Happy Christmas

The cat purrs, but ... it's close. This movie is entertaining, it's engaging, it holds the interest--but then again, it's also kind of fuzzy, somewhat lightweight, and seemingly inconsequential. A lot of this flick seems improvised, which makes judging the performances difficult. The strong suits are the female leads, Melanie Lynskey and Anna Kendrick, who make their impact largely via their personal charm. (Especially in the New Zealander Lynskey's case, as much because she uses her natural, Kiwi-inflected voice--which is gorgeous--as for her acting.) But individual charm from a film's actors can be a thin gruel to feed upon. The viewer is ultimately left to wonder, do the problems of these three little people amount to more than a hill of indie movie beans? I'm not sure about that. I guess it boils down to how much you like your movies personal vs. something a little more universal. Your mileage may vary.