Surviving Christmas

Surviving Christmas (2004) is a holiday comedy with a romantic streak you can watch online on iFILM. Mike Mitchell directs, with Ben Affleck front and center.

Rich, lonely ad executive Drew Latham drives back to his childhood home for the holidays and finds the Valco family living there instead. His fix is instant: he hands the homeowners a fat check to play his relatives until the new year. Dad Tom (James Gandolfini) tolerates it through gritted teeth, mom Christine (Catherine O'Hara) goes along for the ride, and daughter Alicia (Christina Applegate) wants no part of her rented "brother." The longer the arrangement runs, the harder this fake Christmas cheer is to keep together.

It's an odd mix of crude gags and a soft landing about how you can't actually buy a family — though Drew gives it a real try. Easy seasonal viewing carried by a strong cast. Stream Surviving Christmas (2004) online on iFILM.