The creators of The eye of the storm certainly did not pretend to reinvent the wheel by designing a Christmas film derived from their popular series. Light and friendly entertainment, The Christmas cyclone will not become a classic of the genre, but it will satisfy die-hard fans of the show.
Written and directed by the same team behind the four (and soon five) seasons of the - series, The Christmas cyclone therefore transposes onto the big screen the world of Isabelle Gagnon (Christine Beaulieu), this single mother of three children who is as endearing as she is imperfect.
We are two weeks away from Christmas. Right in the middle of the traditional gift shopping, Isabelle learns with amazement that all the members of her family have plans out of town for the evening of December 24.
Her twins (Juliette Aubé and Joey Bélanger) are invited to celebrate Christmas in New York with their father (Patrick Hivon) and stepmother (Catherine Souffront). Her eldest daughter (Emi Chicoine) wants to go and celebrate New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend’s family, while her mother (Danielle Proulx) and her boyfriend (Luc Senay) intend to go tan under the Florida sun.
For Isabelle, who is very attached to holiday traditions, it is a disaster. Unable to conceive the idea of spending the evening of December 24 without her family, she will plot with her sister Éliane (Véronique Cloutier) a series of bad tricks aimed at sabotaging her gang’s plans for Christmas and thus bringing everyone together. New Year’s Eve evening.
Opal Films
On familiar ground
The regulars of The eye of the storm will quickly find themselves on familiar ground with this film which was shot in the same locations and which features the same characters, with the addition of a few new faces and the surprise appearance of a well-known singer at the end. We can thus see The Christmas cyclone like a long episode of the series from which it is inspired, with the added bonus of the nostalgic and comforting side of a Christmas film.
Knowing this universe like the back of his hand, the director, Alain Chicoine, has kept the essence of the series (which he also directs) by focusing on the same mix of humor and lightness. All carried by a group of actors who know each other well and who visibly take great pleasure in playing together (special mention to Christine Beaulieu’s sparkling performance).
Taken out of the context of a sketch show, certain scenes devolving into histrionics, however, go less well on the big screen. We think in particular of this sequence, more uncomfortable than funny, in which Éliane tests a karaoke system in a store while trying to seduce her niece’s father-in-law (Dominic Paquet).
The Christmas cyclone still fulfills its primary mission, that of entertaining by immersing us (already) in the holiday atmosphere.
- Rating: 3 stars out of 5
- The Christmas cyclone is playing everywhere across the province, before landing on the ICI TOU.TV EXTRA platform a few days before Christmas.
