- Actor: Brian Posehn
- Director: Chris Kasick
- Format: Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
- Release Date: November 1, 2016
- Run Time: 81 minutes
Holiday movies about dysfunctional families and their
behavior are almost as commonplace as the saccharine feel-good films of the
season, but Uncle Nick takes it to a
darker place than usual. It isn’t just the darkness, but how grounded in
realism Uncle Nick is that makes it
so depressingly bleak. I appreciate dark comedies, but this one has too few
laughs for the dreariness that must be endured. Most Christmas films all end
the same, with the family coming together and repairing damaged relationships
in order to celebrate the season. While I commend Uncle Nick for avoiding the seasonal clichés, few films have left
me with less of a desire to celebrate the holidays.
The movie is
instead structured around the telling of a notorious evening in Cleveland baseball
history, as told by local fanatic Nick (Brian Posehn). As Nick unravels the
tale of “ten-cent beer night,” the baseball debauchery correlates with the
increasingly sloppy events occurring at the family Christmas gathering. Nick
and his raucous sister (Missi Pyle) join their younger brother (Beau Ballinger)
with his new wife (Paget Brewster) and her kids from the past marriage. These
kids include a snarky teenage (Jacob Houston) and a 22-year-old vixen (Melia
Renee) that Nick awkwardly lusts after despite being her uncle by marriage.
I have to assume
that this uncomfortably inappropriate relationship is the primary focus of the
film, if not because it takes up nearly as much of the screen time as the
baseball stories, because of the title itself. It is somewhat like American Beauty with eggnog and a
fraction of the same thoughtfulness (possibly due to the eggnog). As the
evening wears on and Nick gets increasingly drunk, he becomes bolder in his
creepy and inappropriate behavior, eventually leading to a full-on family
meltdown. The setting and the dynamic
may start like a typical dysfunctional family Christmas film, but it is the
ending that gives the middle finger to the typical traditions of the holiday
movie.
The film is
produced by legendary documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris, who director Chris
Kasick used to work for. This may explain the realism of the film, including
the sequences involving the historical baseball narrative used as a larger
allegory for the film. Although the low budget look of Uncle Nick doesn’t
demand a high definition viewing, the Blu-ray does come with a collection of
extras to up the stakes. Along with a commentary track featuring Kasick, Posehn
and writer Mike Demski, there is also a collection of outtakes and a feature
which plays all of the barf scenes from the film set to a classic Christmas
tune. There is also a trailer gallery and a collection of posed family photos
from the cast.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 4/10
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