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Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Keith Robinson ... see more see more... , Laz Alonso , Columbus Short , Sharon Leal , Lauren London , Mekhi Phifer , Regina King , DeNetria Champ , David Banner , Ricky Harris , Jessica Stroup

Upon gathering together under one roof for the first time in seven years, an estranged family celebrating Christmas rediscovers long-forgotten bonds in this holiday family reunion drama starring Delro... read more read more...y Lindo, Regina King, and Mekhi Phifer. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

82% liked it

71,360 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

82 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: Preston A. Whitmore II

Release Date: November 21, 2007

Keywords: family, cute, holiday, black

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DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008

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Stats: 5,594 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,594)

  • romy861
    April 20, 2011
    romy861
    It was okay for a Christmas movie. Gets a bit sentimental at the end, but I think that's true of most for this genre. On the whole I enjoyed it and it was nice to see a Christmas movie focusing on an African American family.
    The one thing that really bothered me and is the reas... read moreon i took a half star off my rating, is because of the baby oil beating scene. Yes, I got that the husband was a liar and sleaze and had been treating his wife like crap for years, but that was really pretty bad. If it had have been the husband doing that to the wife, I don't think it would have been portrayed in a humorous light. Beating is still beating, it is wrong whoever does it.
    Anyhow, that small issue aside, this was an enjoyable movie, good to watch at Christmas time. Likeable cast and some laughs and dysfunction mixed in with the cheese.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 11, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Too much Family Drama Movie for me.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    December 11, 2008
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Just to watch when you got nothing to do else, it was an ok movie nothing big. A Christmas time drama centered around the Whitfield family's first holiday together in four years
  • Fascade518
    December 6, 2008
    Fascade518
    This is one soulful and incredible "home for the holidays" family movie. This particular family the Whitfields have had their ups and downs and have returned home for the holidays after 4 years. Join them as they get ready to celebrate the joy of the holiday season.
  • wbgoose13
    November 20, 2007
    wbgoose13
    Thoroughly familiar w/o restricting its genial appeal to any one demographic.
  • alush1
    June 7, 2009
    alush1
    Loved the baby oil scene-muwahahahahaha!
  • Parannoyed
    December 29, 2008
    Parannoyed
    Xmas no-brainer.

    I originally marked this as "not interested", but once my sister rented it and there was nothing else to do, I thought: why not? And to be honest, the trailer is Really misleading because this is actually a pretty good laid-back watch.
  • tonygates44
    May 10, 2011
    tonygates44
    Another in the annual traditional Christmas movies we watch. Watch a family grow together and support one another no matter what. An excellent soundtrack (with Chris Brown pre-going crazy).
  • brandankurtis
    January 10, 2011
    brandankurtis
    "O Come All Ye Faithful!" It's that time of the year. Time to make the pilgrimage back home to the folks. Everyone has family and being home for the holidays is near universal comfort--or dilemma. This is one of the reasons why a film like this was released during the week of the... read more Thanksgiving holiday comes early before the rush of the Christmas movie madness,and righteously so. Director/Writer Preston A. Whitmore II,taps into this common thread with verve as frothy as spiked eggnog. Whitmore's previous films were a formulatic sports movie Crossover(a disaster with the casting and the movie debut of Britney Spears)and the poorly conceived war film The Walking Dead. This time around and for good measure he's eschewed genre films for a family comedy/drama/romance that not only recalls his own experiences,but experiences from any and every family member that we come to know and love in the most joyous time of the year.

