I first saw this movie in Lund, Sweden. Me and my friend had planned to see something else but that sold out, so we picked this one instead. To be honest, we didn't have high hopes for it.
From the first scene, however, I was impressed with the excellent acting and how quickly and efficiently the backdrop of the story was being put together, without it seeming forced.
We ended up laughing our faces off in the theatre, which has never happened to me before or after. This movie has it all - it's funny, it's touching, it's a little sad, and a very nice and unconventional Christmas story. What I especially love is how you sympathize with EVERY character, even though none of them can behave themselves. And again - the acting is really, really impressive.
My only point of criticism would be that the music is sometimes a touch sentimental, and that it's put under the images without much hindsight to its appropriateness. However, this is a very minor thing and I only noticed it while re-watching the movie in detail (I'm working on Dutch subtitles). By the way, the second, third and fourth time around, this movie does not disappoint :-)
