• Independent film Nothing Like the Holidays is a 2008 family comedy directed by Alfredo De Villa. A family comes together at Christmas and struggles to balance the news of their parent's potential divorce and their own individual problems.

• 1. Release date: December 12, 2008
  2. Independent film
  3. Director: Alfredo De Villa
  4. Screenwriters: Rick Najera, Alison Swan, Ted Perkins-Lopez
  5. Producers: Robert Teitel, George Tillman Jr.
  6. Distributor: Overture Films
  7. MPAA Rating: PG-13

• Plot Summary

  Set in Chicago's northwest side, the film centers on a family of Puerto Rican siblings that gather at Christmastime, only to be told by their mother that she's leaving their father. The siblings lament that their family is possibly breaking apart, and choose to resolve their personal differences between each other so they can save their parents' marriage.

• Cast Information

  • Alfred Molina as Edy Rodriguez
  • Elizabeth Pena as Anna Rodriguez
  • Freddy Rodriguez as Jesse Rodriguez
  • John Leguizamo as Mauricio Rodriguez
  • Debra Messing as Sarah Rodriguez
  • Jay Hernandez as Ozzy
  • Melonie Diaz as Marissa

• Review Quotes

  • "Warm at times and lovingly lensed, Holidays has obvious affection for the Humboldt Park hood and its vibrant Hispanic heritage—there are joyous scenes of cooking, singing, dancing and neighbors parading through the streets. But the film needs a much fresher, stronger story, one worthy of its talented actors. Instead, it conjures ghosts of Christmas movies past, namely The Family Stone, which also interjected an uptight businesswoman—and illness—into a fam's celebrations."—Matt Stevens, E! OnlineE! Online: Nothing Like the Holidays (December 11, 2008)

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