''Switchmas'' (earlier titles ''Ira Finkelstein's Christmas'' and ''All I Want Is Christmas'') is an American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film directed by Sue Corcoran. It tells the story of a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

-obsessed Jewish boy on his way to sunny

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who figures out how to get the Christmas of his dreams by trading airline tickets and places with another boy on his way to snowy Christmastown,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. This film also features CGI scenes depicting the boy's Christmas dreams. It stars

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

and

David DeLuise David Dominick DeLuise (born November 11, 1971) is an American actor and television director. He has appeared on numerous television shows as well as films. He is known for Coop in the animated show ''Megas XLR'' and Jerry Russo in ''Wizards of W ...

and is directed and produced by Sue Corcoran. It was originally filmed in

Leavenworth, Washington Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee, Washington, Wenatchee−East Wenatchee, Washington, East Wenatchee Wenatchee-East Wenatchee metropolit ...

, under the title ''Ira Finkelstein's Christmas''. At a local screening in 2012 it had the title ''All I Want Is Christmas''. The film was included in the 2012

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

Plot

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Ira J. Finkelstein (Elijah Nelson) wishes he could celebrate Christmas, but his parents do not want to celebrate because they are

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Ira's father, Max (

), a filmmaker, says he's making a low-budget, holiday

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

movie and that he wants demanding and empty-headed Jennifer Cameo (Julianne Christie) to be the lead role. Ira's mother, Rosie (Angela DiMarco), a caterer, gets to plan a Christmas party. Ira's parents tell him that he is going to visit his grandparents, Sam (

) and Ruth Finkelstein (Meg Savlov) in

for

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

and that he'll have fun with them. Ira further contends that he wants to go somewhere where it snows so that he can experience an authentic Christmas. Ira's flight lands at the

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

and he is excited to see snow for the first time in real life. At an indoor kids' area he reluctantly goes over to the play area where he meets a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

boy named Mikey Amato (Justin Howell). Mikey tells Ira that he is from Chicago and is visiting his aunt, uncle, and cousins in

, relatives that he hardly knows; he only knows their names and what they look like by a postcard his mom, Julie (Tracy Hyland), gave him. He also thinks it's awesome how Jews get eight nights of presents for Hanukkah. Ira tells him that he'd rather go to a place like Washington to experience Christmas. They agree to switch places, donning each other's hats, coats, and ID tags as well as Ira’s glasses but the two boys barely pull it off due to Ira's bad eye prescription... with no airport security guard suspecting anything different about them. Ira and Mikey exchange phone numbers while Mikey gives Ira the postcard of his cousins. Ira arrives at the

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...

and is greeted by Mikey's relatives, Libby (

Cynthia Geary Cynthia Geary (born March 21, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelly Tambo on the television series ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Early life Encoura ...

) and Walt (Tony Doupe) Wilson and their three children, Jessica ( Jenna Levin), Clare (Shayne Hodgins), and Kyle (Jack Fleischmann). Meanwhile, Mikey arrives in Florida and is affectionately greeted by Ira's grandparents. Neither set of relatives suspects anything is wrong since Mikey and Ira look alike, nor have they seen them since they were both much younger. The Wilsons take their "cousin" to Christmastown, Washington, where they live. Ira is excited because the town is "just like in the movies". He is also inspired to make and direct a play called ''Christmas Is For Everyone''. Jessica and her friend Spike sing and play guitar on the street for money, and Clare can sing but doesn't want to do it in public. She writes a song for the play, and Jessica and Spike agree to perform in the play. Clare and Ira round up kids from town to

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

. Jack, a bully, sics his dog Killer on Ira, who climbs a tree to escape the dog. Eventually, Ira realizes he misses his family. After Jack's father threatens to send Killer to the pound, Clare and Ira rescue Killer, renamed Mistletoe, and put him in the play. Mikey suffers a broken arm, and when Ira's parents are called, they drop everything to rush to his side... discovering that he and Ira had switched places; Jennifer was becoming too difficult to work with and wasn't talented anyway. The truth eventually comes out to everyone but Ira's family go to Washington to surprise him on the night of the play. Mikey's family also finds out the truth, and Mikey is pleased to see his mother, who came to surprise him as well. As the play comes to an end, Ira's parents reconcile with him and tell him that they're very proud of what he's done. Soon everyone gathers for the final song:, "Christmas Is For Everyone", and they embrace each other as they learn the true meaning of family and the holidays.

Cast

as Sam Finkelstein *

as Max Finkelstein *Elijah Nelson as Ira J. Finkelstein *Justin Howell as Mikey Amato *

as Libby Wilson *Angela DiMarco as Rosie Finkelstein *Shaye Hodgins as Clare *Julianne Christie as Jennifer Cameo *Jenna Levin as Jessica Wilson *Meg Savlov as Ruth Finkelstein *Tony Doupe as Walt Wilson *Jack Fleischmann as Kyle *Lance Rosen as Sol *Ashton Herrild as Jack The Jerk *Tracy Hyland as Julie

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1847615 2010s musical comedy films 2012 films 2012 comedy films Hanukkah films 2010s English-language films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links