This Christmas
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Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Columbus Short, Regina King
  • Summary: This year, Christmas with the Whitfields promises to be one they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they've brought plenty of baggage with them. As the Christmas tree is trimmed and the lights are hung, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested. As their lives converge, they join together and help each other discover the true meaning of family. (Sony)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    Fast paced and engagingly acted.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    At the multiplex where so many holiday movies feel regifted, This Christmas is a gift.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    What's surprising is how well Whitmore, the director, manages to direct traffic. He's got one crisis cooling, another problem exploding, a third dilemma gathering steam and people exchanging significant looks about secrets still not introduced. It's sort of a screwball-comedy effect, but with a heart.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    60
    Writer-director Preston A. Whitmore II throws enough soap opera for an entire TV season into a story that nearly -- but not quite -- sinks from the weight of all these implausible events. Animated acting and the sheer chaos of this squabbling family give the film a comic buoyancy.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. JoshuaD.
    10
    An all around outstanding phenomenal film. I enjoyed every second of the drama, the comedy, and the relation of the modern world this film possesses.
  2. DD.
    8
    Excellent, the kids can even watch this one.
  3. JayH.
    5
    Fair Christmas story, uneasily mixes heavy drama with comedy. Rather predictable and tends to use cliches in the story. The acting is fine, no one is great though.… Collapse
  4. JoshC.
    1
    A holiday melodrama suffering from severe bloat, This Christmas concerns the reunion of the Whitfield family, a clan dealing with so many dilemmas that it's a wonder they ever get to sit down for Christmas dinner. They do, of course, and Preston A. Whitmore II's film is best when it focuses on the spirituality of saying pre-meal grace and the ensuing, chatter-filled feasts, instances that exude a genuineness that's otherwise sorely lacking from this overstuffed grab bag of conflicts and romantic affairs. A soldier (Columbus Short) gone AWOL, a jazz saxophonist (Idris Elba) on the run from bookies, a wife (Regina King) dealing with a cheating husband (Laz Alonso), a young man (Chris Brown) yearning to fulfill his dream of being a singer, and a matriarch (Loretta Devine) struggling to keep her family and long-term boyfriend (Delroy Lindo) happy are just a few of the plotlines jammed into this tale's two-hour runtime. Whitmore spends virtually every available second entangling his pleasant but rather clichéd characters in… Expand

See all 5 User Reviews

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