By Kevin C. Johnson

POST-DISPATCH POP MUSIC CRITIC

"Nothing Like the Holidays" instantly catapults itself to the top of the list of favorite Hispanic holiday movies — though no others come to mind. Actually, it might work on a list of favorite holiday movies, period.

Offering something different from the crass humor in the funny "Four Christmases," "Nothing Like the Holidays" is more a cross between the warmer "The Family Stone" and last year's "This Christmas," which focused on an African-American family.

Like those softer movies, this melodrama is about family spread far apart by life, reuniting for Christmas under the same roof.

Puerto Rican patriarch Eduardo (Alfred Molina) and his wife, Anna (Elizabeth Peña), live in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Their children include soldier Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez, one of the film's executive producers), who is back home after a tour of duty in Iraq. He's expected to help run his father's bodega.

Mauricio (John Leguizamo) and Sarah (Debra Messing) are New York execs who've put the idea of having a baby on hold, to the chagrin of Anna, who insults her daughter-in-law in Spanish while she's in the room.

Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito) is the "star" of the family, though she's secretly struggling in Los Angeles. She has a crush on Ozzy (Jay Hernandez), an old friend with gang ties.

Once they're all together, we wonder what bombs will drop. It's not long before Anna casually mentions at the family dinner table that she's divorcing Eduardo, who's harboring a secret. The news sets off strings of reactions, including Jesse's wish to go running back to Iraq.

Director Alfredo De Villa ("Washington Heights"), works well with a fine cast and balances the various plots admirably. The only major misstep is the gang story line that brings an unnecessary bit of harsh conflict to the table.

Here's hoping films such as "Nothing Like the Holidays" remind Hollywood of a talent pool it often either ignores or stereotypes.

kjohnson@post-dispatch.com — 314-340-8191

PG-13 — 1:39 — Contains sexual dialogue and brief drug references