Starring Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Idris Alba Jr., and Regina King
Directed by Preston A. Whitmore II
Music and Lyrics by various
Let's jump back thirteen years from a community-focused Christmas to a family-oriented one. Most Christmas musicals are big and bold. This one reminds us that there's music in smaller holidays, too. I also don't know of too many holiday musicals that focus on the African-American Christmas experience, like this one does. How well does the tangled tale of one family's troubled Christmas Eve and Day hold up over a decade and a half later? Let's begin as a singer performs a slinky "Santa Baby" and the Whitfield family begins to gather for Christmas and find out...
The Story: Shirley "Ma'Dere" Winfield (Divine) is looking forward to seeing her six children and their families and significant others. She's happy with her boyfriend Joe Black (Lindo) after her husband walked out, but her oldest son Quentin (Alba) doesn't like that he replaced their father. Her oldest daughter Lisa (King) is a housewife with two children whose unfaithful husband Malcolm (Laz Alonso) barely has time for her. Kelli (Sharon Leal) is a college grad living in New York, while youngest daughter Melanie (Lauren London) is a college student who brings her boyfriend Devan (Keith Robinson) home for the holidays. Youngest son Baby (Chris Brown) still lives at home. He loves photography, but he also loves to sing, which he hides from his mother.
Musician Quentin is having his own problems with bookies Mo (David Banner) and Dude (Ronnie Warner), who want $25,000 yesterday. Kelli is happier with Gerald (Mekhi Phifer), the handsome guy she meets at a local nightclub. After middle brother Claude (Columbus Short) is arrested for pulling a gun at a nightclub, his very white wife Sandi (Jessica Stroup) turns up nervous and pregnant. There's also their mother's long-standing dry cleaner business that they all own shares in. Malcolm and Lisa want to pressure the others to sell, but it's their mother's business. Over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, faith will be tested, new bonds will be created, and the Whitfield family will learn the importance of family, teamwork, connection, and sticking up for yourself and others.
The Song and Dance: I like how low-key this is. As I mentioned earlier, most Christmas musicals tend to be big, bold, and brassy. The focus on one family and their relationships makes this rare among holiday musicals, and almost refreshing just for that. It's sweet and thoughtful with just enough sass to keep it from diving into overly syrupy Hallmark movie territory. Brown's adorable as the youngest member of the family who worries that his talent may upset his mother, Divine is radiant as the family's anchor and matriarch, and Alba as the most tortured of the brothers.
The Numbers: We open with Lina's sexy performance of "Santa Baby" at the bar where musician Quentin works. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" provides the backdrop for Baby taking photos while his mother and Kelli wonder where the others are. Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up Part 1" provides the backdrop for Quentin's arrival via Greyhound as the rest of the family dances. "Merry Christmas Baby" by Charles Brown underscores Malcolm and Lisa discussing Quentin and why their mother doesn't allow them to play music. Quentin plays "The Christmas Song" on a piano in the garage late at night.
A rap group at the nightclub performs "Go Getter" as they arrive. Baby performs "Try a Little Tenderness," to the shock of his siblings who had no idea he could sing. TLC's version of "Sleigh Ride" underscores the scene where the men buy a Christmas tree. Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)" likewise provides the backdrop for an angry Lisa to drive her husband's beloved truck into the Los Angeles River. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me" by Stevie Wonder has Quentin leaving clothes for Joe. The church choir raises the roof with a gorgeous "O Holy Night," after which Baby sings the title R&B standard for his mother. The movie ends with the entire cast reprise their group dance routine to "Got to Give It Up."
What I Don't Like: If you're expecting a bigger, bolder, or more action-packed show, this is not going to be for you. This is basically a holiday family soap opera with a couple of goons thrown in. It also goes on for way, way too long. Most of the melodrama in the middle could have been trimmed. Some members of the family are heard from more than others. London in particular as the youngest daughter has the least to do other than talk about her night spent with Gerard. And what's with the random dance-off at the middle and end of the movie? They're funny, but they also have nothing to do with anything.
The Big Finale: If you're looking for a quieter Christmas movie to watch with your grown children by a roaring fire, you can do far worse than this look at one family's tumultuous holiday season.
Home Media: The discs are pricey, but it's easily found anywhere on streaming, including for free with commercials on Pluto TV.
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