NUTCRACKERS — Familiar Family Christmas Story

Review by Adam Donato

David Gordon Green used to make smaller dramas and comedies, but lately he’s been nothing but horror. Universal was so happy with what he did with the requel Halloween trilogy that they gave him full reign on their new Exorcist trilogy. The only problem is that it failed both critically and commercially. A movie like Nutcrackers is exactly the type of movie to get him back on track. Ben Stiller, who also produces the film, stars as a businessman who gets saddled with his late sister’s four boys as Christmas approaches. It’s been awhile since Stiller has starred in a film as he’s been focused more on streaming series. No need to worry about the box office as the film is going straight to Hulu just in time for the holidays. Is this family film the step in the right direction for David Gordon Green?

Nutcrackers is a story that has been told before and it’s very obvious where it’s going right from the jump. Stiller has a big business deal to close, but he’s gotta get rid of these kids. During the process they bond and everyone’s priorities are reevaluated. Not that it’s a bad story, it’s just entirely unspecial. It is a good back to basics narrative for David Gordon Green, who was given a great deal of creative freedom with some high profile horror franchises. The story is effective in what it’s trying to accomplish, but that’s more due to the direction and performances than the screenplay.

This role is very familiar territory for Ben Stiller. Uptight dad type gets cartoonishly jerked around by a bunch of rascals. He plays up the physical aspect of his comedic performance well. One of his strong suits is how his type of character handles awkward situations. There’s a romance that is supposed to be developing between Stiller and Linda Cardellini, who plays the social worker that’s assisting him with his family situation. This doesn’t get much time to develop and feels ancillary to the main story about his relationship with the kids. Tim Heidecker has a small role as a police officer in this small town and he is criminally underused. The kids are all purposefully annoying. Only one of them really stands out, the oldest boy who has an underdeveloped romance with a girl he used to dance with.

The film is called Nutcrackers because one of the children rewrote the original Nutcracker story and his version is what the family is to perform at the end. This dance sequence is very cute and heartwarming. A story thread that was very uncomfortable is when Stiller’s character tries to pawn the kids off on other parents potentially that are in the area. It really makes his character seem slimy in an unredeemable way. They hadn’t really established him as being that immoral and was an unsatisfying pitstop in the narrative.

A familiar story, but done by a couple competent filmmakers. Hopefully this experience grounds David Gordon Green a bit as he starts a new chapter in his career. It’s very nice to see Ben Stiller leading a comedic film again as he has been preoccupied for so long. The film is a good enough Christmas flick to throw on as the spirit of the holidays grows closer.

Nutcrackers will be on Hulu on November 29.

Rating: 3/5