Happy Holidays Collection 4-Movie Set Contains Trading Places (1983), All I Want for Christmas (1991), Surviving Christmas (2004), and Last Holiday (2006) Movie Running Time: 411 Minutes (6 Hours, 51 Minutes) Extras Running Time: 97 Minutes (1 Hours, 37 Minutes) Release Date: November 1, 2011 Suggested Retail Price: $19.99 Closed Captioned; Extras Captioned Four single-sided discs (3 DVD-9s & 1 DVD-5) Black Keepcase in Embossed Cardboard Slipcover See Below for Cast, Writers, Directors, Release Dates, and Other Film and DVD Details

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Trading Places Theatrical Release: June 10, 1983 / Running Time: 116 Minutes / Rating: R / Songs Director: John Landis / Writers: Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod Cast: Dan Aykroyd (Louis Winthorpe III), Eddie Murphy (Billy Ray Valentine), Ralph Bellamy (Randolph Duke), Don Ameche (Mortimer Duke), Denholm Elliott (Coleman), Kristin Holby (Penelope Witherspoon), Paul Gleason (Clarence Beeks), Jamie Lee Curtis (Ophelia), Alfred Drake (President of Exchange), Bo Diddley (Pawnbroker), Frank Oz (Corrupt Cop), Jim Belushi (Harvey), Al Franken (Baggage Handler #1), Tom Davis (Baggage Handler #2), Ron Taylor (Big Black Guy), James D. Turner (Even Bigger Black Guy), Giancarlo Esposito (Cellmate #2), Bill Cobbs (Bartender), Robert E. Lee (Cop #1), Peter Hock (Cop #2), Philip Bosco (Doctor), Lucianne Buchanan (President's Mistress), Richard Hunt (Wilson) Picture: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese) / Subtitles: English; Extras Subtitled in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese / DVD Release Date: June 5, 2007

Though its title is the least seasonal, Trading Places is definitely the best movie featured here. Directed by John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London) at the height of his success and released the same year as both his iconic music video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and his career-damaging lethal contribution to Twilight Zone: The Movie, this is a high-concept comedy as straightforward as its title suggests. To settle their ongoing debate on whether achievement is hereditary or the product of one's environment, snobby millionaire Philadelphia commodities brokers Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche) conduct a social experiment to put their theories to the test. They use their power, money, and influence to swap the statuses of two men: snooty, wealthy Harvard grad businessman Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and broke, uneducated con man Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy). The two, strangers aside from one sidewalk encounter that got Billy Ray sent to jail, immediately find their lives turned upside down. Framed for social club theft and PCP possession, Winthorpe is publicly shamed and jailed. Then he is set up by Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), a prostitute who pretends to know him, prompting his fiancée (Kristin Holby) and stuck-up friends to abandon him. His credit cards seized and bank accounts frozen, messy Winthorpe gets Ophelia to let him crash at her modest pad in the bad part of town. Meanwhile, things are looking up for Billy Ray, who moves into Winthorpe's home, gets waited on by his former butler Coleman (Raiders of the Lost Ark's Denholm Elliott), and draws positive attention for the first time in his life. In one of the film's less believable conceits, Billy Ray is also somehow a natural at commodities trading, using his life experience to predict trends and increase the profits of Duke & Duke. When Billy Ray discovers the reasoning for his and Winthorpe's sudden change in fortunes, the two angry pawns team up in search of revenge, with Ophelia and Coleman on their side. This second act is a bit prolonged, carrying the film to a 116-minute runtime and detailing more than necessary the cunning vengeance plot. Still, the movie remains a good deal of fun from start to finish. Sure, nostalgia must help, but the 1980s strike me as the apex of comedy films, with their many entertaining works often populated by early "Saturday Night Live" cast members. This vehicle, teaming former "SNL" star Aykroyd with then-current one Murphy (who filmed this alongside his third of four seasons as a Not Ready for Prime Time player), is one of the better fruits of the decade. Murphy had scored a big hit just a few months earlier in his film debut, the buddy cop action/comedy 48 Hrs. and his movie career was about to go cosmic. Aykroyd had made a big silver screen splash in The Blues Brothers, which he co-wrote with Landis; his next film script would be the epochal triumph Ghostbusters. The cast of Trading Places reeled in audiences and their strong comic chemistry delighted them. Grossing $90 million at the domestic box office (the equivalent of $228 M today), the film was the fourth biggest earner of 1983, trailing only Return of the Jedi, Terms of Endearment, and Flashdance, the latter two also part of a banner year at Paramount under the guidance of rising, Disney-bound Hollywood power players Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg. It must be noted how crazy it is that Eddie Murphy was a mere 21 years old while making this movie, a fact that never seems to matter; imagine a 21-year-old today playing an adult and not one you'd even necessarily identify as "young." Murphy really did peak at a young age, doing all his highest-regarded live-action comedies before the age of 30. While it might not spring to mind as a Christmas movie and was in fact first released in June, Trading Places does prominently feature the holiday in its production design, dialogue, locations, and story. In addition, the climactic retribution stretches from New Year's Eve to just after New Year's Day, making "holidays" an unusually appropriate way to refer to the movie's setting.

