In the end, the film succumbs to the tropes and emotional contrivances of the family melodrama at its core, ending up as a serviceable yet mostly forgettable addition to the already overstuffed genre of holiday-themed films.

The film doesn't know how to get out of its own way and foreground what's working, namely the dynamo of screen presence placed more prominently in the advertising than the feature itself.

The film's no great shakes, but Russell's star power in "The Christmas Chronicles" is a gift anyone should be happy to claim.

With a plot as old as the jokes you find in a Christmas cracker... The Christmas Chronicles, would find itself firmly on the naughty list.