Loose the Coopers is an American Christmas comedy drama that follows a Christmas eve which was supposed to be the last for the couples, but as they heard the ugly side of everyone's story, their bond grew even stronger.
If you've been wishing and hoping for a movie in which June Squibb - here playing a dementia-riddled relative named Aunt Fishy - shows her underpants yet again, you'll love Love the Coopers. For the rest of us, to know them is to hate them.
Charmless, confusing and utterly embarrassing, this could and should have been a lot more than just another run-of-the-mill Christmas flick which we're soon to forget.
If you think this looks like an uplifting Christmas story about the love of family, think again. Sure, it wants to be, but instead it's a depressing mess.
Love the Coopers reminds us that there are few things worse than booze-fuelled family gatherings, but one of them is definitely schmaltzy Hollywood movies about such reunions.
The ensemble give the scant material their all, and this may be Olivia Wilde's most impressive performance to date, but the contrived plot, forced sentimentality and painfully predictable climax overshadow their work.
Only occasionally does a moment ring true, thanks largely to talented actors subduing a balky script like parents wrestling a petulant kid onto Santa's lap.
It's just as often manipulative and contrived, but Jessie Nelson's film sells itself well. There's care in the details, and the characters often feel like actual people.
