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Movies / On DVD / The Perfect Holiday
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.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

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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Reviews for The Perfect Holiday

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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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

Queen Latifah often is the saving grace of many of the movies she's in. That can't be said of her latest, however.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
12/12/07
Mack Bates
Mack Bates
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In one scene, Terrence Howard kneels in a pair of shoes like Tim Conway in a 'Dorf on Golf' video, licks a lollipop and utters this line: 'I gotta go dookie.' I hope they paid him well.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
12/14/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

"The Perfect Holiday" isn't perfect. But it does contain moments of merriment.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
02/09/08
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Most people seeing this movie might wonder what Queen Latifah did to convince Terrence Howard to take on what will surely be his worst role of the year.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
12/13/07
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

There's not much original about the film, but it's played with high spirits and good cheer, there are lots of musical interludes, and it's pitched straight at families.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
12/12/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Christmas fable is cute and tame, but unoriginal.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
07/16/08
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Common Sense Media

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

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

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 likable cast and the script's low-key humor help, as does Howard's soulful, if fleeting, presence.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
12/12/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Is The Perfect Holiday a good film? The answer is: not really, but it isn’t terrible.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
12/13/07
Jonathan W. Hickman
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders

The Perfect Holiday, directed by Lance Rivera, is that most dispiriting product, a formulaic movie that doesn’t believe in itself.

comment Comment
12/12/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[The script] hasn't been written as much as stamped out like so many cheap Christmas knickknacks that will be on the clearance shelf come Dec. 26.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/12/07
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

Love eventually conquers all, as expected, but not before we're forced to sit through a nearly endless parade of clichés, unfunny jokes, and empty drama.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
09/08/08
Heather Huntington
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

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

[A] wretched yuletide comedy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/14/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Belying its title, the film does little to inspire good cheer toward its various imperfections. Maybe I should find Santa and ask for better films. You'll certainly wish I had if you're unfortunate enough to sit through this 'gift.'

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
12/13/07
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard just show up enough in The Perfect Holiday to either pick up a paycheck or return some kind of mysterious unpaid debt to writer-director Lance Rivera.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
03/17/08
Matt Kelemen
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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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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