''Mixed Nuts'' is a 1994 American
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
black comedy film directed by
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as ...
,
based on the 1982 French comedy film ''
Le Père Noël est une ordure (Santa Claus is a Stinker)''.
Co-written by Ephron and her sister
Delia, the film features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
which includes
Steve Martin,
Madeline Kahn
Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...
,
Rita Wilson,
Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen he has received several accolades including three AACTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.
For his starring role as Jac ...
,
Garry Shandling,
Rob Reiner
Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
,
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...
,
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
,
[ and Liev Schreiber in his film debut.
The film was released theatrically on December 21, 1994, and was both a critical and commercial failure.
]
Plot
In Venice, Los Angeles
Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...
on Christmas Eve, an ex-con named Felix is being chased down the road by his angry, pregnant girlfriend, Gracie. He accidentally runs into and damages a Christmas tree carried by two rollerbladers. An argument breaks out among them. A stranger named Philip tries to calm them down. They disperse, and Philip picks up the damaged tree and takes it to his office.
Philip runs a suicide-prevention hotline called "Lifesavers,” working there with a judgmental widow named Mrs. Munchnik and an overly sensitive woman named Catherine. Catherine obviously has a crush on Philip, but he seems oblivious. Philip receives an eviction notice from the landlord, Stanley, who is planning to convert the building to condominiums. Philip keeps the eviction notice a secret from his coworkers, and tries to get his loan officer fiancée, Susan, to grant him a small loan to stay in business. Susan refuses to grant the loan and breaks up with Philip, saying she has been cheating on him with a psychiatrist.
The hotline is not too busy on Christmas eve, but they do get a call from a woman who is afraid of the "Seaside Strangler" (a serial killer who has recently targeted women in the neighborhood), and a call from Chris, a depressed transvestite who wants to visit the office in person so as to get away from his judgmental family. Mrs. Munchnik's shift ends, but she gets trapped in the elevator as she leaves. She eventually manages to get Philip's attention and he manages to pull her out.
Gracie arrives at the office to see her friend Catherine; Felix, chasing Gracie, also shows up. Gracie hits Felix in the head with a fruitcake, giving him a concussion. Philip and Catherine take Felix to a veterinarian friend to get treated for free. At the vet, Felix accidentally overdoses on dog tranquilizers. He is taken to a hospital.
Chris arrives at the office; Gracie opens the door for her so quickly that she accidentally strikes Mrs. Munchnik and knocks her unconscious. Gracie asks Chris to look after Mrs. Munchnik, then leaves. Philip returns to the office; Chris strikes up a conversation with him and convinces him to dance. Mrs. Munchnik awakens, witnesses their dancing, and threatens to sue Philip for withholding information of the eviction and for inappropriate office behavior. She leaves.
Gracie gives Catherine a makeover; then they return to the office with Chinese food. Downstairs neighbor Louie, who has a crush on Catherine, joins them. Meanwhile, Philip throws the fruitcake out of the office window and accidentally smashes the windshield of Mrs. Munchnik's car, just as she is about to drive away. Fellow neighbor Mr. Lobel approaches her with his three dogs and tries to cheer her up. Mrs. Munchnik suddenly kisses him; they run off to the beach and have sex.
An hour later, Felix (having regained consciousness and escaped from the hospital) arrives at the office brandishing a gun. Chris attempts to disarm him and gets shot in the foot. Gracie takes the gun and shoots wildly around the office to empty it of ammunition. Two shots go through the front door—and kill the landlord, Stanley, who had just showed up to try to fix the elevator. The sight of the dead man puts Catherine in shock. Philip prepares a bath to calm her down and realizes that he is attracted to her. Catherine and Philip have sex in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Louie and Chris start flirting with each other; Louie makes up a song for Chris on his ukulele.
Gracie and Felix disguise Stanley's body as a Christmas tree: they wrap it in burlap and attach the branches of the office Christmas tree with Super Glue. Everyone leaves the office to help carry the "tree" and leave it on the boardwalk, along with the bag that Stanley was carrying. Outside, they encounter the angry rollerbladers from the first scene, who recognize Felix and decide to destroy his "tree" in revenge. The "tree" crashes to the ground and reveals the dead body. The police arrive and ask for an explanation. Philip says that the gun is Felix's, but then Gracie confesses to the crime instead. Not wanting Gracie to go to jail, Felix grabs the gun, runs to the roof of a building, and threatens to commit suicide.
Philip must be a real "life saver" and convince Felix not to kill himself. He makes an emotional speech about Christmas, which convinces Felix to climb down and face the consequences. Meanwhile, the detectives have been investigating Stanley's bag. They find fishing line and kelp, the Seaside Strangler's weapons of choice, revealing Stanley to be the serial killer.
For killing the criminal, Gracie receives a $250,000 reward. She gives Philip some of the money to pay their debts, then promptly goes into labor. Giving birth at midnight on Christmas Day, the scene parodies the Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
. Philip then proposes to Catherine, and she accepts.
