"Celebrity Dance Factor."
"No."
The latest addition to the mini-sub-genre of female-targeted ensemble comedy-dramas is perhaps the most watchable of the bunch, but it is still utterly predictable, lightweight and ridiculous. Unlike the ridiculous New Year's Eve, the tenuous relationships and links between the five main narrative-strand couples are less forced but remain unlikely. The reverse sexism employed is cynical and mildly offensive: the male characters are buff, stupid, totally whipped or any combination of the three, whilst the women are all saints for having to cope with their child-men (except, of course, for the stupid-comedy-relief-large-woman just like in Bridesmaids, who unsurprisingly played the same kind of role in, er, Bridesmaids). The standout performance comes from the wonderful Anna Kendrick, providing yet another thoughtful and precise character reading, and J-Lo dials it down a couple of notches to remind everyone that she is a good actress. Whilst written by women, starring women and made for women, Hollywood gave the director's chair to a man, and Jones thankfully keeps proceedings away from their potentially shriek-filled level. Aside from a truly distasteful juxtaposition of Christmas with a miscarriage (and yes, they even drive to the hospital in the snow and return in the rain/metaphorical tears), the pace snaps between the different strands at a fair trot and the film gets more amusing in the later stages, but ladies, you deserve better.
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