The family film Coming Home For Christmas has been released on DVD just in time for the holiday season. The bittersweet story with values that include friendship, sibling forgiveness and home keep the theme in line with this coming Christian holiday. The film may be a little familiar with its subject matter, but the acting is fresh and the direction efficient.
The O’Brien family, husband Al (George Canyon), wife Wendy (Amy Jo Johnson) and their daughters Kate (Carly McKillip) and Melanie (Britt McKillip) has taken a downturn with 20 year marriage in the balance and sisters at odds with each over an incident at Melanie’s wedding. Kate has been living away from her hometown with a job working for a publishing company. She has not made much contact with her family and finally decides to come home for the holidays.
Melanie’s life has been conflicted over her husband’s lack of interest that leads to a divorce, while Al and Wendy have decided that their marriage has lost its spark. Director Vanessa Parise moves her family film along quite nicely introducing the main characters and then inserting stimulus from others to keep the film on track to present a recovery of what has been lost through time and misunderstanding.
Writers Kele McGlohon and Bruce Spiegelman put in a nice twist or two making the story a little different than most of the movies involving misunderstood family members and a return to normalcy. They even make the dog and the former home an integral part of the film that connects both the family and Kate’s new love life.
Choice of cast is very good using real life sisters Carly and Britt McKillip. Their resemblance to each other is so astonishing, you would think they were twins. The performances they give make me wonder if they had similar problems in real life they are so natural. I’m guessing they had a lot of practice growing up using a measure of their life to establish the Kate and Melanie characters. In all, it’s the development of their roles that make the film work. I also like Amy Jo Johnson as the mother, she really shows the confliction in her character wanting to be separated from her husband after so many years of marriage.
The DVD has a 5 minute making of as a bonus feature. Inside the box there is a post card with the painting by Norman Rockwell that’s a classic. Along with the card is a special card that will allow you to stream the film on your computer or other VUDU-enabled device with an expiration date of 2016.
The DVD video clarity is very good and fills the whole screen on a 16×9 HD Television. The colors are bright, the Christmas decorations stunning and even the night scenes are nicely lit.
The sound quality, using the 5.1 Dolby Digital provided, works extremely well on my HD television without any distortion noted. The dialogue can be understood and the music with the singing of the McKillip sisters is enjoyable.
The film is unrated but does have adult circumstances and family differences. I think it’s a very good film for everyone, especially this time of year when families get together for the holidays.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Carly McKillip, Britt McKillip, Amy Jo Johnson and George Canyon
Director: Vanessa Parise
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Drama, Family
Running Time: 1 hr 37 min
Video Release Date: October 29, 2013
Original Film Release Date:
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio, 16×9 Widescreen
Subtitles: English SDH
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