In the end credits, Felix finally fulfills his dream of becoming a mural artist, painting a mural depicting everything that happened on this eventful Christmas Eve.
Cast
* Steve Martin as Philip
* Madeline Kahn
Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...
as Mrs. Blanche Munchnik
* Robert Klein as Mr. Lobel
* Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen he has received several accolades including three AACTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.
For his starring role as Jac ...
as Felix
* Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...
as Gracie
* Rob Reiner
Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
as Dr. Kinsky
* Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
as Louie Capshaw
* Liev Schreiber as Chris
* Garry Shandling as Stanley
* Rita Wilson as Catherine O'Shaughnessy
* Parker Posey and Jon Stewart as Rollerbladers
* Joely Fisher as Susan
* Christine Cavanaugh
Christine Josephine Cavanaugh (''née'' Sandberg; August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014) was an American actress, who had a distinctive speaking style and provided the voice for a large range of cartoon characters. She was the original voices o ...
and Henry Brown as Police officers
* Brian Markinson as Policeman / Voice of obscene caller
* Steven Wright as Man at pay phone
* Caroline Aaron
Caroline Sidney Aaron (née Abady; born ) is an American actress. She has appeared in multiple Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, and Woody Allen films and is also known for her role in the television series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''.
Early lif ...
and Mary Gross as Hotline callers
* Victor Garber as Voice of irate neighbor
* Haley Joel Osment as Little boy
* Michael Badalucco as AAA driver
* Sidney Armus and Diane Sokolow as Chris's parents
* Kurt Lockwood as Rollerblading Snowman (uncredited)
Production
The film was initially titled ''The Night Before Christmas'' when it was in development at Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
, but the film went into turnaround and ended up at TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation.
The compan ...
. While the film is set in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, due to an impending International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, known as simply the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE or ...
strike the filmmakers setup interior filming locations in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.[ A snowstorm impacted the travel of the cast and crew who became reliant on the ]New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
to get to the set.[
]
Soundtrack
# "Mixed Nuts" by Dr. John – 2:29
# " I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Fats Domino
Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...
– 4:08
# " Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...
– 3:26
# " Jingle Bells" by Eastern Bloc – 2:25
# " Blue Christmas" by Leon Redbone – 2:24
# "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" by The O'Jays
The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...
– 5:14
# "Mixed Notes" by George Fenton – 3:48
# "Grape Jelly" by Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
– 1:25
# "Christmas Melody" by George Fenton – 2:54
# "The Night Before Christmas" by Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
– 3:39
# "Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO
The United Nations Educati ...
" by Baby Washington – 3:23
# " White Christmas" by The Drifters – 2:41
Release
The film opened on December 21, 1994, and made $2,307,850 in its first weekend, ranking number 12 in the domestic box office. By the end of its run, it had grossed a mere $6,821,850.
Critical reception
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Mixed Nuts'' holds an approval rating of 13% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "''Mixed Nuts'' may provoke strong allergic reactions in all but the most undemanding filmgoers - and the most forgiving Steve Martin fans.” On Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film had a weighted average score of 14 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike.” Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F.
Janet Maslin's review in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' mentioned a corpse depicted in the story and wrote that the film "is about as funny as that corpse and about as natural" '' Variety'' staff wrote that "director/co-scripter Nora Ephron pitches the humor at a cacophonous level and displays the comedic equivalent of two left feet in evolving an absurdist, slapstick yarn. Truly alarming is watching some fine performers, including Kahn and LaPaglia, at their very worst.” Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' wrote: "The movie has a first-rate cast and crew; it's Nora Ephron's first directing job since the wonderful '' Sleepless in Seattle'' ..Maybe there's too much talent. Every character shines with such dazzling intensity and such inexhaustible comic invention that the movie becomes tiresome, like too many clowns.” Michael Dwyer in the '' Irish Times'', reviewing it upon its European release, called Ephron's film "a truly pathetic effort.” and "one of the worst films I have ever seen.”
Year-end lists
* #1 Worst - Jeffrey Lyons, '' Sneak Previews''
* #7 Worst - Michael Medved, ''Sneak Previews''[
* 5th worst – Desson Howe, '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''
* 10th worst – Robert Denerstein, '' Rocky Mountain News''
* Dishonorable mention – William Arnold, ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States.
Th ...
''
* Dishonorable mention – Dan Craft, '' The Pantagraph''
See also
* List of Christmas films
Many Christmas stories have been Christmas film, adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every ...
* Box office bomb
References
External links
*
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mixed Nuts
1994 films
1994 black comedy films
1990s Christmas comedy films
1990s serial killer films
1990s pregnancy films
American black comedy films
American Christmas comedy films
American LGBTQ-related films
Films directed by Nora Ephron
Films with screenplays by Nora Ephron
American remakes of French films
Films scored by George Fenton
Films about suicide
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
American pregnancy films
Films about trans women
TriStar Pictures films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
Films about landlords
1994 LGBTQ-related films
LGBTQ-related black comedy films
English-language black comedy films
English-language Christmas comedy films