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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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41 - 58 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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

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

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

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; 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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