Synopsis
Christmas Eve in New York, and the lonely divorced publisher, Rose Collins, needs a miracle to improve the health of her mother, interned in a hospital with Alzheimers. She feels sorry for another patient and meets his visitor. Meanwhile, Nina Vasquez breaks her engagement with her beloved fiancé Mike due to his suffocating jealousy, but misses him. Mike is stalked by a stranger, bartender Artie Venzuela. The poor Jules arranges to spend Christmas Eve in the hospital, where he spent the best Christmas of his life when he was a teenager. The lives of some of these characters cross with others along the night.
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Cast
- Susan SarandonRose Collins
- Paul WalkerMike Riley
- Penélope CruzNina Vasquez
- Alan ArkinArtie
- Marcus ThomasJules Calvert
- Sonny MarinelliDennis
- Daniel SunjataMarco
- Chazz PalminteriArizona
- Robin WilliamsCharlie Boyd / The Priest
- Rob DalyPaul
Recommendations
- 70
Chicago Reader
This ensemble drama by screenwriter David Hubbard isn't perfect, but its harsh honesty and sincere faith in humanity make it genuinely uplifting. - 40
The A.V. Club
Palminteri and screenwriter David Hubbard desperately want the crazy misfits in their movie to move the audience, but they're all too cracked to inspire empathy. There's no holiday magic, just famous faces playing people who don't exist. - 40
L.A. Weekly
Sentimental, borderline-bizarre Christmas movie that boasts just enough good acting to make up for the treacle. - 40
Los Angeles Times
A thick and gooey slice of holiday hokum. - 40
The New York Times
Though clearly meant as a heartwarmer in the longstanding holiday tradition, the film comes off as strange and sour. - 30
Village Voice
Most of the redemptive notes ring false, as does the mythical Manhattan, where the snow is just too clean and everybody lives around the corner. - 30
The Hollywood Reporter
David Hubbard's script is so steeped in sludgy sentimentality that the film's early hints of quirkiness quickly give way to heavy-handed faith healing. - 30
Variety
Goes down like sour eggnog on Christmas Eve.
