A Filipino-American family suddenly decided to attend the Christmas party at the family's home in San Francisco to get away from the daily routine. After the family arrives at their San Francisco headquarters, the family discovers that their son Troy was controlling the entire family with fear that frightens anyone who lives there suddenly. The young man begins to intimidate everyone around him until his mother, which may make things take another turn in order to conspire to kill that strange ruler.
Mendoza adroitly sneaks in other messages, such as thoughtful discussions of both racism and effeminacy in the gay community. The cast is uniformly strong with Schneider particularly appealing as Declan, the perhaps-not-so-moral center of the family.
The movie grinds to a halt in its final third as the characters talk things out, which might be helpful in life but in drama tends to belabor the obvious, as well as offer an easy exit.
