I am always on the lookout for a new Christmas movie to throw into the rotation. I love a happy, silly film, but my all-time favorite is It’s A Wonderful Life, the Christmas-adjacent movie that my dad forced me to watch as a teenager and has remained a staple ever since. The Baltimorons, from director Jay Duplass, fits far more into that dark, yet hopeful style of Christmas movie for those who are searching for a more subdued, but still substantial version of Christmas cheer.
Cliff (Michael Strassner, who co-wrote the script with Duplass) and Brittany (Olivia Luccardi) are going to spend Christmas Eve with her family. While on the drive there, Cliff is texting with a friend, explaining that he couldn’t do an improv show that night because of his plans, and there is a sense that this is a complicated topic between Cliff and Brittany. When they arrive at Brittany’s childhood home, Cliff slips and one of his front teeth gets knocked out. He finds a dentist who is open and goes there. Didi (Liz Larsen) helps get his situation sorted and then sends him on his way, planning to spend the night alone after discovering that her kids will be spending Christmas Eve with her ex and his new wife.
From there, The Baltimorons continues as an odd couple story where the two end up on an adventure together around the city of Baltimore. Through the course of the film, we learn that Cliff is newly sober and is worried about his ability to perform stand-up now that he no longer drinks. We learn why Brittany is so concerned about where he is and keeps tabs on him, which can at first seem simply controlling. We learn more about Didi’s family and the hurt that she is experiencing following her divorce. In short, this movie is very human in its pursuits.
The Baltimorons will likely get some comparison to The Holdovers, in that these aren’t necessarily the most immediately likable characters, but the more time that we spend with them, the more we come to understand what has led them to this particular Christmas Eve. Both have a grittier aesthetic, and while one takes place in the 1970s and one in current times, they both have a timeless human element that makes them feel similar. They also have people put together at Christmas who don’t seem like they would work, but somehow find commonality in their existence.
One of the things that I really loved about The Baltimorons is that even though there are pretty non-stop hijinks throughout the night for Cliff and Didi, none of it feels like it is outside the realm of possibility. A visit to a bar, a stop by an ex’s house for dinner, a late-night trip on a boat to catch some soft shell crabs – it all seems credible, even if it is a lot for one night. That sense of realism helps us to connect with the characters even in some bizarre circumstances.
The performances in this film are quite lovely. Luccardi has the unenviable task of playing the nagging girlfriend, but she manages to avoid being a character we root against, bringing a humanity to her that is admirable. Larsen does a fantastic job of playing a woman who struggles between the part of herself that just wants to sit in a bath and feel sorry for herself because her Christmas Eve is ruined, and a woman who wants to let her hair down and try something entirely new. Strassner has to balance two different relationships throughout the film, and he handles that masterfully, allowing us to feel a sense of empathy for someone who is an uncomfortable character to spend time with.
Because The Baltimorons takes place over the course of one night and the following morning, there is some ambiguity about what happens when this movie is over. Who does Cliff end up with in the new year? I don’t think we have a clear picture of that at the end of the film. But those questions in no way detract from the overall enjoyment of the movie.
Despite being a goofy Christmas rom-com, this movie deals with some deep and meaningful themes, the most obvious being that of loneliness. A friend of mine once said that she feels the “most divorced” over the holidays, and I understand that. The togetherness that is expected during holidays can amplify any experiences that are the opposite of that. What The Baltimorons does beautifully is to show that there will be people willing to meet and match whatever your brand of weird is. Hopefully, you won’t have to lose a tooth first.
The Baltimorons is now in theaters.
Learn more about the film at the official website for the title.
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