I love Christmas and I tend to also enjoy Christmas movies, even a few that many people seem to not like. Several of the Christmas movies that I really like are funny or even a bit twisted, like Bad Santa or National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Mixed Nuts is one of the quirky or twisted movies that won't appeal to everyone.
On Christmas Eve, things weren't going well for a group of people. Gracie and Felix were arguring again, mostly because he took the Santa Clause suit that she hoped to sell so she could buy a car seat for the baby she was going to have. Phillip, Catherine, and Mrs. Munchnik worked for Lifesavers, a suicide prevention hotline. Phillip was stressed because the landlord, Stanley Tannenbaum, was evicting everyone so he could turn the building into condos. Phillip was trying to find a way to handle the situation without telling Mrs. Munchnik or Catherine. Things continued to get worse as the day progressed. Mrs. Munchnik got stuck in the elevator and Susan, the woman that Phillip was engaged to, dumped him over the phone.
Gracie decided that Felix was a loser and that it would be best for the baby to dump him. She left and had Felix chasing her down the street in the Santa Clause suit. Phillip ended up breaking a huge rule and gave out the address to a caller. Catherine was sad about a few things, and everyone was worried about the Seaside Strangler, a serial killer that had been killing women in the area.
Mixed Nuts was based on a French movie, Les Pere Noel est une Ordure. I've never seen that movie, so I don't know how this movie compares to it or exactly what was changed. I'm sure at least some things were changed since that tends to happen any time a movie is based on an earlier movie or book. There were several things going on throughout the movie. I didn't think that made the plot too complicated and it wasn't difficult to keep up with what was going on. The different subplots did end up working together well to make an entertaining movie.
Most of what was going on in Mixed Nuts was somehow connected to Phillip. He was in charge at Lifesavers and he was the one who was trying to figure out a way to keep the business open even though they had been evicted. He kept that to himself while he was trying to figure out what to do which ultimately made things worse. Everything else that was going on ended up being connected to Phillip and Lifesavers in some way. Gracie and Felix had a run in with Phillip that also involved a couple on rollerblades who had a Christmas tree early in the movie. Later in the movie, Phillip learned that Gracie and Catherine were friends. Even what was going on with the Seaside Strangler ultimately ended up being connected by the end of the movie. The movie was mostly predictable, but there were a few minor surprises that helped to keep things interesting.
Mixed Nuts was full of unique humor that won't appeal to everyone. I consider it to be more of a dark comedy, and those darker elements are what won't work for some viewers. I thought those things worked well. People have to be able to appreciate dark or twisted humor to really enjoy this movie since so much that was going on was twisted in some way. People that don't like twisted humor probably won't like this movie. Some of the humor was silly, which also might bother viewers. There was a bit of slapstick type of humor that did cause a few characters to end up hurt in some way. Some of the jokes were related to Christmas, like how Phillip regifted a fruit cake to the person who gave it to him originally the year before. That fruit cake kept popping up throughout the movie.
Christmas played a big part in Mixed Nuts since the entire movie took place on Christmas Eve. Felix was running around in a Santa suit for most of the movie. Several decorations, including a few Christmas trees, were shown and different Christmas songs played throughout the movie. This was more of a dysfunctional Christmas movie, so it may have limited appeal. I thought the dysfunctional things worked well for what was going on overall and I thought it was very entertaining. This could be a choice for people who want something different instead of some of the traditional or even sappy Christmas movies. People that have liked other dysfunctional or twisted Christmas movies should give this one a chance.
Mixed Nuts featured a group of unique characters who helped to make the movie entertaining. Phillip was running Lifesavers and feeling very stressed about keeping it running. He did seem to deal better with people over the phone than in person. He did flip out a bit and that did add several laughs to the movie. I did think that Steve Martin was good in the part. Phillip was engaged to Susan when the movie started. She was in a short scene that consisted of her dumping him during a phone call. She also made another very brief appearance late in the movie. Joely Fisher didn't have much of anything to do since her part was so small.
Catherine was a kind, sweet woman who felt like she didn't have much of a life since she lived with her mother and didn't have a boyfriend. She really looked up to Phillip and kept saying how he would be able to figure everything out. It was clear that she had feelings for him, though she didn't do anything to act on them. Catherine always tried to see the good in everything, though she didn't deal with certain things that well. She would get upset by certain things and sitting in the bathtub calmed her. Rita Wilson was good in the part.
Mrs. Munchnik worked with Catherine and Phillip. It seemed like they were the only three people working for Lifesavers. Mrs. Munchnik was very opinionated and could be annoying at times. I did think that Madeline Kahn was really good in the part. Louie lived in the building and was just around at times. He seemed to have a crush on Catherine. Louie did write his own songs. Adam Sandler was fine in the part. Louie did share some traits with one or two of the characters that Sandler played on Saturday Night Live. Mr. Lobel was another resident in the building. He had a few small dogs and called Mrs. Munchnik dog hater.
Gracie and Felix were involved and going to have a baby. Their relationship didn't seem stable and the two were frequently fighting over something. Neither one of them were that bright, which did lead to one or two odd situations. Gracie and Catherine were friends, which was why she and Felix ended up involved in everything that was going on. Juliette Lewis and Anthony LaPaglia were fine in the parts. Chris was a transvestite who was treated horribly by his family. He was lonely and managed to get the address from Phillip when he called. He went to the office and got pulled into the insanity going on there. Liev Schreiber was great in the part. Stanley, the landlord, was only briefly around, so Gary Shandling didn't have much of anything to do. Rob Reiner turned up in a couple of scenes as a vet who was friends with Phillip. Parker Posey and Jon Stewart played the couple on rollerblades with the Christmas tree.
Main Cast
Joely Fischer - Susan Madeline Kahn - Mrs. Munchnik Robert Klein - Mr. Lobel Anthony LaPaglia - Felix Juliette Lewis - Gracie Steve Martin - Phillip Parker Posey - Rollerblader Rob Reiner - Dr. Marshall Kinsky Adam Sandler - Louie Liev Schreiber - Chris Gary Shandling - Stanley Rita Wilson - Catherine
Nora Ephron - Director
DVD Information
I picked up Mixed Nuts on DVD a few years ago. I think I got it for $5, but I can't remember for sure at the moment. The disc has the full screen version of the movie. I don't know if there is also a widescreen version. There weren't any extras on the DVD.
I really enjoyed Mixed Nuts and think it is an entertaining though twisted Christmas movie. People in the mood for a Christmas movie that is a bit different might also enjoy it. Since the movie is a bit different and dark, it won't appeal to everyone.
I would have rated this one three and a half stars. Since I didn't have the option, I decided to round up to four stars.
Product DetailsOriginal Title:Mixed nutsActors: Adam Sandler - Juliette Lewis - Rita Wilson - Rob Reiner - Robert Klein - Steve MartinCondition: USED...More at iNetVideo.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.