Almost Christmas

It's been a tough year for mild-mannered Walter Meyers (Danny Glover). A retired automotive engineer in Birmingham, AL, he's lost his beloved wife Grace. Which is why—five days before Christmas—he's really looking forward to his four adult children and their families returning home for the holidays. Of course, there are issues. There's open hostility between recently divorced law student/mom Rachel (Gabrielle Union) and her overachieving older sister Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), a dentist whose flirtatious husband Lonnie (J.B. Smoove) is an obnoxious, egocentric ex-basketball pro. Walter's older son Christian (Romany Malco) is an ambitious politician, running for Congress, who arrives with his wife (Nicole Ari Parker) and campaign manager (John Michael Higgins), while Christian's much younger brother, Evan (Jessie T. Usher), is a college football player addicted to painkillers after a recent injury. Trying to fill in for her deceased sister, sassy Aunt May (Mo'Nique), who has been touring the world as a backup singer, prepares an international welcoming buffet that turns out to be inedible (unless one's culinary taste revolves around kimchi). Numerous farcical hijinks ensue—plus Rachel is reuniting with her high-school sweetheart (Omar Epps)—as more conflict surfaces after the discovery that Walter is secretly planning to sell the family home. Unfortunately, writer-director David E. Talbert's holiday movie is a routine, overly contrived, dysfunctional family comedy/drama. Actually, the best chuckle comes when Walter wearily mutters, “I'm too old for this shit,” a not-so-subtle reference to his memorable Lethal Weapon quip. Familiar and formulaic, this is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director David E. Talbert, “Home for the Holidays” behind-the-scenes featurettes (19 min.), the production segments “Aunt May Unplugged” (6 min.), “The Director Diaries” with Talbert (5 min.), “My Favorite Scene Is…” (5 min.), “Even More Gags” (3 min.), “Working with Actors” (2 min.), and “Walter Meyer's Sweet Potato Pie” with costar Danny Glover (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a so-so holiday film.] (S. Granger)