El Camino Christmas (2017) User Reviews

Kudos to Netfllx

[sales-85 · 7/10 · 10 December 2017]

Will it win an Oscar or an Emmy? Heck no. Was it fun to watch? Yeah it was.

Kudos to Netflix for making this. Tim Allen really shined and it was great to see Kurtwood Smith also. It was a good time-occupier, had a good ending. Cinematography? Script? Sound? whatever, it was fun and well cast.

Hope Netflix can keep producing things like this and "Godless". You gotta swing the bat to make a hit and "El Camino Christmas" was a solid single (while Godless was a stand up double, maybe a slide-in triple).

A very offbeat Christmas movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 9 June 2018]

While the storyline told in this movie was rather predictable and very straight forward, actually to the point of being generic, then it still turned out to be a rather entertaining movie.

And that was because of the characters in the movie, because they were nicely fleshed out, and they had cast some very nice actors and actresses for perform the various roles and characters in the movie. and there was a good on-screen chemistry between them.

It was especially nice to see Tim Allen in a role such as the one he had in this movie, because he nailed it with his performance.

This was a nice surprise of a movie, because I had no expectations to it when I happened to come across it on Netflix, definitely worth a watch.

If you enjoy offbeat movies then "El Camino Christmas" is a movie for you, no doubt about it.

Quirky and dark.

[draciron · 7/10 · 22 September 2019]

This isn't your average movie. It's almost chaotic as a rather bizarre set of circumstances spins out of control. There's lots of breaks with reality, otherwise I'd rated this movie higher. Still it's an entertaining movie worth watching. No big surprises as you can see all the plot twists coming a mile away, but that doesn't detract from the humor or the way the plot develops.

unpredictably good

[sukhib · 7/10 · 8 December 2017]

This movie is different to any other Christmas movie before it, it boasts a great cast with a long time no see(Tim Allen).The movie may seem budget, but has enough laughs, story line to keep the viewer entertained. It is by no means a masterpiece, but for only 1hr 30 mins it is more than good enough. Overall a solid watch.

"Not all ideas are good ones, but they are ideas nevertheless."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 11 December 2017]

Another reviewer for this picture says he doesn't believe a town like the one in the story could have so many stupid people in it. Well I beg to differ on that. My town only has about three thousand residents and I could probably come up with a cast for this film. It would have been even easier about four decades ago when the population was less than half that. Seriously, one needs to live in a small town to understand, but as John Mellencamp would put it, "that's good enough for me".

Now I haven't seen Tim Allen in many movies, I basically know him as Tim the Tool Man Taylor from the hit TV show. I also know he dabbled as Santa Clause in a series of flicks, so to see him here as an alcoholic dirt bag was quite the shock to the system. Funny, but I never made the father-son connection with Eric Norris (Luke Grimes) until the very end of the story when Larry (Allen) dredged up his bad experience in Vietnam.

Don't be fooled by the title of the picture. The fact that it's Christmas time in the movie is ancillary to the story line. Vincent D'Onofrio, who portrays deputy Carl Hooker is straight out of Stallone's "First Blood" playbook as an ignorant redneck, and the film's fatal ending for Tim Allen's character mimics Eastwood at the conclusion of "Gran Torino". I think the film would have been better served to end it right after the siege at Vicente's Liquor Mart, but I guess they needed to tie up Eric's relationship with Kate (Michelle Mylett) for the classic happy ending.

Not good enough to be remembered

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 21 May 2018]

It's not that I regret watching El Camino Christmas, it's just an average movie, nothing special to it, nothing that will make you remember it. In fact I'd better write it down that I already saw it because otherwise I might watch it again in a couple of months because I totally forgot about it, and I don't want to watch it again. It's just not good enough, and it's certainly not a comedy, or maybe I don't get that kind of humor because I didn't laugh once. The story isn't terrible but again nothing special neither. The acting could be much better with this cast. I think that not all the actors were that thrilled to play in this movie. The only good thing about this movie is that they show the police as dumb and triggerhappy, that's exactly how I see the American police. Other than that it's pretty dull.

Not That Bad, I Laughed A Lot

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 12 December 2017]

I wasn't expecting much from this. Netflix and its original movies haven't been great, and on paper the cast was nothing special, but I was surprised by how frequently I laughed.