    The result is a tumultanous holiday fete with a very personal feel and beguiling flair that will carry audiences over some arrhythmatic pacing. For the first time in four years,the Whitfeld family flocks to its Los Angeles home that has more bedrooms than the White House. The family matriarch,Ma' Dere (Loretta Devine) still resides here,thanks to a family dry-cleaning business that's on its last leg. She has put her kids through college and continues to give her youngest son Baby (Chris Brown)a roof over his head. Lisa(Regina King)arrives with her two kids and two-timing,domineering husband Malcolm(Laz Alonzo),who pressures Lisa to convince the family to sell their dry cleaning business to used the family's money for a financial scheme. Malcolm's the moral enemy of Lisa's feisty-independent sister Kelli(Sharon Leal). Claude(Columbus Short)surprises everyone;he's on leave from the Marine Corps. Mel(Lauren London),a perpetual college student,brings her latest boyfriend Devan(Keith Robinson). And Ma'Dere's lover man,Joe(Delroy Lindo),is the gentleman of the house;although he's living there on the down low. Presents are wrappedd. Dinner plans are made. Barbs exchanged. Love is in the air. Jealously and envy too. In between the holiday greetings,family drama and tangled relationships emerge. This is when the film goes from family-friendly perspective into a black soap opera. Its changes too when the family goes from season's greetings to season's ghetto.

    Characters get bitten by the love bug in which Kelli falls for the Gerald,the firemen(Mekhi Phifer). While the eldest brother Quentin (Idris Elba),makes a guest appearance,this gives the house one more alpha male too many. Tempers flare. Words are said. Feelings are hurt. Thugs show up,unexpected. The police arrive. Half of the family members are arrested and thrown in jail. Merry Christmas! This a movie that has its sexy moments,but there is no nudity or offensive language. There is only a wisp of blood. Tangy enough to please an adult,but it is safe enough for the kids. With this many characters,and accompanying conflicts happening just around every corner,the excessive subplots weigh the film down especially with the cast the live-wires such as Loretta Devine,Regina King,Sharon Leal and Delroy Lindo. The only saving grace here that prevented this film from going into a fiasco was the acting debut of R&B sensation Chris Brown--who steals the show with his breathtaking rendition of a R&B Otis Redding classic. With other music from Aaron Neville,James Brown and Kool and the Gang,its worth watching.
  • jakkijelene
    July 14, 2009
    jakkijelene
    A very non conventional sort of Christmas movie. Packed with drama, but that's part of being in a big family. Overall I enjoyed it and felt there were some hysterical moments. My biggest complaints would have to be the overly long scenes used to promote Chris Brown's music and... read more some of the dysfunction within the family where sexual immorality is seen as perfectly acceptable, even within the parents home! I would have preferred if Joe and Ma'Dear had already been married as I think it would have provided them with more authority and not taken away from the plot one bit.

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Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman
December 1, 2007
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

o matter how silly the situation, each member of the uniformly strong cast creates a nice balance between sentimental and sweet -- which is just how every holiday gathering should feel. Full Review

Richard Roeper
November 27, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I could actually see this becoming kind of a minor perennial during the holidays.

Geoff Pevere
November 24, 2007
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

If the real-life Christmas experience tends too often to be marred by the rude contradiction between expectations and reality, movies like the ultra-bland holiday family movie This Christmas are at le... Full Review

Jason Anderson
November 23, 2007
Jason Anderson, Globe and Mail

An incoherent mess in which scenes of teary reconciliations sit uncomfortably next to protracted gags involving catfights, car wrecks and a big bottle of baby oil. Full Review

Andrea Gronvall
November 21, 2007
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

This carefully observed film has lots of heart. Full Review

G. Allen Johnson
November 21, 2007
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

This Christmas is not your typical family holiday movie, and thank goodness for that. It's warm, witty and alive, with a fantastic cast and a belief in its characters that transcends its formulaic ten... Full Review

Stephen Hunter
November 21, 2007
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The movie doesn't idealize, which makes it ideal. Full Review

Claudia Puig
November 21, 2007
Claudia Puig, USA Today

There is a familiar quality to the multi-generational family holiday homecoming that nicely blends drama and comedy. It's a cut above the standard heartwarming fare that fills theaters this time of year. Full Review

Laura Kern
November 21, 2007
Laura Kern, New York Times

This Christmas includes more family melodrama than all the holiday-homecoming flicks from the past decade combined.

Lou Lumenick
November 21, 2007
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

At two full hours it can feel as exhausting as a holiday dinner with your own family. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad starred in this Christmas Movie  Answer »
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