At the end of Peter Godfrey's "Christmas in Connecticut" -- the greatest Christmas movie of all time (don't fight me on this) -- beloved character actor Sydney Greenstreet, having just emerged from a comedy kerfuffle of epic proportions,

Tyler Thomas Taormina’s comedy drama about a Long Island family boasts some of the year’s sharpest characterizations and a strikingly original narrative form.

The major Hollywood studios skirted this weekend and held off on new releases, a decision that likely hedged against an uncertain national mood following the presidential election. Their absence is others’ gain though,