Yes, it had a cliched premise, and you could see the ending coming from a mile away, but it still ended up being entertaining. I actually laughed at Dax Shepard's character and I usually can't stand him. Kurtwood Smith is still comedy gold with the right material. Michelle Mylett I hadn't seen before, but she gave a solid and understated performance as Kate and made me a fan in the process.

It's a good Christmas movie. Don't expect too much and you won't be let down.

I would agree with hit and miss

[Chrispearce2 · 5/10 · 3 October 2019]

Could have been better and only ironicly funny. Good premise for the story and good cast a bit wasted by plot and script.

First It's Funny And Then It's Sad

[mrbeal-53006 · 7/10 · 3 July 2020]

Turned this on with my morning coffee not expecting much. It turned out to be a really fun ride. It wasn't exactly unpredictable, the story wasn't elaborate, and it was all over shortly after it begins. Even so, it was a brief and unexpected roller coaster of emotion. Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Just terrible

[talismanthirteen · 2/10 · 10 December 2017]

Tedious, tone deaf, and not the comedy the trailer wants you to believe it is. Can't decide if it is a comedy or a drama, and it's not enough of either to be a dramedy. Cast had a ton of promise and it was all squandered due to a thoughtless screenplay and uninspired directing. One of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. And can Hollywood do away with the "Got in a car accident, here is an airbag hilariously exploding in a guys face 10 seconds after the crash" cliché? It wasn't funny 20 years ago and it's not funny now.

Pretty darn good, but not for everyone

[Mobius2000 · 8/10 · 9 December 2017]

**WARNINGS**

First warning: If this were a rated film, it would be "R", not only for the multiple F-bombs, but the subject matter and plot.

Second warning: This ain't Hallmark. There are some funny moments, but overall, this is pretty dark. It's not a typical "Christmas" movie. In fact, there isn't a super strong connection to Christmas.

That said, I enjoyed it a lot. Tim Allen is definitely playing against type. I believe it's hard to play "stupid" convincingly, but Dax Shepard pulls it off. Michelle Mylett looks very familiar, but upon checking IMDb, it's doubtful I've seen her before. I predict we'll see a lot more of her. The rest of the star-studded cast turn in an excellent ensemble performance.

It's a bit predictable in parts, but still a very enjoyable movie. And in the end, you really are in the Christmas spirit.

An Uneven Dramatic Christmas Thriller

[tabuno · 6/10 · 8 January 2019]

9 December 2017. Definitely not what the comedic trailer suggests. This drama thriller is much more dark and gets darker as the movie proceeds to its predictable ending. Those expecting a Christmas romance comedy will be in for a shock. Instead this is a movie about a young man in search for his father after his mom passes away and he discovers letters written from his father. What he discovers is a questionable small town with some questionable law enforcement officers, a pretty single mother with a mute son and whose mother's mother is questionable as well. There's a number of characters to dislike in this movie as it swerves from comedy to drama towards an attempt at action thrills and a soft landing. Too bad the movie didn't take itself more seriously, it would have been a much better show.

An unintelligent script

[go_titans · 3/10 · 9 December 2017]

The story is about a young guy who gets caught up in circumstances that make it appear as if he is a gunman holding hostages, when in fact he's completely innocent. And don't worry, that's not a spoiler, you find out he's innocent very early on in the film.

But the film has been written so badly it is actually painful to watch. All of the characters make bad decision after bad decision, and the thought goes through your mind while watching that if everyone was like that, humanity would have wiped itself out thousands of years ago.

The director obviously had an end goal in mind that he desperately wanted to arrive at, and so the film's characters are forced to steer the story towards this goal via extreme levels of mental incompetence.

Are there any pluses in the movie? Yes, the casting was generally very good and most of the acting was great, and the director's story is sequenced well so the movie is easy to follow as a result. But no town is full of people that are as stupid as these characters are, and this ruins all of those positives I just mentioned.

Apparently the film is supposed to be a comedy, but ironically I think the only time I laughed was when the FBI agent said something like "the whole nation has been watching the stupidity with which you've allowed this situation to unfold". I nodded in agreement and laughed out loud over what is possibly the most apt line in the film.

I... Actually he liked it.

