I can safely say that this is the first film I ever watched at the advice of a homeless person (who reviewed several holiday movies in a charity newspaper). Sure enough, several major characters have no legal address. They spend most of the movie squatting for months...in a mansion whose owner, extreme tycoon Michael O'Connor, usually stays away all winter. That's about as feel-good as a story about homeless people gets. Indeed, I felt much better than I did after the previous romantic comedy.
At first only one man does it. Then he makes the acquaintance of a WWII veteran (handsome enough that you know he'll have a love interest) who just got evicted to make room for a tower owned by the same O'Connor. Then O'Connor's daughter (there you go) shows up to prepare herself for a relatively ordinary life against her father's wishes. Because of this, she pretends to be another squatter. The mansion racks up quite a few unofficial tenants before Mr. O'Connor finds out, but at his daughter's tender plea, he pretends to be yet another squatter under house rules set by the first. And the film's not half over yet.
You can imagine how, as O'Connor grins and bears it, the viewers grin more sincerely. I especially like a rather suggestive conversation of errors between him and his daughter. But this is the sort of comedy where individual laughs matter to me less than the overall feeling, which is just as heartwarming as it is amusing.
I'm not even talking about the predictable young adult romance. The real joy is in seeing O'Connor's bitterness give way to care. He comes to realize how his love of money got in the way of his happiness, even resulting in a divorce neither party really wanted. It is difficult but not too late to make amends, with his eventually present ex or with others who suffered under him. Not the least difficult part is declining to erect road blocks between his daughter and the man she wants to marry. But even squatters can be disarmingly charming and intellectually impressive.
The story ends shortly after New Year's. See it while you're still in the spirit.
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