Boxing Day
Directed by Francis Abbey
Starring Demetrius Parker, Bridget Devlin Burke, Jim Murphy, Vicki Hartford, Jenna St. John, Danny Gavigan
Ten Sundays Production

In the brief DVD feature “The $1,000 Pitch” director Francis Abbey describes the story for his film Boxing Day as a cross between the Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn/Sidney Poitier classic Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David’s HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm, and if he would also throw in Meet the Parents, Everybody Loves Raymond , and the original British version of The Office (not to mention the aforementioned Seinfeld), then that would sum up Boxing Day perfectly.

Sometimes great humor can be mined from ordinary people finding themselves in the most uncomfortable situations and how they attempt to deal with them or get out of them. There are a lot of moments like that packed into Boxing Day‘s tight 86-minute running time, moments when you’re not sure whether or not to laugh or bury your face in your hands and slowly leave the room without bumping into any furniture. Needless to say this is a hilarious film that takes its slightly incendiary premise (and it’s not incendiary for the reason you think) and milks every possible joke and idea from it until the finale when the lead characters collapse on a couch totally exhausted, and you will probably want to do the same.