''Love the Coopers'' (titled ''Christmas with the Coopers'' in the UK and Ireland) is a 2015 American
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
comedy-drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
directed by
Jessie Nelson and written by
Steven Rogers. The film stars an
ensemble cast, including
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...
,
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...
,
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
,
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...
,
Jake Lacy
Jake Lacy (born February 14, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Pete Miller on the ninth and final season of ''The Office'', as Fran Parker in the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's ''Girls'', and his role as Shane Patt ...
,
Anthony Mackie
Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...
,
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera ...
,
June Squibb
June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. In 2013, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Nebraska''.
Squibb has appeared in the films ''Alice'', '' In & Out'', ''About Schm ...
,
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on '' The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attentio ...
,
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Hal Chalamet (; ; born December 27, 1995) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three BAFTA Film Awards.
Chalamet began his career as a t ...
,
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in the ...
and features the voice of
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
, and follows a dysfunctional family who reunites for the holidays.
The film was released by
CBS Films
CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019.
CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...
(via
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
) on November 13, 2015, received negative reviews and grossed $42 million.
Plot
Sam and Charlotte are divorcing after forty years of marriage. Charlotte convinces Sam to wait until after their grown children (Hank and Eleanor), grandchildren (Hank's kids Charlie, Bo and Madison), Charlotte's father and sister (Bucky and Emma) and Sam's aunt (Fishy) have enjoyed one last "perfect Christmas" before announcing the planned divorce. As scenes shift back and forth across the Cooper family members, their memories also briefly appear on screen as younger versions of themselves.
Hank, already struggling through his recent divorce from Angie, loses his job as a family holiday photographer when replaced by a machine. Eleanor has flown in but stays in an airport bar rather than going straight to her parents’ house. She meets Joe, a soldier snowed in for at least another day at the airport. Talking about their different points of views and stances on relationships, Eleanor reveals that she is secretly dating a commitment-free married man. She hates how her parents judge her for not being in a relationship, so she convinces Joe to pretend to be her boyfriend at the family dinner.
Bucky is a regular at a local diner, where he has befriended Ruby, a 20ish waitress who is unsettled. They get into a serious argument when he learns that she is leaving town to a random spot on the map, made worse by telling others but being "too cowardly" to tell him. He then apologizes and asks her to join the family dinner. High schooler Charlie drops in on his crush, Lauren, at the holiday store she works—finally making a move and sharing a kiss with her. Emma is arrested by police officer Percy Williams after she attempts to steal a piece of jewelry as a gift for Charlotte. In his car, Emma engages him in conversation, and he relents and lets her go, with a parting advice that she buy Charlotte the most expensive thing she can afford.
Sam and Charlotte continue arguing while preparing dinner. The four generations of Coopers are arriving at the house, along with Joe, Ruby, and Hank's ex-wife, Angie. Joe mistakenly says that he and Eleanor were engaged, instead of saying that they were dating. During the dinner, chaos unleashes when Hank and Angie argue about their divorce, which leads to Bo screaming at them to "just stop fighting". There is a momentary power outage, and when it comes back Eleanor is kissing Joe, Emma is drinking everyone's wine, and Ruby screams when she sees that Bucky has collapsed.
At the hospital, Hank and Ruby walk beside Bucky's gurney as he is being taken for tests. Ruby kisses Bucky on the lips – confusing but deeply touching Hank. In the waiting room, Charlotte argues with Eleanor when she figures out that she is sleeping with Bucky's physician, Dr. Morrisey, so Eleanor crushes her further by admitting that Joe is just a prop from the airport bar whom she "invented". Alone with a sleeping Bucky in his room, Charlotte and Emma argue about their broken relationship as sisters. Joe seems to leave after also realizing Eleanor's affair is with Dr. Morrisey, but she chases after him after locking Dr. Morrisey in a room, and the two share another kiss. Charlie is surprised when Lauren appears in the waiting room, responding to the text he sent her (actually, Bo sent it to "help" him). Hank comforts Ruby as part of their budding relationship. Sam and Charlotte reconcile. Emma, following Officer Percy's advice, buys Charlotte the most expensive thing she can – a shower stool from the hospital's small gift shop. Bucky regains consciousness and walks to the hospital cafeteria, watching from a distance as everyone is happily sharing a "Christmas meal", when fortuitous muzak leads the whole Cooper clan to joyfully dance around the cafeteria.
The film is narrated by the family's
St. Bernard, Rags.
Cast
*
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
(''voice'') as the Narrator/Rags the Dog
*
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (''née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Glo ...
as Charlotte Cooper, Charlie, Madison and Bo's grandmother, Sam's wife, Eleanor and Hank's mother, Emma's sister, and Bucky's daughter
**Quinn McColgan as Young Charlotte (12-14 Yrs)
**Farelisse Lassor as 8-Year-old Charlotte
*
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he rec ...
as Sam Cooper, Charlie, Madison and Bo's grandfather, Charlotte's husband, Eleanor and Hank's father, and Fishy's nephew
** M.R. Wilson as Young Sam Cooper
*
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...
as Bucky Newport, Eleanor and Hank’s grandfather, Charlotte and Emma’s father
*
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
as Hank Cooper, Eleanor's brother, Charlotte and Sam's son, Bucky's grandson, and Charlie, Madison and Bo's father
** Phillip Zack as Young Hank Cooper
*
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on '' The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attentio ...
as Emma Newport, Charlotte's sister and Bucky's daughter
** Rory Wilson as Young Emma Newport
*
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera ...
as Ruby Bailey
** Sophie Guest as Young Ruby
*
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in the ...
as Eleanor Cooper, Hank's sister, Charlotte and Sam's daughter, and Bucky's granddaughter.
