Title – Nutcrackers (2024)

Director – David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) 

Cast – Ben Stiller, Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson

Plot – When his sister and her partner are killed in a car accident, self-serving corporate worker Mike Maxwell (Stiller) ends up in a small town looking after his four energetic nephews in hopes they will find a new home quickly and he can get back to his normal way of life.  

“Act like normal children, I’m trying to find you a good home”

Review by Eddie on 26/02/2025

Taking a well overdue break from destroying iconic horror properties such as Halloween and The Exorcist, indie darling/cult comedy favourite David Gordon Green returns to his dramedy roots with the Xmas themed family affair that is the Ben Stiller headlining Nutcrackers.

Convincing Ben Stiller to come out of a semi-retirement as an actor for his first lead role in front of the camera since 2017’s Brad’s Status, there was hope that this inspired by real events tale of Stiller’s corporate man Mike Maxwell making his way to a rural community to look after his four wild nephews while they seek permanent living arrangements in the aftermath of their parents untimely deaths would be a great mix of humour and heart that Green has balanced before but this is an unfunny mess of a film that works neither as a comedy or a drama.

With early warning signs courtesy mainly of the group of four Janson siblings who play Mike’s nephews and are said to be non-professional actors plucked from obscurity by Green to assist Stiller on his merry way, Nutcrackers faces an uphill battle to overcome the unlikability of the Janson’s Kicklighter crew and while Stiller still remains a likable and stoic presence in front of the camera, no amount of charm offensive by him was ever going to take this weak material and poorly directed outing to anywhere close to where it needed to go.

A cumbersome and drawn out experience even at a relatively (and thankfully) brief 100 minute runtime, watching Green direct such an unfunny and pedestrian affair makes one wonder how this could be the same filmmaker that’s played such major roles in the directional chair of projects like his HBO hits or cult comedy favourite Pineapple Express or in dramatic stakes with memorable efforts like the Nicolas Cage starring Joe or Prince Avalanche.

Nutcrackers is as if that director never existed, replaced with a sad and sorry copy of a filmmaker with no unique voice or skill, churning out an instantly forgettable and highly unenjoyable offering that is not filled with the heart, energy or holiday cheer one might be hoping for.

Final Say –

A sad return to the leading man realm for Ben Stiller and another highly questionable end product from a filmmaker who should know far better than to think this is an acceptable end product, Nutcrackers is a DOA experience devoid of any reason to care or invest your time into it.

1 1/2 home school lesson out of 5