Pleasant, if not completely convoluted with too many characters and not enough development with any, the family ensemble comedy Almost Christmas is well-meaning and not without its moments, as recycled as they are. Written and directed by David E. Talbert, the film is slightly more insightful than his 2013 feature Baggage Claim, even if it’s equally as trite.
Set in a Birmingham, Alabama that looks a lot like that Mecca of generous production tax incentives, Atlanta, the film leisurely strolls through the years in the life of the Meyers family and its patriarch Walter (Danny Glover). A few months after the death of his wife he finds himself alone in a large house, preparing for the holidays.
His kids include Rachel (Gabrielle Union), a divorced law student, her sister Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), who is married to a former (international) basketball star Lonnie (JB Smoove), Christian (Romany Malco) and current college basketball star Evan (Jessie Usher), a late surprise. Each have their own flaws: Rachel is broke and single – although not for very long once she reconnects with the neighbor who once ditched her as a prom date, Malachi (Omar Epps). Christian is in the middle of a political campaign and has brought his white campaign manager (John Michael Higgins) to dinner; Cheryl’s marriage is falling apart as Lonnie finds himself tempted by a sexy checkout store clerk (played by pop star Keri Hilson), and Evan has recently found himself addicted to pain pills.
We haven’t even talked about the kids around the table, and this information overload is partly where Talbert trips on himself. Love Actually, the gold standard for holiday ensemble comedies, may have been filled with heartwarming predictability but it generally side-stepped sitcom tropes, taking the time to allow each of its characters to have an arc. There’s certainly an awful lot of situations to build upon here, and less than two hours is not enough time to really let the character arcs for each develop into anything meaningful.
The success of the film is in its performances, from Gabrielle Union’s sincere and quick-witted Rachel to Mo’Nique’s spirited performance as Aunt May, a cosmopolitan women who is has lived quite a life. Her adventures could spawn a prequel, but it’s too bad the name Almost Famous has already been used for a film, as her adventures are quite similar to Cameron Crowe’s masterpiece. Danny Glover is the center of the film’s emotional core, but it’s a shame he’s just an ensemble cast member and not the film’s star.
The weakest link is Usher’s Evan, and even despite an emotional pay-off for Walter in the film’s third act, he is simply one character too many. An interesting comedy with elements of political satire and a lot of heart could have been crafted on this canvas, but Talbert has bitten off a little more than he can chew, despite some satisfying moments. Almost Christmas is a nice distraction from the current state of things, arriving on a weekend when we most certainly need it. There’s no doubt it’ll have legs during this season and perhaps spawn a pleasant sitcom spin-off, but everything here has been tried before with stronger source material.
Almost Christmas is now in wide release.