Alex Helmer marks his feature film directorial debut with A Christmas Party, an ensemble piece that reminds us of the peaks and valleys of the titular occasion. At just twenty-three years old, Helmer already knows what kind of filmmaker he aspires to be, which is a testament to his maturity, as most directors still find their footing at such a young age. Speaking highly of his cast and crew, he’s got convictions that he’s got all the right pieces to his first puzzle. The result? A mostly spectacular effort capturing the agony and ecstasy of the most wonderful time of the year. 

Shot in Helmer’s hometown of Washington, D.C., A Christmas Party is not only a personal film. The D.C. backdrop adds another layer to a powder keg waiting to be lit and exploded. No matter how we feel about the holiday, one inevitable topic of conversation that’ll come up via your conservative uncle or liberal cousin is politics. While D.C. isn’t prominently featured in the film, there is a presence of a congressman arriving unannounced at the dinner and a partygoer who has just quit her job working for said congressman. After he shows up, disrupts the dinner, and storms out, chaos ensues. Helmer penned the script with longtime friend and comedian Guy Knoll, and the execution of this idiosyncrasy is daring.

 Amidst the partygoers, we meet many eccentric characters. In particular, there’s CJ (Joe Rashbaum), a man trying to sniff out whether his wife is cheating on him or not. While Rashbaum isn’t the leading man of the movie, he easily steals the show. Every interaction he has with another that involves him asking them if they know someone who possibly slept with his wife is genius, particularly one with Jack Wielar’s Danny, as the latter makes the clever choice to dart his eyes anywhere but directly at Rashbaum.

Aside from him, another supporting highlight of the cast is Richard Sexton as Shaun, the godfather of our leading man, Adam (more on him in a bit). Sexton provides the moral compass Adam needs as he navigates his first family gathering since coming home from college. On the one hand, Shaun is written to be a character who knows how to light up a room. On the other hand, he’s a soul looking for help. Shaun is also a thespian looking to execute the perfect line in a play he’s about to be in. Every time he asks for input on how to say his one-liner, he receives various pieces of feedback.

Then there’s our leading man, Adam Hartman, played by Jaxon Keller. Viewers see him navigate his way through every conversation like it’s a chore to eventually get one-on-one time with childhood friend Ally (Sarah-Grace Donelly). Keller fits right into Helmer’s style as the actor and director make a tight-knit duo. His chemistry with Donelly is wonderful, but what Helmer and Knoll do with the characters feels a bit forced and cheeky. Adam catches Ally at a bad time to profess his feelings for her as she brings home a new boyfriend from the UK, and while that love triangle finds resolution, it’s how it got there that should’ve been written better. As for Adam himself, he’s written one-dimensionally, never seeming to fulfill a true arc. This may partially be because of how ensemble-oriented A Christmas Party is. Still, even if there’s a central protagonist in a sea of characters, no viewer wants to see them be one-note.

What A Christmas Party lacks the most is its script. Not only is Adam a thinly written lead, but subplots ran amok. Some become developed and resolved, while others get audiences wanting more. But the benefit of the doubt should be given to Helmer and Knoll. This is their first feature-length script together, and while their intentions as writers have the same end goal, they seem to still be working out the kinks in terms of finding which ideas to go with. On the plus side, they know exactly how to capture the in-your-face nature of holiday parties and all the cliches that could come with one. The approach feels earnest, and took a lot of effort to translate under one roof, as it not only knows what kinds of people you will find at one, but also the cultural mindsets of each character. Whether it’s having certain characters speak Czech or introducing what an American Christmas looks like for new faces at the party, Helmer and Knoll tie it all together.

A Christmas Party is, through and through, a fitting holiday movie. It may not be on the same level as the greats like Elf, A Christmas Story, or National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but it has the heart and soul of what makes that time of the year what it is. Helmer has proven to be a man of great character, and what he has achieved here is courageous. I certainly hope he will be a name to look out for in the near future, as his next task with this movie will be distribution. I doubt anyone will be slow to grab it, but as long as it falls into the right hands, it’ll be a pleasant gift for us all.

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