[hasansevik · 7/10 · 30 October 2019]

Some poor acting (Alba, Shepard), and some haphazard writing, but otherwise a decent movie. Vinnie D keeps proving what an amazing actor he is. Tim Allen is entertaining as he is in almost everything he's done. And the setting is actually perfect - small town, dead end dreams, crappy lives...

After watching recent drivel like Into The Wild and Bird Box, it's refreshing to watch something that's decent and enjoyable.

Lockdown christmas

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 25 March 2022]

Sometimes things do not go down the way we imagine them to go down. A visit or search for a person, can become an entirely different thing ... especially when mixed with eager police who may have good intentions, but ... well let's say are overreaching ... and that is putting it mildly ... as mildly as it gets.

The movie has its ups and downs, but lives off the performances mostly. Yes the script has good parts too of course - but without the actors to pull those off ... you wouldn't have much here. Especially considering certain weird points and twists this throws your way ... be it the very easy to spot Tim Allen character (I can't imagine anyone not guessing what is going on there) or the "fate" of Emilio Riveras character ... you may find it "shocking" ... no pun intended ... and then not so much. You'll understand after watching.

Good intentions can go way wrong ... and this movie almost seems to tell you to not be too good .. or maybe it tells you it does pay off ... again very weird, but also able to be entertaining if you let it. I had fun with it - even/despite its flaws ... still not sure why Jessica Alba had to be in the movie ... guess her being in it raised ... awareness and some funds towards making it happen.

Bad in All New Ways

[matthewssilverhammer · 3/10 · 3 January 2018]

This is the kind of movie I wanna root for: unique, small, quirky, human. Unfortunately, it's just so...odd. Not funny enough to be a comedy. Not clever enough to be original. Not thrilling enough to be exciting. And DEFINITELY not authentic enough to feel real. There was one moment I really liked (cops shoot out "through" building), but otherwise this is just an awkward holiday indie that wastes a stacked cast.

Unexpectedly great

[fanfictin1 · 7/10 · 3 December 2021]

Like all Christmas movies, it's a little corny. Someone was reading Hemingway when they were writing the script. Anyway, it was nevertheless a great performance from all involved and it was way better than most Christmas movies out there. Definitely worth watching.

The Title is Misleading

[davecrowder · 2/10 · 25 November 2023]

My wife and I wanted to watch a light Christmas movie and with Tim Allen in it we thought that is exactly what we would see, Instead it was , actually not sure, maybe a serious movie or a dark comedy, not sure, when it looked like a serious scene in the movie, Christmas music played in the background which was very confusing for us, my wife ended up watching most of it before she give up, I managed only about 45 minutes before I realized that this was not a Christmas movie or a light movie that we where looking for. Tim Allan was excellent as far as playing his character, but i could not figure out the alcohol cop, weather he was suppose to be funny or serious.

Not bad over all

[cbh-70077 · 7/10 · 22 December 2021]

Film starts off ok, middle part started to make me wonder why and the end patched up any tacky moments.

It's a film you could easily turn off midway but probably worth seeing out, I'm glad I did.

Boring

[ezcarter · 3/10 · 10 November 2023]

This is easily one of the worst (if not the worst - and I've seen a lot of Christmas movies) Christmas films I've ever seen. It was incredibly boring. That's the most succinct review I can give. It was boring. The cast was quite good and they did what they could with the material they were given (was actually surprised by Tim Allen's performance, I've never seen him in a role like this and given a better script, he could really do something cool!) - that's probably why I gave it three stars instead of zero. But still, an actor can only do so much when they are handed a steaming pile of you-know-what to work with. This one is definitely a "skip" - you won't be missing anything.

Dang Good. Dang Dang Good.

[bradencn · 8/10 · 30 November 2018]

It's a comedy, a tragedy, with a small touch of romance, and thank goodness it's not a try-hard film that tries to go too far. The producers knew their audience, and knew them well. Clearly a low-budget film designed to tell a simple story in 90 minutes. Well done.

Dax Shepard played the best dumb cop I've ever seen for this type of R-rated content...he isn't an "idiot," nor is he a Barney-Five. He's just a normal dude, trying to do the right thing, that stumbles, and it's funny because it feels actually realistic, as in, police departments probably do have this type of guy.

