SPOILERS So, this film was partly financed by 'American Express'? How does THAT work out? Anyway, the main gist here is a VERY large family of Irish American siblings getting together for the festive period. Most have very complicated personal lives, as well as big relationship problems. Their parents have been separated for years... After their father ran off decades ago because he suddenly became a millionaire.Now, he has terminal pancreatic cancer... And wants one last special day with his loved ones. His former wife is totally against it... And who can blame her? Their grown-up children have varying opinions... Some desperately want to see him again regardless of past sins... Others have no interest in renewing their acquaintance of such a thoughtless man, whatever the circumstances.The question of will-they or won't-they spend the festive period as one takes place amongst a backdrop of chaos and angst. Over the course of 100 minutes, ties will be mended, started or shattered forever. There is a slight soap-operaish air seeing all these travails unfold, and the film successfully involves us in the drama. With a couple of exceptions, the performances are all on point, capturing the mood of a loving, but feuding family during a very stressful time of the year.Of course, it all ends with a slow motion pan over a necessarily large table... With everyone together, smiling and laughing while nodding at each other, subtly forgiving of past sins. You can always rely on the Yanks to bring out the schmaltz eventually... 6/10

--WARNING: There may be some spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the film, so just a heads up. In order to accurately review this film, it may be necessary to talk about some key moments.--For anyone familiar with any of Edward Burns previous films, The Fitzgerald Family Christmas should be a welcome addition to his quirky & modest-budget collection of films centered around individuals living out complicated and dramatic lives in New York. Nothing new stands out, and most of the cast from his previous film 'Newlyweds' reside in this ensemble tale of eight siblings coming together to celebrate Christmas Day with their mother who has just received word through Gerry, her go to son (played by Burns) that their father, who has remained estranged from most of the family for 20 years, wants to reconnect for one last holiday with his whole family. It's been told before, but never with such a melancholy chaos and whimsically dark, almost satirical tone that only Burns can conjure up.It is much less of a holiday family film, and much more of a portrait of a family during the holidays. Though it cannot be recommended to many primarily due to it's emphasis on these darker elements with little genuine character progression or satisfying resolve, it's not the events in the film that keep it interesting, but the desire to see this family pull through and arrive at a Merry Christmas, even if this future occurrence rarely feels truly threatened throughout the film. If you're looking for a surprise here and there, that's not the point of this film. It's about a family that most can relate to in some way and how Burns anchors down all his siblings through their desires to find happiness in a complicated and confusing family. Burns love interest feels forced, but his character is deserving enough of her kind heart that it's easy to forgive. The sappy ending is less bittersweet than expected, and in spite of it's shortcomings through a lack of genuine action and character development, it's still an enjoyable film to pass the time with.

Edward Burns' Christmas movie deals with the sensitive issue of parental abandonment, and alcoholism, oh, and finding love in middle age, and inter-religion marriage, and finding love in advanced age, and unemployment, and unwanted pregnancies, oh, and spousal abuse, and gold- digging and learning to settle and failing businesses and problematic children, and reconciliation and a few other "B" plots. In fact, Burns' script contains so many plots that the alcoholic (or at least the one that has sought treatment for it) Fitzgerald brother returns from rehab, borrows some money from Burns' character and is quickly forgotten about. Burns' attempt to juggle enough family-themed plots to fuel a year's worth of Lifetime movies for women means that those that don't be resolved essentially get forgotten. On the positive size, the open questions give him a platform to produce sequels until we get "Fitzgerald Family Christmas XXII: We Finally Return to Burns' Character's Romance With the Nurse". In short, the attempt to cram so many sub-plots and characters into a hour and forty minute running time means none receive anywhere near the attention needed to build any suspense or character development - see "Home for the Holidays" for a much better realized version of the same idea.

Loved this movie! Having grown up Irish on Long Island, in a broken family, I can vouch for its authenticity. From the kitschy plastic Christmas decorations on the front lawn to the tough slang of the brothers, it's L.I. all the way.In the movie, the father left the family 20 years ago, and now comes back and expects to spend Christmas with his"family" again--his ex-wife and seven children--even though many want nothing to do with him.The film has a great natural flow, and it's charming throughout. It was great to see Ed Burns again and he's picked a great ensemble for his movie. I haven't seen many of his movies but plan to catch up.