Almost Christmas Synopsis: A dysfunctional family gathers together for their first Christmas since their mom died.
A year after the death of their mother, four siblings reconvene at their family home to spend the holiday with their father, Walter (Danny Glover). With their arrival comes dysfunction, lingering resentments, and grief. The youngest son, Evan (Jessie Usher), is a college football player healing from a shoulder injury and an addiction to painkillers. Rachel (Gabrielle Union) is newly divorced and struggling financially to finish school and support her daughter.
Cheryl (Kimberley Elise) is a successful dentist in an unhappy marriage to a former D-league basketball player (played by JB Smoove), and Christian (Romany Malco) is trying to balance family life while running for Congress. Along with Walter’s children, his no-nonsense, eccentric sister-in-law May (Mo’Nique) is also visiting. It’s certainly a full house, and family issues will inevitably cause tensions to boil over in the week leading up to Christmas.
Almost Christmas does an excellent job of balancing humor with the more serious aspects of the story. Danny Glover is wonderful as a grieving widow hoping to bring his family back for one last Christmas before he (potentially) sells the family home. Mo’Nique brings the majority of comedic relief with her hilarious turn as Aunt May. Gabrielle Union and Omar Epps sprinkle the movie with a bit of romance.
Often in ensemble comedies, characters get lost or feel underdeveloped, but Talbert gives enough attention to each character that they feel three-dimensional. The cast is talented, with plenty of chemistry to make the family feel authentic in their history. And while she’s only seen in the film’s first ten minutes, the late family matriarch makes her presence felt throughout the entire runtime. You want Walter to figure out her much-beloved sweet potato pie recipe as much as he does.
A few moments feel slapstick and silly, but they never last too long. I suppose one could see Almost Christmas itself, which is pretty predictable as well in terms of what will happen and how resolutions will be found, but those particular resolutions make for a satisfyingly warm movie.
I really love holiday movies where entire families come together to celebrate the holiday because, of course, there will be conflict and, depending on the genre of the movie, hilarity. While I’m not sure Almost Christmas is a family holiday classic demanding annual viewings, it’s worth watching if you want something to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Watched: 11/22/2020
Notable Song: Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got) by The Four Tops
