A Christmas Feast Review: An Extra Helping of Holiday Spirit and Family

Release date: November 9, 2020 (UK) / November 15, 2019 (as Feast of the Seven Fishes - US)
Running time: 99 minutes
Starring Skyler Gisondo, Madison Iseman, Josh Helman, Addison Timlin, Ray Abruzzo
Written and Directed By Robert Tinnell

Just days before Christmas, 1983, the Oliverio family readies their Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian tradition stretching back to the old country. Amidst the festivities, Tony Oliverio (Gisondo), a young man with big dreams and an even bigger heart, is yearning to find love. When he meets the gorgeous Ivy Leaguer Beth (Iseman), romance blossoms, and it looks like Tony’s holiday might make a turn for the better! But their budding romance faces some serious obstacles, including his Great Grandma Nonnie (Lynn Cohen), who thinks Beth isn’t good enough for him, Tony’s determined and dramatic ex-girlfriend (Timlin), and Beth's ex-suitor (Allen Williamson), who is out to steal back her heart! Come on inside and pull up a chair for A Christmas Feast!

A Christmas Feast is being released in the UK and Ireland this holiday.  It was previously released in America as the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  Regardless of the name, A Christmas Feast is a big holiday family gathering, and as such it assembles a cast of characters and over the top personalities for this story.  Gisondo does a wonderful job as Tony and shows why he is such a great actor.  He has a penchant for taking characters and giving them an emotional depth and maturity that stands out on screen.  We saw this earlier with The Binge and we see it now with A Christmas Feast.  Iseman as Beth is also great, showing an ease and presence that makes her seem like the perfect girl next door.  She is personable and welcomed into the family, and takes all the craziness that the family has to offer.  And Helman as Juke is another standout; a unique character that gives you some much needed depth in the cast.  And Timlin as Katie is another fun addition, adding a little bit of chaos and emotional conflict to the overall story.  Tony's family is full of characters as well, and the interactions, love, and mini-conflicts that occur make you feel like you are watching an idealized holiday family.  

And after it sets up all the characters of the feast of the seven fishes, the story just kind of lets them play out.  The movie is about the build up to, and the actual feast, so the film gives the characters enough of a setup to let them shine.  The film is a wonderful, feel good period piece that highlights an ideal, and idealized, holiday tradition.  Especially in a year when many people are not going to be able to travel down to see their families, this film gives you a window into that time.  But just like any family, the personalities can clash and have complications.  Nothing that ruins the holiday spirit, but this film does a great job depicting the push and pull of any big family get together.  And it also does a nice job of showing a loving, supportive, sometimes slightly crude family enjoying their time together.  But at its core, A Christmas Feast is a fun, emotional holiday film that will have you asking for seconds.

A Christmas Feast gives you an extra helping of interesting, complicated characters and serves them up in a fun and emotional holiday film that will have you coming back for seconds.

Watch it.

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A Christmas Feast will be available in digitally and on demand November 9 in the UK.  It is already available digitally and on demand in the US.. 

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

UK

US

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