 

All I Want for Christmas Theatrical Release: November 8, 1991 / Running Time: 92 Minutes / Rating: G / Songs Director: Robert Lieberman / Writers: Thom Eberhardt, Richard Kramer Cast: Harley Jane Kozak (Catherine O'Fallon), Jamey Sheridan (Michael O'Fallon), Ethan Embry (Ethan O'Fallon), Kevin Nealon (Tony Boer), Thora Birch (Hallie O'Fallon), Andrea Martin (Olivia), Lauren Bacall (Lillian Brooks), Amy Oberer (Stephanie), Renee Taylor (Sylvia), Felicity La Fortune (Susan), Camille Saviola (Sonya), Leslie Nielsen (Santa Claus), Patrick LaBrecque (Marshall Fisher), Devin Oatway (Kevin Mars), Josh Keaton (Brad), Phil Leeds (Mr. Feld), Edith Varon (Stella), Michael Alaimo (Frankie), Joey Gaynor (Shep) Picture: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (English, French) / Subtitles: English / DVD Release Date: October 5, 2004

Rarely is cover artwork as misleading as that which is attached to All I Want for Christmas. Its individual case (and the theatrical one-sheet before it) featured two kids, a girl with a very long list and a boy casually holding the tinsel with which he has tied up Santa Claus and hung him upside down. Are these demon children hell-bent on terrorizing Santa and ruining Christmas for all? Hardly. And despite being the primary focus of the film's cover representation here (which turns him right-side up), Santa is barely in the movie and is just the standard department store variety. In all fairness, this film does pose a serious challenge to a marketing department, whose job of making it look exciting required a bit of imagination and misrepresentation. Arriving just a year after Home Alone became one of the all-time highest grossing films, who could blame Paramount for taking the mischievous kid approach for their ad campaign? The O'Fallon siblings are a bit mischievous, but more so precocious. The parents of New York City tweenager Ethan (Ethan Embry, then going as Ethan Randall) and his younger sister Hallie (Thora Birch) got divorced last year. Now, Mom (Harley Jane Kozak) is about to marry her totally uncool new beau Tony (Kevin Nealon). The kids would much rather have her remarry their father, diner owner Michael (Jamey Sheridan). Hallie conveys that much in a visit to the department store Santa (Leslie Nielsen making a "special appearance"). Just in case jolly St. Nick can't come through on his own, the kids also set a parent trap of their own, involving eight pet store mice, falsified plans, feigned illness, a cancelled cab, and a hearing impaired ice cream delivery man. It's all a bit much for children to pull off, but these New Yorkers are determined. Ethan is also determined not to be embarrassed by Hallie, especially not in front of Stephanie (Amy Oberer), a pretty girl visiting from Boston. A rekindled adult romance choreographed by kids and aimed at them... yeah, let's go with the tied-up Santa who has approximately three minutes of screentime in total. The fact that All I Want for Christmas isn't all that good is hidden by the passing of twenty years. If you were a kid in the early '90s, the clothing, lingo, and simply the feel of family films will all take you back. Disarmed by that nostalgic charm, you should be content with what you see. Though uncinematic, the movie's not bad. It's never obnoxious or stupid or very broad. It's mostly just sweet, innocent, and fun. There's Kevin Nealon getting more than his just desserts. And for fans of classic cinema, there is Lauren Bacall in the role of Nana. No easy sell, All I Want for Christmas grossed less in its entire run than Home Alone did in its opening weekend. The movie didn't even enjoy much of a Christmas bump, since it opened on the second Friday of November and was already being phased out by the time December rolled in. It wasn't as costly a flop as the same year's John Hughes-penned cross-country Thanksgiving comedy Dutch that starred Randall/Embry and Ed O'Neill. Nor did it make as lasting an impression on Christmas as Thora Birch's increasingly respected and perennially strong-selling Hocus Pocus made on Halloween for '90s kids. But, hey there's a good chance you haven't seen this and you can never have too many holiday movies, right?

