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Holiday in Handcuffs

Holiday in Handcuffs

Comedy · Romance · Family · 2007

A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.

Movie details

Holiday in Handcuffs

2007 Comedy · Romance · Family 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Holiday in Handcuffs?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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A Christmas Story Christmas

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ron Underwood

Written by

Sara Endsley

Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa Joan Hart

Gertrude 'Trudie' Chandler

Mario López

Mario López

David Martin

Timothy Bottoms

Timothy Bottoms

Dad Chandler

Markie Post

Markie Post

Mom Chandler

June Lockhart

June Lockhart

Grandma

Kyle Howard

Kyle Howard

Jake Chandler

Vanessa Evigan

Vanessa Evigan

Katie Chandler

Court is in session

Put Holiday in Handcuffs on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.