Love the Coopers Movie Review - Setting Aside Family Baggage for the Holidays

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Love The Coopers from CBS Films, a new comedy opening in theaters nationwide today, is the perfect movie to see together as a family to get into the holiday mood as it appeals to kids, parents and grandparents alike. The story revolves around all the family drama as four generations of the Cooper clan gather for their annual Christmas Eve celebration. Things aren't as wonderful as they seem: Welcome to the dysfunctional family life so many of us can relate to.

After an opening montage of holiday scenes to get the audience into the spirit of the season, the story begins to unfold as we are introduced to a patchwork of characters. Some we meet for the first time as a couple like family matriarch and patriarch Charlotte and Sam, played by Keaton and Goodman. Other colorful, seemingly random characters are introduced as individual kids and adults start popping up in the storyline. Almost all the way to closing credits, the audience is left trying to figure out who is related to whom and why they are all behaving the way they are.

Rated PG-13, the film stars big names grownups will recognize like Alan Arkin, Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Marisa Tomei and others, while the great Steve Martin narrates. Meanwhile the younger set will recognize young actors like Amanda Seyfried (Pan, Red Riding Hood), Olivia Wilde (House M.D.), Molly Gordon (The Animal Kingdom), and Timothee Chalamet (Interstellar). 

Rags Sculpture by The Magic Sleigh, MommyBlogExpert.com

Rounding out the cast is the charming and very mischievious family pet dog Rags, played by Bolt. This talented canine thespian is an Austrailian Shepherd and Saint Bernard mix born in Osaka, Japan who has been acting since he was 12 weeks old. His impressive doggy resume credits include the Volkswagen 2012 Superbowl commercial, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3, SuperBuddies, Night at the Museum 3 (playing a tiger) and others.

Here's a sneak peak at the holiday hilarity...



As Christmas Eve day and evening unfold, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events will have you laughing and waiting for the next scene. Then things get really crazy, which ironically leads the Coopers to the unexpected rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday. The lesson learned: You can't regift family. I can almost guarantee you that you won't discover who the story's real protagonist is until the end of the movie. But when you do figure it out, it will make you smile.

Love the Coopers
Directed by: Jessie Nelson

Written by: Steven Rogers

Produced by: Michael London, Jessie Nelson, Janice Williams

Cast: Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Jake Lacy, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, Marisa Tomei & Olivia Wilde

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FTC Disclosure: Except where indicated otherwise, CBS Films and Love the Coopers provided all images that appear in this post. MommyBlogExpert was invited to a media screening at of this movie at The Grove in Los Angeles prior to release to facilitate this review. I also received refreshments and an assortment of movie promotional items at the screening event. However, no payment was received in connection with this post and opinions here are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's home page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.