A wild mess

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Movie
German title A wild mess
Original title I'll Be Home for Christmas
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1998
length 83 minutes
Age rating FSK o. A.
Rod
Director Arlene Sanford
script Harris Goldberg ,
Tom Nursall
production Robin French ,
David Hoberman ,
Tracey Trench
music John Debney
camera Hiro Narita
cut Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
occupation

A wild mess (Original title: I'll Be Home for Christmas ) is an American comedy film directed by Arlene Sanford from 1998 . It was produced for Walt Disney Pictures .

action

Jake Wilkinson attends Palisades College in California and has not had a Christmas party at home in Larchmont , New York since his mother died . He has a difficult relationship with his stepmother, Carolyn, despite the fact that she seeks his affection. But Jake's father would like to celebrate together again this year and promises Jake a Porsche 356 when he gets home by 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. So Jake and his girlfriend Allie, who also comes from Larchmont, decide to travel home.

But Jake's classmates get in the way: As revenge for a botched exam, in which Jake was supposed to provide them with the right solutions, but this was sabotaged by his rival classmate Eddie, they kidnap him and leave him disguised as Santa Claus in the desert. Now Jake, who has neither money nor papers, begins an adventurous journey across the United States. First he is picked up by a car with elderly Tom Jones fans, then by a delivery truck that almost ran over him and loaded with stolen goods, and finally by the policeman Max, whom Jake is helping to win back his separated wife . In gratitude, Max bought him a bus ticket to New York.

On his travels, he repeatedly meets his classmate and rival Eddie, who is also traveling to New York in the car with Allie. Jake fears that he might lose Allie to Eddie and tracks her down in a Bavarian themed hotel. However, Alison is appalled that Jake wants to travel to his family mainly because of the Porsche, and continues with his bus ticket to New York. In Wisconsin , Jake takes part in a Santa Claus race and wins the $ 1000 prize money, but leaves the money there as it is usually donated to charity. He finally lands in the animal storage room of an airplane in New York.

With a lot of luck, Jake will make it home on time and will be standing in front of his house shortly before 6 p.m. But he deliberately waits until after 6 p.m. and only then goes to the door. His father is very happy that he still made it and wants to give him the Porsche anyway. But Jake replies that he should spend a few more Christmas with his family before the car is his.

background

The film was shot in California , British Columbia and Alberta , Canada . It grossed around $ 12.2 million in US cinemas . Measured against the film budget of around 30 million US dollars, the box office result was a commercial flop.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the film was actually intended for television and was running in theaters to make "a few extra dollars". Jonathan Taylor Thomas has a "spark of charisma", but the other actors are "lifeless".

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on November 13, 1998 that the film looked like a sitcom from the 1950s.

For the lexicon of international films , Eine wüsten Bescherung was a "staid, sugar-sweet Christmas fairy tale that intones a song of praise to the harmonious family, whereby it finally torpedoes its already thin story through loveless actors and an extremely weak staging."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Filming locations of Eine wüsten Bescherung on imdb.com
  2. ↑ Box office results from Eine wüsten Bescherung on imdb.com
  3. ↑ I'll Be Home for Christmas. Retrieved December 10, 2019 .
  4. ^ Review by James Berardinelli on reelviews.net
  5. ^ Review by Roger Ebert on rogerebert.suntimes.com
  6. ↑ A wild mess. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used