Ebenezer (Joel Clark) and Cratchit (Crichton Atkinson) are unsuccessful nobodies, and they live life like just about everyone else. They have menial jobs, deal with their friends, get high, and do whatever they can to survive. One day the partners are transported to a distant reality in which they see themselves and what they can (and just might) become one day. As they traverse this ever-changing world, they will find that the success they are looking for may not always be worth the struggle. Like the popular A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Xmas in July allows these protagonists the ability to look inward and analyze each and every one of their decisions.
Xmas in July is unique, abstract, psychedelic, and existential. It begs viewers to analyze each and every second of its existence, and even better, it begs viewers to analyze each and every second of their own reality. This film is a comedy for sure, but it uses the comedy as a vehicle to tell viewers how to make good decisions, and better yet, why to make good decisions.
The comedy present throughout Xmas in July is simply ridiculous, and it’s not comedy that will work well for a great number of people–but it works the way that it’s meant to regardless. If I’m being honest, the comedy is asinine–and a lot of it doesn’t make any sense, but it doesn’t feel like that was the intention anyway. It seems that Writer-Directors Clark and Atkinson wanted his comedy to be as cheesy as possible, to make people cringe, and simply give his viewers a reason to continue to watch. Again, this works for the film, and it allows viewers to remain somewhat focused throughout–but the nonsensical nature also works to repel viewers to a degree.
Due to the fact that things are so ridiculous and bounce all over the place so much, there were moments throughout Xmas in July when I found myself bored, struggling to remain focused. I’m not sure that there’s necessarily anything wrong with the film, or any one thing about the film that caused me to lose focus, but I feel like there’s (weirdly enough) not quite enough energy to keep viewers interested from beginning to end. That nonsensical aspect of Xmas in July works in two entirely different ways, and with the positives comes some negatives as well.
With all of that being said, and this might sound strange after having said everything before, but the writing is tremendous. Again, it doesn’t necessarily work as effectively as Clark and Atkinson had hoped to keep viewers engaged throughout the course of Xmas in July, but they manage to incorporate so many different ideas, and nothing feels out of place. There are a plethora of interesting ideas and topics present throughout the course of Xmas in July, and the narrative allows viewers to analyze different aspects of life.
There is so much going on and so many moving parts present throughout the course of Xmas in July. Things never feel out of place, and interestingly enough, nothing seems to happen inorganically. Viewers are given so many opportunities to look introspectively and to analyze their lives, and while the film is full of tons of nonsense it does a great job of including genuine meaning throughout its entirety. I feel like the majority of viewers will think that this film is terrible, but there is some true filmmaking genius present throughout Xmas in July.
Written & Directed by Joel Clark & Crichton Atkinson.
Starring Joel Clark, Crichton Atkinson, Daniel Martin Berkey, Caleb Bark, Olimpia Dior, Ruy Iskandar, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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