Our Christmas (2001) was a highly underrated film from street level director Abel Ferrara. Instead of making a sell-out movie like all of the other directors do, Ferrara sticks to his guns and makes the kind of films that he wants to do. Loosely based upon a true story, Ferrara takes this simple tale about a innocent family living a double life and makes it into a compelling urban character driven drama that's filled with flesh and bone people instead of paper cut-outs.An young family that lives the good life has a shameful secret. They like to deal dope on the side to support their high class living. The movie takes place during the late 80's to the early 90's. Police corruption in New York City was at a all time high. So many of the cops were on the take. One group of cops didn't like the couple and their crew squeezing them out of the heroin business. Ice-T co-stars as an officer who tries to convince the wife (Drea Matteo) to leave the drug trade and do whatever it takes to keep Hubby away from it as well. Not convinced, they kidnap him and the wife has 24 hours to come up with a large sum of money to obtain his release.After receiving a reality check from Ice-T, Drea must come face with the fact that she has wasted her life and is better than the typical dope slinger. When Hubby is released retribution is in order. The crooked cops are all apprehended and the loser responsible for the entire mess is done away with. But really, are their any lessons to be learned by all of the main characters? Abel Ferrara leaves all of the questions open ended. He makes you think about what happened to everyone. This is not a violent soap opera filled with nonsensical gun play. It's a street level drama that pulls no punches and not everyone will appreciate it.Highly recommended.

The whole movie seemed to suffer from poor editing - every scene seemed to take forever to unfold and when they did, I felt like I had waited a long time for very little to happen. I guess I missed the whole point of the movie - either that or there wasn't one.

I don't know what has happened to director Abel Ferrara. Ever since the "Body Snatchers" remake he seems to have lost it. "King of New York" and "The Bad Lieutenant" remain two of the best films of the '90s: searing indictments of a decade gone wrong. With films like "'R Xmas" (whatever that means) and "New Rose Hotel" he seems determined to disgust and bore his former supporters. This film has NO LIFE in it. While he gets excellent performances out of his actors in all of his projects the result of this mishmash of ideas just doesn't jell. Whatever the point is -- that the new breed of drug dealer is more or less the same as any other upper middle class New Yawkuh -- gets lost in the mind numbing script and boring direction. I saw this opening night at the 4-Plex in downtown L.A. In the lobby, while buying tickets, I was surprised and delighted to see it filled with a large, racially mixed group of men and women in their twenties and thirties. Then they started into the theater but it was the theater that was featuring "8 Mile" not "'R Xmas"! The theater showing "'R Xmas" (keep in mind, this was opening night!) had a total of 4 people watching it, myself, my wife and two others! Way to go, Abel!2/10

I saw this at the Melbourne Film Festival in 2001, and thought it was cool, funky and sexy. I LOVED Ice-T in his role, and was blown away by the plot, and how the characters slid so smoothly from their supposedly happy domestic family life into a drug-dealing couple once their daughter was put to bed. I hope it gets major release in Australia before too long!