 

Surviving Christmas Theatrical Release: October 22, 2004 / Running Time: 91 Minutes / Rating: PG-13 / Songs Director: Mike Mitchell / Writers: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont (story & screenplay); Jeffrey Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin (screenplay) Cast: Ben Affleck (Drew Latham), James Gandolfini (Tom Valco), Christina Applegate (Alicia Valco), Catherine O'Hara (Christine Valco), Josh Zuckerman (Brian Valco), Bill Macy (Doo-Dah), Jennifer Morrison (Missy Vangilder), Udo Kier (Heinrich), David Selby (Horace Vangilder), Stephanie Faracy (Letitia Vangilder), Stephen Root (Dr. Freeman), Sy Richardson (Doo-Dah Understudy), Tangie Ambrose (Kathryn), John BJ Bryant (Cabbie), Peter Jason (Suit), Phill Lewis (Levine the Lawyer), Tumbleweed (Santa) Picture: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and 1.33:1 Reformatted Fullscreen / Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French) / Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; Extras Subtitled / DVD Release Date: December 21, 2004

For me, Surviving Christmas has two major claims to fame. Firstly, it was responsible for the 2004 film adaptation of John Grisham's Skipping Christmas being renamed Christmas with the Kranks. Secondly and more significantly, it is quite possibly the only Christmas movie to hit home video the same holiday season it was released theatrically. Surviving opened quite early, a full month before Kranks and nine days before Halloween. Scathingly reviewed and a complete nonstarter at the box office, the movie took just two months to come to disc, debuting in stores the Tuesday before Christmas. This was a product of Ben Affleck's movie star phase. Smart enough to win an original screenplay Oscar with best friend and fellow rising actor Matt Damon, young and handsome Affleck was quickly thrust to Hollywood's A-list and was not terribly discerning about the offers that came his way. Cracks in Affleck's audience appeal began showing in 2003 with the dismal hat trick of Daredevil, Gigli, and Paycheck. Shot in early 2003 but held back until fall 2004, Surviving Christmas would conclude punchline Affleck's A-list stint with a whimper. The career rebuilding that began with 2006's Hollywoodland continues and is almost complete with Affleck having twice regained credibility directorially, most recently in The Town, in which he also starred. Feeling lonesome at Christmas, wealthy ad man Drew Latham (Affleck) ditches his vast bachelor pad to return to his childhood home in Lincoln Wood, Illinois. Writing a check for $250,000, he moves in with the Valcos, the unknown family living there, to spend a traditional family Christmas just like the ones he used to know. Doesn't that sound like a whimsical premise? Naturally, Drew's presence draws attention to the Valcos' problems. Father Tom (James Gandolfini) and mother Christine (Catherine O'Hara) are on the verge of divorce. Teenaged son Brian (Josh Zuckerman) is always looking at Internet porn in his room. Drew gets a surprise when Alicia (Christina Applegate), a daughter around his age, shows up. There are midlife crises: Tom buys the vintage car he had in happier times, Christine poses for a sexy photo shoot. There is a pot-smoking, diabetic old actor (Bill Macy) hired to play Drew's "Doo-Dah." And just as things seem to be warming between Alicia and Drew, Drew's not-quite ex-girlfriend (Jennifer Morrison) and her parents show up. The degree of miscalculation somehow unnoticed by this assortment of veteran actors is rather astonishing. Affleck takes his unlikability to new heights, adopting this manic man-child persona seemingly out of nowhere. The whole thing is forced, unfunny, and a bit painful. To hide its comedic and narrative failings, the film puts every Christmas or winter tradition on parade and fills its soundtrack with Mickey Moused score and familiar holiday season songs. Being such a sucker for Christmas movies, it bothers me all the more when filmmakers try to exploit the holiday and use its lore to disguise trite, manipulative, subpar storytelling. That kind of storytelling appears to be the modus operandi of the writing team of Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, who have also given us such gems as The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Made of Honor, and the 2010 romcom Leap Year. While Kaplan and Elfont are attributed with story, they share screenplay credit with Jeffrey Ventimilia and Joshua Sternin, a pair of TV writers and producers that with this transitioned into feature films, where they've recently found their niche in family fare (like Rio and Yogi Bear). I don't think we'll soon see a year as bad in Christmas cinema as 2004, which gave us this, Kranks, and The Polar Express. 2006 wasn't too much better, with Deck the Halls, Unaccompanied Minors, and The Santa Clause 3. Perhaps it's a good thing that Christmas movies have been somewhat scarce in the years since.

