{"id":3909,"date":"2011-12-07T15:48:54","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T20:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mondomark.com\/wordpress\/?p=2694"},"modified":"2011-12-07T15:48:54","modified_gmt":"2011-12-07T20:48:54","slug":"a-gathering-of-xmas-schmaltz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=3909","title":{"rendered":"A Gathering of Xmas Schmaltz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Every one has their favourite Xmas TV special or movie (sometimes several) which they watch every year to get them into the \u2018spirit\u2019 of the holidays, regardless of religious denominations or lack of, although mine still stands as 1988\u2019s Die Hard <\/strong>(see piece<\/a> from 2008): a brisk tempo, choral-peppered music and some classical extracts to boot, and intertwining tales of redemption with elegant choreography in human, RV, and helicopter form going full throttle.<\/p>\n

Second favourite would probably be Ingmar Bergman\u2019s Fanny & Alexander<\/a><\/strong> (1978), which, if I actually had time, would watch again, but alas, as things go each holiday season, there\u2019s less time to appreciate a 5 hour mini-series, let alone multiple TV specials.<\/p>\n

The nature of TV holiday specials is to hit all the sentimental marks so you, the audience, click off the idiot box feeling warm & fuzzy inside; a sense of goodness about humanity; anticipation of your own family gathering; seeing predictable dramas unfold and issues resolved so you too can handle your idiot brother, egotistical sister, detail-oriented mother, and yapping father before a single slice of turkey is cut.<\/p>\n

Seasonal films are in some way coping mechanisms, because they reassure adults that no matter how annoying family will be, nor the gigantic mess leftover from guests, nor the segment of visiting relatives you\u2019d like to accidentally forget to pick-up from airport, nor the lecturing you\u2019ll get from an elder or big mouth, You Will Prevail. You will remain your own Special Person. And when New Year\u2019s chimes in, you\u2019ll be satisfied you fulfilled your familial obligations, and are fully entitled to pickling your brain in sparkling wine.<\/p>\n

Case in point: The Gathering<\/a><\/strong> [M<\/a>], a 1977 teleplay with a name cast from top to bottom (except the two kids \u2013 they\u2019re nobodies), including writer, director, and executive producers (Hanna-Barbera Productions). It’s\u00a0a perfect example of how to transcend the schmaltz genre without wallowing in its horrid excess. The Gathering<\/strong> is indeed manipulative, but it works because the camera always flips back to its central figure \u2013 aging father and all-around grumpyman Adam Thornton (Ed Asner) \u2013 instead of the younger, hotter cast members. It\u2019s about the parents, and with a terminal disease thrown in to give \u2018the gathering\u2019 at Xmas extra gravitas.<\/p>\n

Now, you have in fact seen this schmaltz before: that thing called Family Stone<\/strong> (2005), except in Gathering <\/strong>we\u2019re told right from the first scene the familial hero is gonna die. No disease is specified, and no details are given beyond a time limit, so the plot essentially involves Adam\u2019s need to redeem himself before he reaches his expiration date. He\u2019s also still alive by the end credits, and we\u2019re left with a portrait of a clich\u00e9d but swell family.<\/p>\n

When originally released, the makers of Family Stone <\/strong>played a dirty trick: \u00a0it was sold to audiences as a comedy, with much wacky hijinks in the trailer montage. Reality: around a 1\/3 into the film, they drop a bomb that mom is dying of cancer, which is essentially the filmmakers grabbing you by the throat and shaking you like a rag doll, screaming \u2018This is sad! You must cry now! She will die soon!\u2019 and repeat the process via different manipulative scenes until mom is stone cold dead, but her spirit lives on in the cheap blinky-blinky star that peaks the Xmas tree.<\/p>\n

Gathering<\/strong> and Family Stone<\/strong> are linked by the same themes (or perhaps, the latter stole from the former), but whereas one managed to deliver schmaltz with more discretion, the other went for your throat and sometimes administered melodrama like punishment with a metal baseball bat. There are those who need to be bludgeoned with clich\u00e9s in order to achieve their catharsis, but sometimes simplicity works better, which is why Gathering deservedly joins the pantheon of acceptable <\/em>seasonal schmaltz.<\/p>\n

It has dated, and is designed to reach specific dramatic peaks prior to ad breaks (as it was original made for TV), but unlike Family Stone<\/strong> and its ilk, at least when it\u2019s over, you won\u2019t find bruises around your neck, or a big bump on the head because the screenwriter felt you weren\u2019t sniffling & snuffling hard & loud enough.<\/p>\n

Coming soon: Why, more blather! Plus review of socially impolite dramas, and sundries.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark R. Hasan<\/strong>, Editor
\nKQEK.com <\/strong>( Main Site<\/a> \/ Mobile Site<\/a> )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editorial Blog & blather on seasonal films, and a DVD review of the classic 1977 teleplay, The Gathering (Warner Home Video) , which has a father arranging one final Xmas dinner to reconcile with his estranged family (and not vampires assembling to taker over Luksville, as you impetuously thought).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[925,922],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-113","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3909"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}