Film Review: This Christmas

About the film

This Christmas is a comedy/ drama film that was released in 2007. Although receiving quite a few bad reviews, it was a box office hit, making more than $40 million. The film is 117 minutes long and is rated 12A because of sexual content and some violence. 

Plot

In the Whitfield family, Christmas is a big deal. This Christmas, the whole family is coming home and there are bound to be some problems. 

Quentin is the eldest child and he hasn't been home in 4 years and the rest of the family must try to hide the fact that Joe has been living with his mother for a long time now. The rest of the children all have their own problems and secrets and it is obvious that they all interfere in each other’s lives. As the holiday season goes on, more and more of the secrets come out and the family have to deal with the consequences. 

What I thought

The general opinion on this film is that it is another version of The Family Stone and while I have to agree, I think this one was better. Obviously the story isn't the same but it has the same feeling/ idea to it. 

I thought the story had a lot more in it in this film compared to The Family Stone and it wasn't as clichéd (Not saying it wasn't a little bit though). The characters were a lot more interesting and the story wasn't just a slushy romance film. There is quite a bit of drama in the plot and it made a change from being slapstick and 

silly all of the time. 

There were two scenes that really stood out for me. One is where the two sisters have a fight and Lisa gets her own back on her husband. I know for the latter, some have called it quite brutal but I thought it was hilarious and well thought out but maybe a little over the top. What woman who knows her man is cheating on her doesn't want revenge and to punish him? Disabling him by putting baby oil all over the bathroom floor and then whipping him with a belt does seem harsh but maybe it taught him a lesson. Don't cheat on a fiery woman! 

I know Chris Brown gets a lot of stick, especially at the minute but I really quite like him in films. I'm a fan of his music as it is and it's good to see someone make a good move onto the big screen. I first saw Brown in Stomp The Yard a few years ago and wished that he had a bigger role and now I got that wish in this film. I loved his part of the story about wanting to be a singer, even though none of his family knew he could even sing and I felt this was a good character for him because it is close to who he really is. One of the things that I liked the most about Brown in this film, apart from his acting being really good, was that the small amount of singing that we do get to hear, isn't what we are used to. Brown is soulful and sings some classic songs beautifully. 

Columbus Short is another actor who, every time I see him in a film, ends up impressing me more and more. Although his role in This Christmas wasn't as big as in some of his other films, I thought he was exactly what Claude needed to be. Yes, here it comes...I think he's pretty hot too. That was a bonus for me though this time as I didn't even know he was in the film. 

The rest of the cast also do an amazing job and I couldn't really fault any of them. There really are some big names here so it's surprising when they don't clash so much and overpower each other. Unlike The Family Stone, this film didn't make the characters so different from each other, which I think is where the other film fell down. Not all big families are completely different from each other and it was a really good way to show that families are quite similar in their own ways. 

I absolutely loved this film!