Christmas gift idea for dad

Plot isn't a gift in 'Surviving Christmas'

The plot of "Surviving Christmas" is as smart as the idea of releasing a Yuletide movie nearly two weeks before Halloween.

Ben Affleck is a self-absorbed media mogul whose motto is "Money does buy happiness."

When his girlfriend, who is expecting an engagement ring for Christmas, storms out of his house, he's faced with a lonely holiday. He determines to make the best of it by renting a family for Christmas -- not just any family, but the one now living in the house he grew up in.

Yes, really.

The idea doesn't get much better in the execution. Affleck's bribing of the family -- James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara as mom and dad, Christina Applegate as the sister, and blast-from-the past Bill Macy (of the '70s sitcom "Maude") as the grandfather for hire -- is a snore.

Worse, the gimmick is threadbare, used many times before, most recently, and as sappy, in the David Spade vehicle "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star."

The "Christmas" filmmakers' stacking the deck with familiar faces, apparently, meant that hilarity was supposed to ensue, but it never quite makes an appearance. There are entertaining moments, mostly thanks to Affleck's and Applegate's appeal, along with O'Hara's comic skills. Gandolfini glowers while the kid brother (Josh Zuckerman) makes wisecracks. And yes, there's a happy ending.

But it's all more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho.

Surviving Christmas **

Cast: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Macy, Josh Zuckerman, Jennifer Morrison

Behind the scenes: Produced by Betty Thomas and Jenno Topping. Written by Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, Jeffrey Ventimilia and Joshua Sternin. Directed by Mike Mitchell.

Rated: PG-13; sexual content, language, drug use

Approximate running time: 91 minutes

Credit:DREAMWORKS PICTURES

James Gandolfini has issues with Ben Affleck in "Surviving Christmas."

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