Kicking off my holiday season movie marathon, I eagerly tuned into The Fitzgerald Family Christmas-released Dec. 7 and directed by Edward Burns-a drama that chronicles a family's numerous struggles in the days leading up to Christmas. The Fitzgerald family consists of absentee father Big Jim (Ed Lauter), matriarch Rosie (Anita Gillette) and their seven adult children. When he walked out on the family 20 years ago, Rosie swore she would never let Jim back into her home after he had an affair-a vow she kept until he asked to spend Christmas with the family this year.

Older brother Gerry (Edward Burns) lives at home with their mother after the death of his wife-subtly explained with a reticent reference to Sept. 11. In a resolute mission, he aims to gather all the siblings together for Rosie's 70th birthday, though truthfully he wants to discuss whether or not Jim should be allowed to spend Christmas Day with them. It is clear that there is a long history behind this family conflict, and not all members feel the same way about Jim's return.

Fitzgerald was not a spectacular film; it didn't tug at my emotions or make me question any deeper meanings of life. But it is a very realistic portrayal of a family and the problems they face as individuals which, in turn, affect the entire family dynamic. Most family-centered movies depend on some humor, but there was no comedic relief to break up the endless parade of serious topics, which ranged from marital affairs to substance abuse.

There was no love between the characters, no sparks of a common bond between the siblings. Even with their differences, the natural bond between siblings should have been portrayed in the film because, for the majority of the film, they seemed isolated from each other. I can only point out one scene between Sharon (Kerry Bish?(c)) and Skippy (Brian d'Arcy James) that displays a sibling bond, but even during that scene they were talking about how they barely knew each other.

Each sibling made his or her entrance to the movie in a scene in which viewers gained a descriptive glimpse into what each person's life was like, whether it was married with a baby or casually dating an older man. That first taste of each of their lives was enough to draw me into the emotions and development of the film because I wanted to know what happened to them all.

In terms of individual characters, Burns came off as clich?(c)d, stuck-up and desperate to unite his family; he works so hard to bring his family together, but he doesn't even realize how damaged all their relationships are. Out of the four sisters, I thought Dottie (Marsha Dietlein) was best portrayed in her role as a mother newly separated from her husband after having an affair with the gardener. Looking a bit strung out, the movie portrays Dottie during her mid-life crisis as she tries to figure out what she wants in her life. Younger sister Connie (Caitlin Fitzgerald) is tragically pathetic in her role, yet it fits the character perfectly; she is the sibling that needed rescuing and her hesitant behavior exemplifies that perfectly as she remains a shy wallflower.

The climax divides the siblings into two groups as they struggle to find a solution to their Christmas dilemma: three younger siblings versus the four older ones. At this point, I became more interested in the three younger siblings-Connie, Sharon and Cyril (Tom Guiry)-because the three of them seemed to have much more in common than the rest of the siblings, partially because they have the most issues in their lives-the result of being raised without a father figure.

In the end, Fitzgerald struggled to leave a lasting impact, though it does stir up the themes of the importance of family and forgiveness in the spirit of the holidays. Despite some strong performances, the lack of plot development and interaction between the characters strongly detracted from the film. It would have highly benefited from the use of humor to break up dense performances and illustrate that despite all of its drama, family is still a magical thing-especially during the holidays.
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