The expectations for contemporary holiday movies is to push feel-good stories that either include a slew of cliched character archetypes (“the busy business woman”, “the hunky but humble woodsman”) or include as many identifiable symbols to represent the season. We see the latter in movies that are casual about Christmas – make a normal, low stakes schmaltz-fest and include a wreath in the background for some shots.

Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point is refreshingly different. Instead of going for cheap wins to warm over the audience, director/co-writer Tyler Thomas Taormina captures a specific kind of atmosphere. Reminiscent to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation but using a less aggressive form of comedy, Taormina and co-writer Eric Berger casually capture the traditions kept by a large family, the Balsanos, in Long Island as the kids anticipate Christmas day and the adults find ways to sneak off – or is it the other way around…?

The film is tough to write about, but that’s not a criticism. Since so much of Christmas Even In Miller’s Point relies on lighthearted vibes and the hopes of matching the viewer’s own experience with their own family, discussing the loose, subjective nature of Taormina’s movie can actually become a detriment. The best way to convey just how perfectly the film hits its target is to explain to my readers that many times during the film, my wife and I were inclined to interrupt each other’s concentration to talk about how our families felt fully represented by the efforts on screen. Not just traditions though, but even down to how the house was dressed in the movie, or what the family was eating off of the living room’s spread.

Christmas Even In Miller’s Point, during the final act, has that wave of feeling exhausted after a long night. Especially when the escaped teenagers are bumming around town, looking for ways to kill time in the early morning amongst snow-capped cars and empty streets, while two police officers (On Cinema at the Cinema’s Gregg Turkington, and co-producer Michael Cera) are trailing them. But, if the film is working for you, you’ll barely notice the lulls.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie