"Nutcrackers "Trailer:" "Ben Stiller Looks After Wild Orphaned Nephews in Christmas Comedy (Exclusive)
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11/12/2024 12:00 PM
Ben Stiller and Linda Cardellini star in director David Gordon Green's 'Nutcrackers,' on Hulu Nov. 29
Ben Stiller gets in over his head in Nutcrackers.
PEOPLE has the exclusive first trailer for the new Christmas comedy, which marks Stiller's first leading movie role in seven years.
In the film, Stiller, 58, plays Mike, a "strait-laced and work obsessed" man who, per a synopsis, is "suddenly thrust into being a caregiver" for his four "rambunctious" nephews in rural Ohio after they are orphaned.
The nephews are played by real-life brothers Homer, 13, Ulysses, 11, Atlas, 8, and Arlo Janson, 8, in their movie debuts.
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Courtesy Nutcracker Productions LLC/Hulu.
Ben Stiller (L) in Nutcrackers (2024)Nutcrackers comes from director David Gordon Green, who previously directed the recent Halloween trilogy, 2008's Pineapple Express and 2023's The Exorcist: Believer.
"I wanted to make a movie without viciousness or cynicism or expectation," Green, 49, said in a statement shared with press. "It was a production experience that evolved with the sunrise and sunset of the farm and the ideas and attitudes of our kids. The effort was to capture the heart and joy of making a movie among people that we love. It was a film experience that felt like a family as we laughed and cried and faced the unknown adventure together."
Courtesy of Hulu
Nutcrackers posterIn the trailer (set to a background track of selections from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, of course) Michael is shown getting into a series of misadventures with the kids that seem to eventually bring them all closer together.
"You know, if you love somebody and they love you, that love doesn't go away. It stays with you," Michael says near the end of the trailer.
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Courtesy Nutcracker Productions LLC/Hulu
Ben Stiller (L) in Nutcrackers (2024)Nutcrackers was the opening night gala premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The cast also includes Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson, Tim Heidecker and Toby Huss.
Stiller spoke with Variety in September about his return to acting after having focused more on directing, telling the outlet, "I never thought I'd take this much time away from acting."
"It wasn't intentional; it was just how things evolved," said the Severance director and executive producer, who also helmed 2019's limited series Escape at Dannemora. (His last major screen role was in 2017's Brad's Status.)
Nutcrackers is on Hulu Nov. 29.
