Movies/TV
Drama for “This Christmas”
By Esther Iverem—SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic
Nov 21, 2007, 17:40

“This Christmas,” with a release timed for the holidays, proves that we will never get tired of family drama, will we? Blessed with a likeable, attractive cast, including Regina King, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine and singer Chris Brown, the film pulls out all the stops in proving that, for many of us, family is both a source of strength and a source of headache.

As we watch the six adult Whitfield siblings gather at home in Los Angeles for Christmas, we could easily fall into what feels like a soap opera. “This Christmas” isn’t what you would call sophisticated but it is entertaining. Thankfully, writer-director Preston A. Whitmore offers one of his better efforts and presents us with characters that are not caricatures, stereotypes or too simplistically drawn. Much of the dialogue makes you want to listen. The direction and production are not claustrophobic so, for the most part, “This Christmas” does not have that daytime T.V. feeling.

Whitmore does almost blow it with several scenes that have no zing and with mood music that is played too often and too loudly. Sometimes, productions must have faith in the power of the dramatic moment, and in the actors, to make a scene resonate without piped in corny Muzak.

Depending on your personal taste, you will prefer one or another performance in this movie. I especially appreciated the work of King, Devine, Elba, Sharon Leal and Delroy Lindo. Certainly, they raise the level of what is an O.K. script to something more worthwhile. The up-and-coming singer Chris Brown delivers a believable, likeable performance as the baby of the family who has a secret desire and talent to sing.

The aspiring singer storyline is just one of many that I won’t spoil in any way for you. With six siblings, the Whitfields have enough family drama to go around for all of us.

And we never get tired of the drama, do we?



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