You know what you’re getting with a Christmas movie – after a trudge out in the cold comes the good cheer. Whether it’s the Santa Claus no one believes is really Santa (A Miracle on 34th Street), the old grouch abandoning his curmudgeonly ways (A Christmas Carol), or the malevolent Father Christmas threatening peace on earth who is eventually dehorned (Rare Exports), the Christmas movie maps out its obstacles early on and then sets about clambering over them.
There are quite a few in The Christmas Break but the biggie is whether nice Chicago couple Caroline (India Mullen) and Jack (Justin Long) are going to have children or not. He’s dead keen and would appear to be the natural dad, she’s more interested in pursuing her career. So, matter unresolved, they head off to her native Ireland for Christmas, where yet more potentially solvable problems are waiting for them at the arrival gate.
Her dad’s pub, in the family for generations, is in trouble. An old flame of hers is about to rear his head. Her young nephew is jibing against her brother’s desire that he play Gaelic football, though he’s no good at it. Her niece, who does want to play the game, is not allowed to because she’s a girl.
On the upside, Caroline’s sisters are all kidded up and seem happy enough. Her parents are content with their lot even though the pub is struggling. Her brothers are a happy gang. The various children, all a handful, are full of energy and life. There’s a firecracker energy coming off this gaggle, accentuated by the festive time of year and the Irish tendency to reach for the booze no matter what time of day. She’s the only one who’s a bit out of sorts, out of place, the only one who flew the coop and is now wondering if it was the right thing to do.
It’s a touch Oirish, The Christmas Break. Director Prarthana Mohan doesn’t lay it on with a trowel. Instead she relies on the breezy interaction of her actors and a couple of Richard Curtis moments of cute, from screenwriting partners Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, to bounce through moments where some Ireland-set movies might revert to fiddles and craic. When Stuff Needs To Be Said, up pops a sideshow – comically awful karaoke, for instance – to keep things ticking along.
Justin Long’s odd career – one moment in fluffy romcom Going the Distance with Drew Barrymore, the next being turned into a human walrus in the comically grisly Tusk – has taken in a Christmas movie before, 2022’s Christmas with the Campbells. But ignoring the sound of alarm bells ringing, he knuckles down as the decent guy slightly at sea in a country whose language he kind of understands (“arse” translates as “ass” – nursery slope stuff) but whose national game, Gaelic football, Jack doesn’t even have a clue about. Luckily the Irish are rather proud that he doesn’t.
It’s a good cast all round. Mullen slightly underwritten as the woman unsure how far to go with her career. Ruth Kearney and Cate Russell delivering a lot of feelgood energy as Caroline’s two sisters, mothers who can still have a good time (adminstering death by karaoke to the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York). Bríd Ní Neachtain twinkles away like an atomic lovebomb as the wise grandma who has got this, whatever this might be. The guys, no one’s really that interested in them, though Tom Moran gets half a shout as the ex who might be worth a second go, and Owen Roe gets slightly less as Caroline’s dad.
If it’s as predictable as a snoring uncle on Christmas afternoon, it’s nicely done and doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. It knows what it has to do and does it efficiently and with good grace. It turns out it’s less about Caroline and Jack than it looked like it was going to be, and more about the joys of the extended family. You might like it. I did.
The Christmas Break – Watch it/buy it at Amazon
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© Steve Morrissey 2025
