When Children Fail, When Parents Love: Keys to a Good Christmas in “Everybody’s Fine”
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009by Susan Giffone [author, academic]
I don’t know about you, but when the subject of Christmas comes up, a lot of people tell me that they plan to spend the holiday with their extended families. And yet, very few of them seem happy about that. It seems Christmas with family falls somewhere on the emotional spectrum between paying bills and giving birth to conjoined triplets. No one has said to me, “I can’t wait to go home for Christmas because my family is so warm and inviting, like Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.” In an age renowned for tolerance, I find this distressing. Agape love, the queen mother of Christian ideals, is easily understood by everyone, from the most eminent psychiatrist to the simplest simon, to be the soil in which humans thrive. Everybody loves unconditional love. Why is it so hard to give?
Everybody’s Fine, the latest offering from writer/director Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine, Nanny McPhee), shows viewers vividly what can happen when we see and accept one another as we truly are. (more…)