 

Last Holiday Theatrical Release: January 13, 2006 / Running Time: 112 Minutes / Rating: PG-13 / Songs Director: Wayne Wang / Writers: Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman (screenplay); J.B. Priestley (1950 screenplay) Cast: Queen Latifah (Georgia Byrd), LL Cool J (Sean Matthews), Timothy Hutton (Matthew Kragen), Giancarlo Esposito (Senator Dillings), Alicia Witt (Ms. Burns), Gérard Depardieu (Chef Didier), Jane Adams (Rochelle), Mike Estime (Marlon), Susan Kellermann (Ms. Gunther), Jascha Washington (Darius), Matt Ross (Adamian), Ranjit Chowdhry (Dr. Rabindranath Gupta), Michael Nouri (Congressman Stewart) Picture: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French), Dolby Surround (English) / Subtitles: English, Spanish / DVD Release Date: May 2, 2006

Last Holiday doesn't refer to an occasion a month earlier or a year earlier, but in the last holiday season Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) may live to see. A coupon-clipping New Orleans department store sales clerk, Baptist choir singer, and amateur chef, Georgia hits her head in a freak accident and the subsequent CAT Scan reveals that she has a rare, incurable form of Lampington's Disease. Though her health doesn't reflect it, Georgia apparently has brain tumors that will claim her life in just a few weeks. Suddenly, shockingly terminal, Georgia decides to live it up like there's no tomorrow (even though we know there will be). She sells her savings bonds, withdraws her life savings, and catches a flight to a swank Prague resort. A number of important figures in Georgia's life just happen to be there, including a Louisiana senator (Giancarlo Esposito), the douchey author of motivational books and owner of her place of employment (Timothy Hutton), and the legendary chef she idolizes (Gerard Depardieu). Throwing caution to the wind, Georgia pampers herself with spa treatments and thrilling new experiences like snowboarding, base jumping, and roulette wheel gambling. She also makes an impact on everyone she meets, from the hotel staff to that suspicious author. Meanwhile, Georgia's workplace crush Sean (LL Cool J), who she has never had the courage to date, takes bold steps to fly over and meet her. Last Holiday makes it so easy to forget that Queen Latifah got her start as a beatboxer and rapper in New Jersey. It's tough to imagine fans of her music following her to such feature films. But this, her second solo starring vehicle to follow her memorable turn in the Oscar-winning Chicago and her hit off-season Steve Martin comedy Bringing Down the House, is aimed squarely at middle-aged women of any race. If you can get behind Latifah's persona -- the mildly sassy working class sage who has things figured out way better than people of wealth and influence -- then perhaps you can enjoy this trifling cookie cutter comedy. But it is terribly by the numbers, serving up characters and scenarios that feel vaguely familiar from movies not good enough to remember clearly. Despite the title, the holiday season doesn't feature too prominently here, which explains how the film got away with opening in mid-January 2006. The geographic setting of snowy, upscale Central Europe is far more significant than the temporal one of December to January. The crux is that time is running out and Georgia is determined to indulge in all the luxuries she responsibly avoided over the years. In better hands that could be a good premise; the 1950 Alec Guinness movie that this remakes is very obscure but well regarded. However, Queen Latifah is comfortable aspiring to the intelligence levels of Katherine Heigl and Kate Hudson comedies. At least Latifah manages to play to more than just African Americans with a genuinely diverse cast and somewhat color-blind villainy. But that hardly makes up for the dips your IQ will take just by watching this to completion. Grossing $38.4 million domestically, Last Holiday performed respectably and I'll always remember Latifah citing it and Glory Road as the top two films at the box office over Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend 2006 (whose Golden Globes she presented on). Nonetheless, the actress' career as leading lady has somewhat slowed, with more ensemble comedies and supporting roles coming since. She has been something of a January staple, though, and her next star vehicle, Warner Bros.' Joyful Noise co-starring Dolly Parton, opens then. Continue to Page 2 >> for Video & Audio, Bonus Features, Menus, Packaging, and Closing Thoughts Support this site when you buy Happy Holidays Collection DVD now from Amazon.com