steve Martin’s troubled father Tom’s face. Particularly when the be-spectacled baby son (Mark) accidentally drops his pet frog right into the (necessarily gigantic) bowl of scrambled eggs. What follows can only be described as a spaghetti western standoff between one man and one amphibian – and they don’t care who gets covered in jam in between.
Crab Ripping with HushPuppy and her Dad
Beasts of the Southern Wild’s haunting father-daughter domestic set in the wilderness of the Delta riverbanks enchanted audiences since its sweeping debut at Cannes in 2012. Benh Zeitlin really captures the fractious bond between the two when Quvenzhane Wallis’ Hushpuppy is encouraged by her father to ‘Beast it’ for her food; ripping into crab shells with her tiny thumbs instead of a knife and eating the meat raw to a chorus of rowdy encouragement from their friends. Messy, but fun.
Ice-cream for dinner with the Kramers
Dustin Hoffman (Ted Kramer) and Justin Henry (Billy Kramer) truly shine in the most pivotal scene of the classic 70’s drama. In a picture about domestic arguments, divorce and custody it’s truly astonishing that the most emotional showdown of all comes down hard and out of nowhere when Billy – having had it up to here of his father’s parenting in the absence of his mother – climbs on top of the chair to steal the ice-cream from the fridge and binge-eat at dinner, oblivious to his father’s cries to stop. When tempers reach boiling point, casualties include Billy’s plate of ham, a spoon, and the audience’s hearts.
Surviving Christmas with the Relatives is available on DVD and digital 11th November.
