Ugh, I don't know what to say about this movie. I think a brief plot summary should say it all: four Los Angeles residents (a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a stripper) are brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances. Mix in a transsexual prostitute, organized crime, a terminally ill child, an absentee father, Jessica Biel in general, and Patrick Swayze as a strip club owner, and what do you get? A nasueating, over-the-top, poorly-acted melodrama that is basically a vehicle for Jessica Biel to take her clothes off. TERRIBLE.I gather this was supposed to be a profound, gritty look at the intersecting lives of people with hard luck, and maybe a change or two here and there could have made a big difference. Better actors definitely would have. The lead character as a waitress instead of a stripper probably would have. Less forced writing may have too. Of the four main characters, Ray Liotta was wooden, Jessica Biel did her standard melodramatic overacting (and she did not look sexy at all, which she was clearly supposed to), Forest Whitaker was inconsistent, and Eddie Redmayne was (can you guess?) entirely brilliant.
In fact, I may have given this one 0 stars if it weren't for Redmayne—I would give him 5 stars on his own, which averages out to 1.5 for the entire thing. He plays this awkward, sweet mortician named Qwerty, of all things. Watching him tenderly put headphones playing ethnic music on a young deceased Hispanic woman made it worth watching this travesty. (Although watching his character character inexplicably fall for Biel's was quite painful.) The boy has talent; it's almost magical.
So unless you love Eddie Redmayne like I do, save yourself from watching this absolutely horrible piece of trash.
Rating: 1.5
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