AllMovie

This 60-minute Yuletide TV special stars Alan Arkin as a domineering patriarch. He sees no need for such frills as a Christmas tree, and when his wife Barbara Dana (the real- life Mrs. Arkin) buys this Yuletide adornment, Arkin responds by destroying the tree. Now he's gone too far, and Barbara responds by taking their eleven children and leaving Arkin alone. This gives Arkin ample time to realign his thinking and emerge from his Scroogelike chrysalis. In addition to teaming Mr. and Mrs. Alan Arkin, Matter of Principle costars the Arkin's real-life son Tony as one of the kids.