It’s nearly that time of year again where families are brought together to celebrate the festive season, by over eating and drinking, no doubt resulting in a number of awkward arguments. Oh and don’t forget a sweary grandparent. Merry Christmas everyone!

To help get you in the mood is this indie Christmas flick that captures that very spirit.

It’s Christmas Eve and the Balsano family are gathering at grandma’s house. There are a number of generations all under one roof, with a full table when it comes to the main meal.

What many of them don’t know is it may well be the last in that house, with plans in hand to sell it. But it’s not a plan that will sit well with other members of the family.

If you’re expecting an uplifting Christmas film, this is not it. Director and co-writer Tyler Taormina has presented something akin to A Slacker Christmas, seemingly adopting Richard Linklater’s early style of filmmaking.

There’s not much of a flowing narrative, as the camera soaks up various stages of the party. It’s a busy house, which is part of the problem, as there are just too many family members milling about. It’s made worse by the fact that none of them are particularly interesting, and those that are, like Uncle Ray (Tony Savino) and his sister Kathleen (Maria Dizzia), just aren’t given the time for their characters to develop.

And then about an hour in it goes into full-blown slacker-mode, as we follow a bunch of aimless teens as they venture outside. But where Linklater may offer some interesting characters to hang with, we’re just not that fortunate here, making the overall experience mirror that of the festive period itself – over-indulgent.

Another distraction is Michael Cera, who also produced, whose limited participation is clearly used as a tactic to draw in a larger crowd, which is fine if his role was something of any substance – that of a laconic cop on the beat – but sadly it’s not.

There’s nothing wrong with offering an alternative Christmas film, but with a threadbare narrative and characters that are difficult to care about, it just feels like sitting round yet another Christmas table where you’d rather be any other place but there.