Well-meaning parents Abbie (Lucy DeVito) and Jacob (Wilmer Valderrama) are planning to separate, and having consulted their therapist, decide the best way to break the news to their 10-year-old daughter is to have grandad Lawrence (Danny DeVito) do it for them, at his idyllic Dolomites resort. It doesn’t take Lawrence long to realise the kid is way ahead of them. “Did you notice any changes in your dad?” he asks. “Did he start weightlifting? Did he always wear jeans? Did he have perfect hair?”
The upshot – naturally – is that everyone agrees to stage Christmas in August. As far as the parents know, it’s a stunt for the benefit of their daughter: to have one last perfect Christmas before splitsville; while in their precocious progeny’s vision, fake Christmas will be the thing that glues mum and dad back together again. Things proceed amiably enough from there. Andie MacDowell appears, playing grandma, with a nice line in light cynicism (“sounds more like a roommate than a soulmate”), and various high jinks ensue.
Since the film is undoubtedly trading on his name, it’s worth mentioning that A Sudden Case of Christmas unfortunately kind of wastes the gift to the world that is Danny DeVito. His best work in recent times is as the irredeemable Frank Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and it’s a shame to see any new comedy fail to activate those comic chops, even a family comedy which necessarily has limits that a no-holds-barred sitcom does not. The man is nearly 80, and it’s rare to see someone at that stage of their career throw caution to the wind and succeed as wildly and wholeheartedly as he does in that wonderful, disgusting little sitcom. He’s still got it, and you want any project he takes on to be worthy of him, which sadly this amiable little film isn’t.
It never quite connects as either of the two films it’s trying to be: mushy festive family fare; or something more grown up about the difference between affectionate love and a deeper, more profound connection. But if you’ve ever wanted to see Andie MacDowell read the great but brutal DH Lawrence poem Know Deeply, Know Thyself More Deeply, this is the film for you.
• A Sudden Case of Christmas is on digital platforms from 11 November