It was fun to see Kurtwood Smith, for all you "That's 70's Show" fans. He's the tough Sheriff that, too, is trying to do the right thing, but, dag nab it, just is struggling to have a competent force in a small town...and it's funny, because again, you can sense that this type of incompetence exists out there.

Then you have Vincent D'Onofrio, known best for "Full Metal Jacket," and he comes out perfect in this film as just a low-life cop, whose only pleasure in life remaining is to watch other people become more miserable than him. He is pivotal in to the story and again, the writers kept him simple, nothing overdone, and he plays his role BELIEVABLY. Man, I always appreciate good writing. Kudos to Melfi and Wehner for not playing to any political crowd, but just creating dang good art.

Lastly, among the key dudes to the story, you have Tim Allen and Luke Grimes. It's a good pair. It was quite strange to see Allen in this type of role, but he gave it his all...sometimes out of place, but believable, still. Luke...yea, he was good. Real good. Very well casted.

Some of the best comedy came out of Jimmy Yang ("Silicon Valley") and Jessica Alba...they were the perfect pair for the comedic relief you needed at times. I'm excited to see what Jimmy Yang will be pulling off in the future, he's dang good and landing hilarious comedic lines. They never feel forced. In the movie, they play as the rookie reporters...and playing into that role hilariously.

The side story of single mother and potentially autistic son added to the tension, and even romance, which kept things interesting. And seeing good old Emilio Rivera ("Sons of Anarchy") playing the tough but cool and collected guy was fantastic.

Can we not appreciate simple, low-budget, great acted films anymore? Indy films are like this, and they are some of the greats. There was scarcely any CGI, heavy explosions, etc...this move REQUIRED on-point acting, and I was extremely impressed. Not your typical Christmas film, yet I'll be recommending this each year for people looking for something to enjoy, something that's different from the norm.

Good flick, not a comedy

[JCDaydream · 7/10 · 19 May 2018]

The biggest mistake made with this movie was calling it a comedy. There are funny moments, but a comedy it ain't. It's a drama more than anything and a reasonably good one. Nothing overly original but it was well done and held my attention and enjoyment for the entire story. Something that is very rare these days.

This was a comedy?

[richardhillier · 3/10 · 1 December 2019]

Not sure at what point I was supposed to be laughing. It's a movie where things just seem to be happening for the sake of it...like a captain without a ship it was just kind of all over the place. Not really sure what they were aiming for. But it's not something I'd watch again neither would I recommend.

Average movie until the second half. Fun to watch.

[grisilla · 7/10 · 19 December 2022]

Tim Allen's best movie. The other performers did real well, and the story came together. The humor was black and rare in the beginning, but got much better as it went along. My favorite came at the end with the stuck-in-the-mud sheriff is getting mystical treatment for smoking cigarettes! The mute child finding his voice at the end was unnecessary. The father/son revelation was predictable, but, in the end, satisfyingly understated. Hilarious when two lawmen are shooting-at each other-through the building yelling "Taking fire!"

D-Onofrio gives a performance every bit as good as Brian Dennehy used to do. Good movie.

There is some real comedy genius here, but then it kind of falls apart at the end.

[cgvsluis · 6/10 · 30 December 2022]

I love Dax Shepard, he is just naturally funny, but the real scene stealer in this film is the actor Luke Grimes, who underplays his character, Eric Norris.

Eric Norris comes to the tiny Nevada town of El Camino looking for the father he has never met. He finds a drunk played by Tim Allen at the address. He also encounters two corrupt members of the local sheriff's office. He gets illegally apprehended, beat up and held in the county jail until the next morning when the junior deputy Calhoun, played by Dax Shepard, leaves him the keys and the door open while he goes to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't quite make it out of town before the other deputy, Carl Hooker, catches up to him and chases him into the local convenience store while opening fire on him. Inside the convenience store happens to be Tim Allen's character, Larry Roth, who happens to be a Vietnam vet who instinctively fires back at the deputy, shooting him in the leg. This creates a "hostage-like" situation that brings deputies and a local reporter to the scene.

Lots of great actors and great acting in this film...great comedy, but as previously mentioned it kind of fizzes out at the end making this a watch and delete for me. There is one hilarious Christmas song and some sad Christmas decorations, but otherwise not really a "Christmas movie" in the standard sense.

Lightweight and breezy, I recommend this to anyone who wants something light for Christmas.