By Mallory Mattingly
SUITS star Eric Close says that the story behind his new project, ALL IS MERRY AND BRIGHT, drew him.
“For me, it always starts with the story, and then I look at the character,” Close told Movieguide®’s Kaelii Williams in a recent interview. “Because sometimes I’ve, you know, looked at something. I like the character, but I don’t particularly care for the story. And so I’m not as interested. But this, I just loved it. And my instincts were right because it was such a blast to work on this project. I had a great time.”
ALL IS MERRY AND BRIGHT follows the Tannen family and their “ideal family Christmas.”
Related: Eric Close Reveals How Faith, Mercy, Grace Carry Pat Boone’s THE MULLIGAN
“In what may be the last holiday with the family all together, Jessica strives to pull off a perfectly jolly Christmas. But with a never-ending task list, a sibling grudge reigniting, and mounting mishaps, Jessica slightly loses it. Add in extended family arriving early with one very mischievous dog, and everyone is in for a season of comical chaos,” a synopsis of the film reads. “ALL IS MERRY & BRIGHT is a hilarious and heartwarming reminder about the enduring strength of family. Even when nothing goes as planned and peace turns to mayhem, being surrounded by your loved ones is what truly makes Christmas special.”
Close plays Paul Tannen, who is married to Jessica Tannen (Emily Rose). The couple has three kids and is “just your regular American family.”
“We all love each other. We have a lot of fun together. Kind of a silly family. We put on this talent show every year around the holidays. It’s called the Tannen Bomb Talent Show,” Close told Movieguide®.
“The one thing in the story that is different is that my wife Jessica was in a car accident when she was a child. And so she’s got an ailment — she’s got advancing arthritis,” Close explained. “She has to use a cane to get around, but she’s also an overachiever. So everybody around her kind of tries to build her up all the time. But we’re still, you know, a lot of fun. It’s a great family. And then, of course, it’s the holidays, and everybody else shows up, and then it becomes a lot of chaos.”
Alongside Close and Rose, the cast includes Doug Jones, Shari Rigby, Frank Oakley III, Vanessa Benavente, Nancy Stafford, John O’Hurley and Sally Struthers.
“People tend to approach the holidays with this picture of what a perfect Christmas should look like,” said Shun Lee Fong, the lead producer of the film, in a September press release. “And we drive ourselves to distraction and stress trying to measure up. But when it really comes down to it, the perfect Christmas is simply this: loving God and loving people.”
ALL IS MERRY AND BRIGHT is set to release in theaters on Nov. 7.
Read Next: Eric Close Talks New Movie THE MULLIGAN: ‘God Is A God Of Forgiveness, Mercy And Grace’
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