A Sudden Case of Christmas just began streaming as part of the Happy Huludays promo. The holiday-themed film boasts a solid, well-known cast that includes Danny DeVito, Andie McDowell, and Wilmer Valderrama. DeVito’s daughter, Lucy DeVito, also appears in it.
A Sudden Case of Christmas is a remake of the Italian film Improvvisamente Natale, which was released in 2022. It has all the festive trappings of a traditional Christmas movie…except it’s set in August, not December.
Young Claire and her parents, Jacob and Addie, typically travel to Italy for Christmas, where they stay at her Grandfather Lawrence’s hotel (she calls him Nonno). Claire loves these gatherings, especially since her other grandparents, Gams and Pop, also join them.
Claire thinks it’s a bit odd that they are going to Italy in the summer, but she is always happy to spend time with Nonno and the kid friends that she has in the area. What she doesn’t know is that her parents (Valderrama and Lucy DeVito) have decided to separate, and they want Nonno to break the news to her.
He isn’t thrilled about all of this, and to his credit, he makes Claire’s parents talk to her about the upcoming separation face-to-face. Claire is crushed by the announcement and makes her family agree to celebrate Christmas while they are in Italy; after all, they won’t be coming back as a family for the actual holiday.
They agree, and even invite Gams/Rose and PopPop/Mark (McDowell and Jose Zuniga) to join them. There are other quirky characters, including hotel employee Otto, a bah-humbug Dad visiting the hotel with his little girl, and a woman named Claudia, who becomes friends with Rose. That is a bit problematic because it seems that Claudia and Mark hooked up once upon a time, and Rose knows nothing about it.
Seeing that Claudia is staying at the hotel, Mark goes into full-blown panic mode, doing everything he can to hide from her. In the meantime, Claudia tells Rose all about the magical one-night stand she had, and how amazing the man was. The two women take archery lessons from a hunky guy who seems enamored of Rose.
As all of these messy interactions criss-cross, sweet Claire is just trying to bring her parents back together by planning balloon rides, making her own Christmas movie with her friends, and just generally basking in the togetherness of her most beloved family members.
Of course, all of the secrets and machinations start to show themselves, allowing the family members to enjoy a Merry Christmas when it’s not even Christmas.
While to script is sometimes a bit sloppy, the actors save A Sudden Case of Christmas. Antonella Rose is particularly charming as the ever-hopeful Claire, and she shares great chemistry with Danny DeVito. Their scenes together feel very much like a grandfather and granddaughter who truly love one another.
Andie McDowell is also a standout, with her characteristic cheer and sunny disposition. Overall, A Sudden Case of Christmas is a good flick to watch during the holiday season, and I really enjoyed it. Will it become a new Christmas classic? Probably not, but it's also not a waste of your time.