'R Xmas (2001)

A New York drug dealer is kidnapped, and his wife must try to come up with the money and drugs to free him from his abductors before Christmas.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writers:

Cassandra De Jesus (story), Abel Ferrara (screenplay)

Stars:

Drea de Matteo, Lillo Brancato, Lisa Valens

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Drea de Matteo	...	The Wife
Lillo Brancato	...	The Husband (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Lisa Valens	...	Lisa, the Daughter
Ice-T	...	The Kidnapper
Victor Argo	...	Louie
Denia Brache	...	Louie's Wife
Janis Corsair	...	Shopper 1
Gloria Irizarry	...	Aunt
Naomi Morales	...	The Niece
Andrew Fiscella	...	Accomplice No. 1 (as Andy Fiscella)
Thomas Murray	...	Accomplice No. 2
Edwin Martinez	...	Accomplice No. 3 (as Edwin 'Eddie' Martinez)
Anne Ackerman	...	Shopper No. 2
John Robert Tramutola	...	Child Scrooge (as John R. Tramatola III)
Meredith Ostrom	...	Elfie

Storyline

It's a few days before Christmas, and a Latin American couple living in New York City are preparing and packaging their heroin for street distribution. While the wife has her qualms about the ethics of drug dealing, both she and her husband know there's plenty of money to be made in the drug trade. The couple discovers one of their lower-level dealers may be talking to the police, but they soon have a bigger problem to deal with when the husband is kidnapped and held for a huge ransom.

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Plot Keywords:

mini dress | blonde woman | short dress | corrupt cop | pig | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, drug content and some violence

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 December 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Christmas

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

FRF 453,110 (France), 1 January 2002, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$850, 10 November 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$850

Company Credits

Production Co:

Valence Films Inc.,Barnholtz Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Leguizamo was originally cast as The Husband and did some work on the script but eventually pulled out of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004)

User Reviews

What's Going' On?

Good actors, good director, well acted, well directed but...Where's the movie? Did they have an script or just improvised it all? At least it is a short-length movie (only 80 minutes, including credits). Nothing seems to happen in this film, nothing at all. A couple of small time drug dealers caught in small time troubles, but you'll never get a clue of what's happening, nor even what are they talking about in some sequences of the movie. Tons of "f***'s" and "motherf*****'s", but nothing else...

For the people who love Abel Ferrara's films such as The Funeral, 'R Xmas is going to be a big disappointment, as it's been for me. What was he thinking about? Did he really think that this was a good movie? And if he didn't, then why did he made it?