This Time Each Year

The film opens with Kevin being let go from his job at a bar by his boss, Ron, who believes that as a man 'on the wagon' (recovering alcoholic), Kevin should find a career that better serves his sobriety. Meanwhile, Lauren is struggling to manage a dilapidated historic home on Bayview Drive that she and Kevin bought as a 'dream home' before their separation. When Lauren's mother, Janet, calls to announce she won a Christmas cruise and wants to visit early, Lauren—who hasn't told her mother about the separation—convinces Kevin to move back in temporarily and 'play pretend' for the holidays. The ruse is complicated when Janet discovers her cruise was a scam, forcing her to stay with the family indefinitely. Kevin's brother Bart provides a subplot as he pursues Kimmy, a local realtor who is also helping Lauren decide whether to sell the Bayview house to escape their financial 'nightmare.' As the family engages in various holiday traditions, including a high-stakes gingerbread house competition and ice skating, the tension of the lie grows. After a stressful outing, Lauren finally confesses the truth about the separation to Janet, who reveals that she and Lauren's father had their own period of separation that Lauren never knew about. Kevin attempts a grand romantic gesture by decorating the Bayview house for their annual Christmas date, but the evening ends in disaster when a cherished family heirloom—a glass angel—is shattered. However, Kevin takes the initiative to have the angel repaired using Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold. This serves as a metaphor for their marriage. In the climax, Lauren realizes she doesn't want to sell the house or lose Kevin. She rejects a lucrative, unconditional offer on the property and asks Kevin to come home for real. The movie concludes on Christmas morning with the family reunited, the Bayview house finally feeling like a home, and the couple committed to working through their 'mess' together.