Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 106 minutes
Release Date: November 8th, 2024 (USA)
Studio: IFC Films
Director(s): Tyler Taormina
Writer(s): Tyler Taormina & Eric Berger

Our foot!

Vibes and nostalgia. That’s what director Tyler Taormina and co-writer Eric Berger provide with Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point—a rowdy family get-together that’s out-of-time enough to resonate with audiences of all ages (besides an old cell phone, Roomba, and a reference to 9/11, I would have guessed it was set in the 90s). There’s a little mother/daughter drama (Maria Dizzia’s Kathleen wishing to connect with a mother, Mary Reistetter, too out of it to truly notice and a daughter, Matilda Fleming’s Emily, too “cool” to care). A bit of familial strife (selling the house and putting Mom in a home gets debated). And a lot of simple, earnest human connections.

The latter is what ultimately prevails considering there’s no real plot or desire to follow through on major conflict points with any resolution beyond begrudging acceptance. It’s more about hoping we get to hear what Uncle Ray (Tony Savino) wrote as the next chapter of his secretive manuscript and placing bets on whether Gregg Turkington and Michael Cera’s deadpan police officers will ever utter a word. There are familiar faces like Elsie Fisher and Francesca Scorsese flirting, heartwarming moments like Savino’s Ray tearing up when VHS footage of his late wife appears on the TV, and a bona fide brilliant comedic cameo from Laura Wernette as enraged bagel shop owner Mrs. Mott.

Lenny (Ben Shenkman) adorably tries to fit in with some friendly ribbing at his in-laws’ expense. Uncle Matthew (John Trischetti Jr.) struggles to get his siblings to understand how much pressure he’s under watching over their deteriorating mother. Cousin Brucie (Chris Lazzaro) endears himself as the cautionary tale with dreams his mistakes in youth have rendered impossible (I love his reaction when Brendan Burt’s Eric plays the piano better than him despite him being the one to start getting the family going with a sing-along). And Emily goes off to be a teen with friends scamming beers, making out, and engaging in some light theft.

Taormina simply films it all as it’s happening, crosscutting brief vignettes together with serious conversations butted against celebratory tradition (boy did that scene of firemen throwing mini candy canes smack me backwards thirty years). The most memorable moments are the gags (JoJo Cincinnati’s Isabelle being sent on automated staircase rides while sleeping) and weird asides (Turkington and Cera talking about how police officers shouldn’t hit on other police officers while on-duty), but the best ones are those from the heart (Kathleen finally saying enough is enough before resting her head on her mom’s lap regardless of the latter’s lucidity).

The finished piece won’t be for everyone—I feel like Taormina’s Ham on Rye and Happer’s Comet are equally divisive in that “acquired taste” sort of way, but it ultimately won me over. Maybe I wouldn’t seek it out to watch again with intent, but I’m glad to have gone through the experience and probably wouldn’t turn it off if it somehow started playing in the background. While the adult parts work much better for me because the production’s theatricality felt more superficial in the children’s scenes, the prevailing charm keeps things from ever falling apart. A fantastic soundtrack helps too.

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The cast of Tyler Taormina’s CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT; courtesy of IFC Films.