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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 rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

If tickets to this yuletide dreck are hiding in your stocking, you'd be better off with a lump of coal.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/14/07
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
Boxoffice Magazine

[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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
12/14/07
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

Perfect Holiday is far from an offensive effort. It's just pathetic and forgettable, and when it comes to Christmas cheer, mediocrity should never be left under the tree.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/16/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

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

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

There's no rush to see this disappointing excuse for a holiday film.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
12/14/07
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

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

Despite the flabby direction and uninspired plot, The Perfect Holiday almost works because Chestnut and Union are an attractive couple and you want them to get together.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
12/12/07
David Wiegand
David Wiegand
San Francisco Chronicle

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

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

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

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

It's a shame that Gabrielle Union can't get better scripts than this one.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
12/12/07
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Despite the appealing supporting performers, I'd like to cap this movie.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/13/07
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International

Wants to be a Christmas perennial, but it wilts badly well before the final credits roll.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
12/12/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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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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