''A Merry Friggin' Christmas'' (Also known as ''A Merry Christmas Miracle'') is a 2014 American
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by
Tristram Shapeero
Tristram Shapeero is a British television director. He has directed many comedy series, initially in the United Kingdom and later in the United States.
Early life
Shapeero was born in Somerset and spent his childhood in Bath, where he attended ...
and written by
Phil Johnston. The film stars an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
featuring
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...
,
Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...
,
Clark Duke
Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
,
Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...
,
Wendi McLendon-Covey
Wendi McLendon-Covey (née McLendon; born October 10, 1969) is an American actress and comedian. She is known primarily for her work in comedic and improvisational roles. Since 2013, McLendon-Covey has played the role of Beverly Goldberg, a fam ...
,
Tim Heidecker
Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
He has also appeared in films, including ''Bridesmaids' ...
,
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also know ...
, and
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
. The film was released by
Phase 4 Films
Phase 4 Films was a Canadian film distribution company based in Toronto. It had two branches in the United States: Los Angeles, California and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its subsidiary kaboom! Entertainment markets children's entertainment.
Histo ...
on November 7, 2014.
The film received generally negative reviews from critics.
Plot
Boyd Mitchler must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all of his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.
Cast
*
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...
as Boyd Mitchler
*
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
as Mitch Mitchler
*
Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...
as Luann Mitchler
*
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also know ...
as Donna Mitchler
*
Clark Duke
Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
as Nelson Mitchler
*
Tim Heidecker
Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
He has also appeared in films, including ''Bridesmaids' ...
as Dave Mitchler
*
Wendi McLendon-Covey
Wendi McLendon-Covey (née McLendon; born October 10, 1969) is an American actress and comedian. She is known primarily for her work in comedic and improvisational roles. Since 2013, McLendon-Covey has played the role of Beverly Goldberg, a fam ...
as Shauna Mitchler
*
Pierce Gagnon
Pierce Gagnon (born July 25, 2005) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the film ''Looper'' and in the CBS series ''Extant'', as well as voicing Tim Templeton in the Netflix series '' The Boss Baby: Back in Business''.
Personal life ...
as Douglas Mitchler
*
Amara Miller as Pam Mitchler
*
Ryan Lee as Rance Mitchler
*
Bebe Wood as Vera Mitchler
*
Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...
as Hobo Santa
*
Amir Arison as Farhad
*
Mark Proksch
Mark Proksch ( '; born ) is an American comedian and character actor. He is best known for acting in the television series ''The Office'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Dream Corp LLC'', '' What We Do in the Shadows'' and as a fictionalized version o ...
as Trooper Zblocki
*
Gene Jones as Glen
*
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...
as Snow Globe Snowman (voice)
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in April 2013 in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Williams died on August 11, 2014, before the film was released and was dedicated to his memory.
Release
The film was released by
Phase 4 Films
Phase 4 Films was a Canadian film distribution company based in Toronto. It had two branches in the United States: Los Angeles, California and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its subsidiary kaboom! Entertainment markets children's entertainment.
Histo ...
on November 7, 2014.
It is the first film starring Robin Williams to be released after his death on August 11, 2014.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a rating of 14%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 3.45/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
See also
*
List of Christmas films
Many Christmas stories have been adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television; since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year d ...
References
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Friggin' Christmas
2014 films
2014 black comedy films
2014 independent films
American black comedy films
American Christmas films
American independent films
Entertainment One films
Films scored by Ludwig Göransson
Films about dysfunctional families
Films set in Chicago
Films set in Wisconsin
Films shot in Atlanta
Phase 4 Films films
American road movies
2010s road movies
2010s Christmas films
2014 directorial debut films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films