Christmas Eve in Miller's Point (2024) review

Multiple family members drive to their childhood home in Long Island to spend December 24th together: the guys hang out in the garage smoking, the teenage boys play video games, some of the adults fret about what to do with "Ma" (who's "deteriorating") and then a group of them sneak out to buy bagels and beer ... all while taciturn police officers Gibson (Michael Cera) and Brooks (Gregg Turkington) "keep watch" over the town.  I guess Taormina is trying to present a vaguely nostalgic "Holiday Vibe" instead of anything remotely resembling a narrative since he doesn't provide introductions for the numerous characters or explain who they are and what's going on with their lives ... and then there isn't any sense of "closure" either, as the evening just passes by, the grown-ups drink too much and everything dissolves into an innocuous blur of multi-colored lights.  The "hang-out" films of Richard Linklater were probably an inspiration, but it goes to show what Rich manages to do is significantly trickier than it looks - and if the purpose is to point out that familial gatherings are a tad exhausting, well ... no kidding.  Also, what's with playing a jukebox ditty from the 1960's (including Frank Sinatra, Gene McDaniels and the Ronettes) every ninety seconds or so?