The Perfect Holiday is not necessarily a bad movie but its far from a good one too. While I admire a movie that does not try to be offensive and wants to be positive there is a thin line from being a little schmaltzy to laying it on real thick. The movie is not unwatchable. It has a talented all-star cast that do a decent job acting but the script is hackneyed and cheesy to a fault plus its pretty bland.
Spoiler Alert!
The story: Gabriell Union plays Nancy, a newly divorced woman who's daughter overhears her conversation about what she wants from a man: a compliment. The daughter goes to a mall Santa(played by Morris Chestnut) named Benjamin and wishes that her mom gets a compliment by her man. Benjamin(Chestnut) gives Nancy a compliment and soon they begin to date. Problems arise when Nancy's naive son, John John gets annoyed by Benjamin because the little tyke misses his arrogant and thoughtless wannabe-rapper father J-Jizzy(played by Charlie Murphy)who would rather be large than be with his family. Then things get even more complicated for the relationship between Nancy and Benjamin when J-Jizzy asks for Benjamin, who also sings to record with him. Queen Latifah plays Mrs Christmas, an angel who is also the narrator of the movie.
Opinion: Positive: this movie is not terrible. Negative: but its not memorable either. Positive: it has an all-star cast. Negative: they are all wasted on a script that pulls every Christmas cliche out of the book.
Positive: The Perfect Holiday is earnest and has a heart. Negative: its syrupy to the point of cheesiness. Positive: it makes an effort at humor. Negative: The humor misses more than it hits. Positive: Its the least offensive Christmas comedy ever made. Negative: It wallows in mediocrity like pigs do in mud. Positive: Its great to see a movie especially an African-American film that is not based on sex and violence. Negative: Its kind of bland and the schmaltzy scenes are a bit much. All in all I would recommend this movie to you if you want to see a Christmas movie starring African Americans that is not offensive but Last Holiday and This Christmas are much better. Perfect Holiday is far from a stinker but when compared to great movies like This Christmas Soul Food, The Wood, The Inkwell, Love Jones, Brown Sugar etc Perfect Holiday can easily be forgotten.
