Even the presence of Susan Sarandon doesn’t help much. She plays Rose, who works in publishing and dotes on her hospitalized mother, who has Alzheimer’s and is totally out of it. Rose has no love life, or even dates. She is depressed but tries to keep a cheery façade. When a young hunk working in the company convinces Rose to have dinner with him and they wind up in her apartment, she can’t bring herself to follow the advice of a colleague to get some sex.

That’s the strongest part of the film. Try these characters. Alan Arkin plays Artie, who each Christmas Eve hits on some young fellow and tells him that he is Artie’s late wife reincarnated. It turns out he killed his wife and needs forgiveness. The unlucky guy this year is Paul Walker as Mike, a cop. Artie makes Mike uncomfortable because he thinks the sudden attachment is a gay advance. Mike is due to be married to the sexy Nina (Penélope Cruz). She’s fed up because Mike is insanely jealous and ready to beat up any man who looks at her. Not only do they have to work out their problems, but Mike has to learn to show compassion for Artie.

Lo and behold, when Rose visits her mother in the hospital she finds Robin Williams in a nearby room as a mysterious man who observes Rose telling an unknown comatose patient that she loves him just to give him some warmth. The encounter emerges as a metaphysical one, even after she invites the stranger home with her.