No matter what this film does, it’s too hard to love the Coopers. 

“Love the Coopers,” directed by Jessie Nelson and starring John Goodman and Diane Keaton, ruins all goodwill it has with a generic ending and an uneven tone.

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It is Christmas time, and the Coopers are coming together once again. But this year will be different; this year will bring sadness and depression before joy. 

Parents on the verge of a divorce, a son out of job and a daughter with a multitude of personal problems are only some of the issues the Coopers need to get over if they plan to have a holly, jolly Christmas.  

It is depressing to see a movie with so many good aspects fail so bad. Even a cast of fantastic actors, and a few cool character arcs, such as Olivia Wilde’s Eleanor’s inability to love herself, could not save this Christmas blunder.

Without giving away any spoilers, the ending to this movie is extremely undeserving. 

The last 30 minutes of “Love the Coopers” come off as a rushed attempt to complete everyone’s storylines. No one is given a satisfying conclusion, and the tone tries to be sweet to the point of giving you a cavity.  

Most of this movie comes off as the most depressing Christmas movie ever, a genre known for being inspiring. One of the themes involves being unable to buy a child a gift, not exactly uplifting. 

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This is not a bad idea for a holiday movie, it bucks the constant trend of being overly inspirational. But “Love the Coopers” tries to throw jokes written by hackney comedians from the 1960s in with all of this sadness. 

This dramedy leaves audience members questioning if they felt anything at all. However, the movie succeeds in its acting. 

With a cast featuring the talents of Alan Arkin, Ed Helms and Goodman, it should be no surprise the cast comprises most of what’s good in this movie.

Every actor, with a little help of an OK script, brings raw emotion and sympathy to their characters, even through their darkest moments. 

Stars: 2 of 5    

Jacob Pierce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacobPierce1_DE.