Let’s take a break from talking about sports, the T.O. and ‘Melo, Isiah and the B.C.S. for just a split second, shall we?

The holiday season always reminds me of family.  It’s a time when we all get together and enjoy each other’s company.  Well, when I think of family, I think dysfunctional. Hey, it’s what I know.  After recently watching “Little Miss Sunshine,” I felt inspired to compile my personal, top 10 list of all-time dysfunctional family movies.

First, let’s set down some ground rules before continuing.  It’s nearly impossible to compare dramas to comedies to thrillers, however, legitimate comparisons can be drawn between films that have similar, central themes.  For this Top 10 list, the dysfunctional family must be the focus of the film.  Although movies like “The Godfather,” “Raging Bull,” or “Do The Right Thing,” (all which would have made my list) highlight dysfunctional families in one respect or another, the dysfunctional family is not quite the central focus of the movie.  One might argue the family serves as the backdrop for “The Godfather.”  I’d respect that opinion.  However, I’ve kept it off this list to give other movies a fair shake.  Accordingly, here is my list of top ten “dysfunctional family” films of the past thirty years.

10. “Garden State” -  This movie’s got it all.  (I may be saying that quite often on this list)  Zach Braff’s character returns home from school for his mother’s funeral, where he confronts the estranged relationship that’s developed between him and his father.  He rejoins his high school mates and ends up falling for Natalie Portman (uh… who wouldn’t) as she helps him open up and cope with his mother’s death.  It’s a comedy, drama, romance all wrapped into one, not to mention the funniest scene featuring a character in full, body armor since “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “The Cable Guy."

9. “Parenthood” – Billed as a comedy, this film features its fair share of dramatic moments.  It tackles the entire gamut of family issues: relationships, infidelity, childbirth, divorce, sex, miscommunication, parenting and adoption.  “Parenthood” also features an all-star cast including Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Dianne Wiest, Sam Robards, Keanu Reeves, Thomas Hulce and Joaquin Phoenix.  There’s not a scene in this film that doesn’t highlight and lowlight the family experience.

8. “The Upside of Anger” – When I saw the previews for this movie as it was released in 2005, I nearly barfed at the thought of another Kevin Costner playing another retired baseball player.  However, this film is far heavier than that.  At the foundation, we have Joan Allen’s daughters struggling with their mother’s alcoholism and their father’s abandonment.  “Upside” is not a chick flick.  Plus it features the smoky, Erika Christensen.

7. “Slums of Beverly Hills” – Alan Arkin plays the father of this traveling family, doing the best he can to raise his three children on a meager salary, while his brother makes millions.  Dysfunction runs rampant in this comedy, not to mention the vibrator scene with Marisa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne is a classic.

6. “Little Miss Sunshine” – Consecutive Alan Arkin films.  A fantastic script, this film will make you laugh and cry.  Greg Kinnear loads his homsexual, suicidal, intellectual brother-in-law, his silent son, and his heroine-shooting father into his ever-stalling and ever-honking, VW bug and leaves New Mexico for California to have his daughter participate in her dream pageant.  Dysfunction throughout, as witnessed in the final scene where the family bumrushes the stage at the pageant.

5. “Soul Food” – The essence of dysfunction.  This epic features a broad cast of characters and the division of  a once tightly-knit, family is the central theme.  Once the grandmother, the core of the family, passes away tragically, her surviving family is torn apart.  The grandson does his part to reunite the family, now distanced by several issues.  Not only did HBO base a series off this film, any time you can get Vanessa Williams, Vivica Fox and Nia Long on the screen at the same time, I’m game.  Williams’ performance is so convincing, she almost rids herself of her hotness.

4. “Kramer vs Kramer” – This film defined, in grim, emotional detail, what families going through divorce must confront.  “Kramer vs. Kramer” won five academy awards, including best picture and nods for both Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

3. “Ordinary People” – I’ll just say this.  I used to love Mary Tyler Moore.  After watching this movie, I can barely stand to look at her.  Now THAT’S acting!!!

2. “ Flirting With Disaster” – Hey, it’s my list and if I want to put a comedy at the top, I’ll do it.  This little known film (if you haven’t seen it, rent it) features another all-star cast, including Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni and a list of surprise characters. Ben Stiller’s searches to find his natural parents and in the process alienates his wife, falls for the adoption agency psychologist, wrecks a tractor-trailer and some nice figurines, encounters two traveling homosexual detectives and eventually reunites with his acid-dealing parents, played by Lily Tomlin and Alan Alda.  Not only does this film redefine dysfunctional, it encouraged a string of films and television series to revive the careers of countless actors.

1. “American Beauty”  - I wanted to put “Flirting” on the top of this list, but this film’s resume cannot be argued with.  Released in 1999, it won five academy awards, including best picture, best director and best actor, and was nominated for three more.  The film features two neighboring dysfunctional families, including Kevin Spacey facing a mid-life crisis, the unfaithful Annette Benning, the homophobic, Marine colonel Chris Cooper, and his nearly comatose wife, Allison Janney.  If you weren’t moved by this film when you first watched it, you were raised in a vacuum.

Honorable Mention: “Meet the Parents” series;  the “Vacation” series’ “Family Business”; “Napoleon Dynamite”; “My Cousin Vinny”;  “She’s The One”; “Pleasantville”; "The Birdcage"; "The Royal Tennenbaums"; "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"

Again, these are merely my opinions.  If you haven’t seen the aforementioned films, I highly recommend them for your viewing pleasure.  If I failed to mention any, by all means, bring it to my attention and I’ll gladly stand corrected.

Happy Holidays and don’t forget to enjoy your family meals.