Movie Review: Feast of the Seven Fishes

Feast of the Seven Fishes

5/5 stars

You should watch Feast of the Seven Fishes

My family spends a lot of time together. We eat dinner together every night, chat before bed, and never go grocery shopping alone. 

Despite how much time we spend together, we’ve never been a movie family. For the number of movies my dad and brother watch, you’d think we’d find the time to watch some together, but very rarely do we find ourselves seated on the couch together with a movie playing. 

A movie we found ourselves watching together was The Feast of the Seven Fishes.

My mom, grandpa, and I sat down to watch this movie this week just as the holidays begin to approach, and we start discussing the plan for our own Christmas Eve Feast. 

The seven fishes has been a tradition in my family way before I was born, and it’s something I look forward to every year.

The Seven Fishes is a traditional American Italian dinner eaten typically on Christmas Eve. It’s an assortment of seafood, not just fish. I’m not sure how authentic it really is, but it sure is a big deal in my family. 

When I saw there was a movie based on the premise of a loud Italian family celebrating Christmas, I was intrigued. 

This movie felt like watching an old home video from when my dad was young. When we drive through the town he’s from, he reminisces \when his entire family lived within walking distance. He’d talk about walking into someone’s house on a Sunday or getting picked up by a cousin, and when the opening scene of this movie was exactly that, I was locked in. 

The Feast of the Seven Fishes follows a boy, Tony, and his family on the days leading up to and on Christmas Eve. 

Italian culture is dense and runs deep, and the center of it is family. Our Christmas Eve is expected to reach 27 people, and my grandma will host like she does every year. 

It was nice to watch a movie that emulated the deep sense of family that I grew up with. 

Tony’s family mirrored my own perfectly with the loudness and attitudes of my mom’s family and the hugs and kisses from my dad’s. 

The night before Christmas Eve, Tony meets a girl named Beth. Beth is not Italian and usually has a quiet Christmas Eve with her parents. 

Instead of being a satirical movie about the loud family that lives on your street, it’s an exploration of family, traditions, and growing up.

Tony loves his family and being a part of the traditions, but we also see that he wants to go to art school. He’s afraid to tell his family he wants to leave the family business and go to New York.

The inclusion of this conflict adds a layer to the movie beyond family traditions. It explores the complexity of “letting down“ your family and following your own dream.

The references in the movie were spot on and had my 90-year-old grandpa laughing the whole time. 

My favorite scene was when Uncle Frankie silently joined the table with a wooden cutting board, eel, and hammer. 

The movie excelled in including every aspect of the Seven Fishes and Italian familial traditions without feeling overstuffed. 

From the accents to the lingo to the decor, this movie screamed American Italian family. 

The movie was so precise that we have the same big white pot they cook with, blankets, and old Christmas decorations. 

Not only was it a cute movie about family, it was a sweet boy meets girl story. 

Seven fishes aside, it was a sweet story between Tony and Beth. Beth joins Tony’s family for Christmas Eve a day after they meet.

For me and my cousins, introducing someone to our big, extended family is a scary thing, never mind a day after we meet. But, by inviting Beth to Christmas Eve, it shows that in their house, anyone is welcome.

My dad talked about this open-door policy growing up. Their door was always open to friends and family who needed somewhere to go, especially on the holidays.

Our Christmas Eve guest list feels like it’s always changing because anyone is welcome to my grandma’s that night.

Beth is sucked into the Christmas Eve preparations and chatter. She eats bacala and calamari and almost throws up when she eats the eel. 

I enjoyed watching their romance bud just as much as the movie’s other parts.

If you’re looking for a Christmas movie that celebrates family time and traditions, this is the one for you! I give it a 5/5. Let me know what you think!