Bad Tidings is hysteria that cannot be explained in words. It is filled with rich humor, twists, and an unexpected tale of two very different individuals developing friendship. The holiday season comes with its new bunch of chaos and the creators tackle this very theme in the movie. Bendelack places great emphasis on the chaos that Christmas can generate, especially when two very contrasting characters are placed together.
Christmas Eve comes with a lot of chaos on a peaceful evening in a suburban area, Neil, a cranky security officer, has been continuously at war with his blind overly animated neighbor Scott, and this battle looks nowhere near to ending. Their petty issues arise most the time from Christmas decorations and borderline marks. They find themselves locked, when Neil’s accident resulted in the fuse of the entire neighborhood blowing up but as history has seen darkness only leads to light because the two of them find themselves together. A solitary night suddenly transforms into a jam packed turn of events after Scott and Neil find out that a local criminal group headed by the well known Rube ‘Big’ Barry Brennan is going on a robbery spree targeting Scott and Neils’s neighborhood.
Further enhancing the comedic aspect are some actors like Rebekah Staton who is cast as Stacey Brennan, Barry’s wife and somewhat of an unwilling partner in crime. Otherwise, there’s Sarah Alexander as Laura, who helps Neil rekindle the holiday spirit with her unending Christmas vibe as well as a number of offbeat supporting characters that add more appeal to this Christmas tale. Every single shot has its fair share of witty exchanges and physical comedy, which are intermixed with some of the most sentimental moments reflecting the spirit of Christmas.
As Neil and Scott use improvised means to fend off their street’s invaders “Home Alone” style, it provides both laughter and tender moments about friendship and forgiveness, and even an entire community. Bad Tidings features a bit of harmless mischief combined with some holiday mess – just the right mix to watch this Christmas season.