*
Jake Lacy
Jake Lacy (born February 14, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Pete Miller on the ninth and final season of ''The Office'', as Fran Parker in the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's ''Girls'', and his role as Shane Patt ...
as Joe Bailey, Eleanor's love interest and a soldier
*
June Squibb
June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. In 2013, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Nebraska''.
Squibb has appeared in the films ''Alice'', '' In & Out'', ''About Schm ...
as Aunt Fishy, Sam's aunt
*
Alex Borstein as Angie, Hank's ex-wife, and Charlie, Madison and Bo's mother.
*
Anthony Mackie
Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...
as Officer Percy Williams
* Alicia Valentine as June
* Blake Baumgartner as Madison Cooper, Charlotte and Sam's granddaughter, Hank and Angie's daughter and Charlie and Bo's sister
*
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Hal Chalamet (; ; born December 27, 1995) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three BAFTA Film Awards.
Chalamet began his career as a t ...
as Charlie Cooper, Charlotte and Sam's grandson, Hank and Angie's son and Madison and Bo's brother
* Maxwell Simkins as Bo Cooper, Charlotte and Sam's grandson, Hank and Angie's son and Madison and Charlie's brother
*
Jon Tenney
Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's ''The Closer'' and continued in its spinoff '' Major Crimes''.
Early life
Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother ...
as Dr. Morrissey
*
Dan Amboyer
Dan Amboyer (born December 28, 1985) is an American actor, known for his starring roles on the Darren Star series '' Younger'' and the NBC spin-off series '' The Blacklist: Redemption'', and for starring as Prince William of Wales in the televis ...
as Jake
*
Molly Gordon
Molly June Gordon is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), as Nicky, and in the comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018) as Maddie, ''Booksmart'' (2019) as Triple A, and ...
as Lauren Hesselberg
*
Cady Huffman
Cady Huffman is an American actress.
Early life
Huffman was born in Santa Barbara, California, to Lorayne, a pre-school assistant director turned realtor, and Clifford Huffman, an attorney. She is the younger sister of actor Linus Huffman and a ...
as Gift shop clerk
Production
''Love the Coopers'' traces its origins to ''The Most Wonderful Time'', a Christmas screenplay by Steven Rogers which was then picked up by
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commerciall ...
for a film adaptation to be directed by Jessie Nelson. Diane Keaton and
Robert Redford were initially cast to star in the film, which happened to also involve producer Brian Grazer and his
Imagine Entertainment
Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.
Background
Brian Graz ...
company. However, on July 30, 2015, Relativity themselves filed for bankruptcy, leaving the project, now named ''Love the Coopers'', in limbo. Eventually, the film itself was acquired by CBS Films.
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 a ...
began on December 19, 2014, in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, where scenes were filmed at
Pittsburgh Crèche, at the
U.S. Steel Tower, and at the
PPG Place. Filming was also done on Ligonier Diamond in
Ligonier. Filming took place at Butler Memorial Hospital in
Butler, PA, in January and February 2015, and at Orchard Hill Church, during the week of February the first. Filming also took place in the residential areas of Sewickley and Edgewood, at a diner in Millvale, various areas of South Fayette, Mt. Lebanon, West Mifflin, Franklin Park, Churchill and Wilkinsburg, along with the Boyce Park Slopes. Also Pittsburgh International Airport.
Release
The film was released in the United States by
CBS Films
CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019.
CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...
(via
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
) on November 13, 2015.
Box office
''Love the Coopers'' grossed $26.3 million in North America and $16.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $42.4 million, against a budget of $24 million.
The film opened alongside ''
The 33
''The 33'' ( es, Los 33) is a 2015 biographical disaster- survival drama film directed by Patricia Riggen and written by Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten, Michael Thomas, and José Rivera. The film is based on the real events of the 2010 Copiapà ...
'' and ''
My All American
''My All American'' is a 2015 American biographical drama sport film based on the life of college football player Freddie Steinmark. The film was written and directed by Angelo Pizzo. It is based on the book ''Courage Beyond the Game: The Fred ...
''. In its opening weekend, it was projected to gross $6–10 million from 2,603 theaters.
The film grossed $2.8 million on its opening day and $8.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office behind ''
Spectre
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...
'' ($33.7 million) and ''
The Peanuts Movie
''The Peanuts Movie'' (known in some countries as ''Snoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie'') is a 2015 American computer-animated comedy film based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed ...
'' ($24 million).
Critical response
''Love the Coopers'' received negative reviews from critics. 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 , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's consensus reads, "''Love the Coopers'' has a talented cast and a uniquely bittersweet blend of holiday cheer in its better moments, but they're all let down by a script content to settle for cloying smarm." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a score of 31 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.
Accolades
See also
*
List of Christmas films
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Jessie Nelson
2015 films
2010s Christmas comedy-drama films
2015 LGBT-related films
American Christmas comedy-drama films
American LGBT-related films
Films directed by Jessie Nelson
Films shot in Pittsburgh
LGBT-related comedy-drama films
Imagine Entertainment films
CBS Films films
Lionsgate films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films