When four generations of the Cooper clan come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.
It's just as often manipulative and contrived, but Jessie Nelson's film sells itself well. There's care in the details, and the characters often feel like actual people.
– Bilge Ebiri,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
17 Nov 2015
rotten:
Ticks off literally every home-for-the-holidays box -- in dutiful, uninspired fashion.
– Tom Huddleston,
Time Out,
13 Nov 2015
rotten:
If you've been wishing and hoping for a movie in which June Squibb - here playing a dementia-riddled relative named Aunt Fishy - shows her underpants yet again, you'll love Love the Coopers. For the rest of us, to know them is to hate them.
– Stephanie Zacharek,
Village Voice,
13 Nov 2015
rotten:
Holiday entertainment that feels more like a horror movie.
– Scott Tobias,
NPR,
13 Nov 2015
fresh:
It's part sitcom and part soap opera that pokes mild fun at the season but has a wide sentimental streak.