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The Perfect Holiday

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The Perfect Holiday (2007)

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Reviews Counted:55

Fresh:9

Rotten:46

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: The Perfect Holiday is the perfect example of Christmas movie clichés run amok.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for brief language and some suggestive humor.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Dec 12, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $5,750,831

Synopsis: Christmas wishes come true in Lance Rivera's (THE COOKOUT) second turn as a director, THE PERFECT HOLIDAY. Struggling songwriter Benjamin Armstrong (Morris Chestnut) is an all-around nice guy who... Christmas wishes come true in Lance Rivera's (THE COOKOUT) second turn as a director, THE PERFECT HOLIDAY. Struggling songwriter Benjamin Armstrong (Morris Chestnut) is an all-around nice guy who is both looking for love and waiting for his big break. In the meantime, he works part-time as a shopping mall Santa, and one day receives a sweet request from young Emily (Khail Bryant): all she wants for Christmas is for her mommy to meet a nice man. A busy divorced single mother of three, Nancy (Gabrielle Union) has lost her faith in love since her bitter divorce from James, aka mega-rap star J-Jizzy (Charlie Murphy). When Benjamin uses Emily's inside information to make her Christmas wish come true, it looks likes he's found love with Nancy. But will a big career break cost him everything? And will Nancy's eldest son, John-John (Malik Hammond) accept him and give up on his dream that his parents will reconcile? With some help from Mrs. Christmas (Queen Latifah), reminiscent of Clarence in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, they all just might have a perfect holiday. Murphy, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his younger brother Eddie, is fun as J-Jizzy, pushing the gangsta rapper stereotype to comic extremes. Terrence Howard appears briefly as Bah-Humbug, who attempts to foil Mrs. Christmas's good deeds. Faizon Love and Katt Williams lend comic support as Ben's best buddy, Jamal, and J-Jizzy's manager, Delicious. Union and Chestnut make a lovely couple, but the kids steal the show here. Hammond does a great job as a little boy who is trying to be a man and along the way realizes that his father isn't perfect. Bryant and Jeremy Gumbs, who plays middle-child Mikey, make their big-screen debuts. [More]

Starring: Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams

Starring: Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams, Faizon Love, Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah, Jill Marie Jones, Rachel True, Malik Hammond, Khail Bryant, Jeremy Gumbs

Director: Lance Rivera

Director: Lance Rivera
Screenwriter: Lance Rivera, Marc Calixte, Nat Mauldin, Jeff Stein
Story: Lance Rivera, Marc Calixte
Producer: Mike Elliott, Joseph P. Genier, Marvin Peart, Shakim Compere, Queen Latifah, Leifur B. Dagfinnsson
Composer: Christopher Lennertz
Studio: Yari Film Group

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Release:

Nov 11, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Laughter, love and a just a hint of magic make for THE PERFECT HOLIDAY a fun-filled comedy romance starring Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams, Faizon Love, Terrence Howard and Queen Latifah. All Nancy Taylor (Union) wants for Christmas is to meet a nice man. So when her little girl shares Mommy's wish with smitten shopping mall Santa, Benjamin Armstrong (Chestnut), He does his best to make her dream come true in this delightful holiday treat the entire family will enjoy!
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for The Perfect Holiday

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    41 - 58 (sorted by date)
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    If you've seen every slushy, sentimental Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel and are still able to keep your breakfast down, you might want to catch this.

    Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
    12/12/07
    Josh Larsen
    Josh Larsen
    Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

    Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard act as commentators, nudging the contrivances this way and that.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    12/12/07
    Michael Phillips
    Michael Phillips
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Perfect Holiday is so modest and good-natured that its flaws are hardly glaring.

    Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
    12/12/07
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Salon.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    About as appetizing as a candy cane laced with arsenic.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com

    The dialogue is so one-note, the plot absurd, and most attempts at humor fall flat.

    Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Dezhda Gaubert
    Dezhda Gaubert
    E! Online

    In the annals of Noel films so wincingly, gratingly, insultingly bad that a lump of coal would be vastly preferable, The Perfect Holiday ranks alongside Surviving Christmas for sheer unwatchability.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Either you're in the mood for a sweet and simple Christmas movie or you're not. If you are, then Perfect Holiday should fit the bill nicely.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Andy Spletzer
    Andy Spletzer
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    Not perfect. Not really about a holiday. At least 'The' is accurate!

    Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Matt Pais
    Matt Pais
    Metromix.com

    The messages here are what you'd expect: Love your family. Don't be selfish. Don't tell lies. Have a happy holiday. Christmas doesn't have to be perfect to entertain you. Just like this movie.

    Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Connie Ogle
    Connie Ogle
    Miami Herald

    The cast is game, the script is watered nog, the kids push their charm hard, Murphy is often excruciating, Union is pleasant in a sitcom mommy way, and Lance Rivera is a zero stylist.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    Ostensibly a Christmastime comedy about romance, The Perfect Holiday manages to be none of the above.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Rafer Guzman
    Rafer Guzman
    Newsday

    The actors distinguish themselves mainly by their ability to make the material, directed and co-written by Lance Rivera, seem even more painfully awkward and unfunny than it already is -- which is very.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    12/11/07
    Julia Wallace
    Julia Wallace
    Village Voice

    Picking the single dumbest element in this extremely dumb movie is easy.

    Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
    12/10/07
    MaryAnn Johanson
    MaryAnn Johanson
    Flick Filosopher

    Stay for the nail-biting conclusion, but only if you can stomach the horror of Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard reaching career lows as manifestations of all that is cheerful and insufferable, respectively, about the holidays.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    12/09/07
    Ed Gonzalez
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine

    Be grateful that Gabrielle Union and Morris Chestnut have the wherewithal to elevate a mediocre script.

    Full Review Source: EURWeb | comment Comment
    12/08/07
    Kam Williams
    Kam Williams
    EURWeb

    There's not a single scene in Holiday that doesn't feel like it was copied from any number of other cookie-cutter rom coms, Christmas-themed or otherwise.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    12/07/07
    Michael Rechtshaffen
    Michael Rechtshaffen
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    There's a lot of sap in this Christmas tree.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
    12/06/07
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Spicing up Christmas with some savvy soul, are tough love story tour guide Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard as her sidekick mute meanie, and devilish duo Katt Williams and Charlie Murphy's J-Jizzy, doing musical bad boys with deliciously nasty glee.

    Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
    12/01/07
    Prairie Miller
    Prairie Miller
    NewsBlaze
     
     
    41 - 58 (sorted by date)
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    Latest News for The Perfect Holiday

    November 07, 2008: Spicing up Christmas with some savvy soul, are tough love story tour guide Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard as her sidekick mute meanie, and devilish duo Katt Williams and Charlie Murphy's J-Jizzy, doing musical bad boys with deliciously nasty glee. Opens in new window
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