Tries to be a Christmas film about real ishoos but it is quite boring and predictable and sentimental and the acting is not very good. It is therefore perfect for Christmas, and upholds all the traditions very, very well.

| Aug 22, 2018

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 16, 2011

o matter how silly the situation, each member of the uniformly strong cast creates a nice balance between sentimental and sweet -- which is just how every holiday gathering should feel.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 1, 2007

If you like schmaltzy, music-saturated family movies, This Christmas will set all the right bells jingling.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 30, 2007

"Destined to become a Yuletide classic, " claim the press notes. Well, they do say Christmas is a time for dreaming.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Nov 30, 2007

A strong wire netting will keep out unwanted super-soaps such as the first, in which a black family in LA proves that being Afro-American is no inoculation against outbreaks of schmaltz and piety.

| Nov 30, 2007

It's laboured and obvious, and not even a Yuletide movie: Christmas is little more than a device to bring the family back under one roof. Still, its plot is as overstuffed as any turkey.

| Nov 30, 2007

It's formulaic and corny as hell, but a top-notch cast keep this festive family drama believable - just.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 30, 2007

Don't expect realism from this frothy little number, but do expect a bit of heart-warming cheer courtesy of romantic unions, overcome prejudices, reconciled enemies and general peace and understanding.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 29, 2007

This is good-natured, determinedly aspirational African-American entertainment, but did it have to be quite so heavy on the clichs?

| Original Score: 2/6 | Nov 29, 2007

Like mum's home-made comfort food, it's warming but not really that good for you.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 28, 2007

I could actually see this becoming kind of a minor perennial during the holidays.

Full Review | Nov 27, 2007

If the real-life Christmas experience tends too often to be marred by the rude contradiction between expectations and reality, movies like the ultra-bland holiday family movie This Christmas are at least partly to blame.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Nov 24, 2007

An incoherent mess in which scenes of teary reconciliations sit uncomfortably next to protracted gags involving catfights, car wrecks and a big bottle of baby oil.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 23, 2007

Christmas won't wow anyone with its audacity or originality, but it's bound to make plenty of people happy with its slick, crowd-pleasing familiarity.

| Original Score: B- | Nov 21, 2007

This carefully observed film has lots of heart.

| Nov 21, 2007

This Christmas is not your typical family holiday movie, and thank goodness for that. It's warm, witty and alive, with a fantastic cast and a belief in its characters that transcends its formulaic tendencies.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 21, 2007

The movie doesn't idealize, which makes it ideal.

| Nov 21, 2007

There is a familiar quality to the multi-generational family holiday homecoming that nicely blends drama and comedy. It's a cut above the standard heartwarming fare that fills theaters this time of year.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 21, 2007

This Christmas includes more family melodrama than all the holiday-homecoming flicks from the past decade combined.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 21, 2007