The film boasts a decent R&B soundtrack. It opens showing us an ideal TV family during the credits. Walter (Danny Glover) the family patriarch is having his four children and their families, home for 5 days over Christmas. Mom has recently passed and is still in their memory. All the children have issues to deal with, including Walter, with the two sisters at each other throats. They say very hurting things to each other.As time goes on and issues come to light, the family falls back to their basic up bringing and do what is right for the happy ending with a mix tape instead of Joe Cocker. Decent comedy-drama, nothing to get excited about.Guide: No F-words but there is some other swearing. Implied sex. No nudity. Some sexual aspects in their talk which escalates during the outtakes in the closing credits.

I love IMDb and find the user reviews to be very informative reading. I wouldn't consider myself a "power user" however so have never written one....until now. I do so to tell you how god damn awful this film is. The acting is lame and the plot is highly unoriginal. My girlfriend and I successfully predicted some of the lines just as they were about to be delivered. It's a cross between all the worst parts of The Cosby Show and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while containing none of their virtues. Stick to the latter if you're looking for some xmas feel-good light entertainment. It's shocking how a director like this could demand such a large budget (17 million was it?). Avoid this at all costs!

This movie was great! It made me miss my family dearly and had an amazing soundtrack, which was incorporated really well into the movie.The opening montage was amazing, and really set the tone for the movie.There were some stereotypes, but in reality, there are those quirky characters that only really show up in your life during the holidays. With this being said, there was a lot of great character development, and I feel that each character (even the ancillary ones) were sufficiently complex. They did a great job at not making anyone the concrete villain, which is a testament about life in general.The acting was on point, which is not surprising given the powerhouse cast. Everyone added a necessary element that really brought the story to life, but the movie still ended up feeling very family friendly.I myself appreciated the comedy, even the jokes that fell a little flat seemed right in place.One of the scenes I loved the most is when the entire family started dancing in the kitchen. This scene was 100% realistic to me. It was quite evident that a Black writer wrote the film.I teared up more than a couple of times, and I certainly wasn't the only one. You might think that this is just another Christmas/Holiday movie, but it is so much more. You have to see it to know what I mean; I went to see it twice thus far!

I thought the movie was put together well for the most fun effect.Really like the opening montage that explained the family origins and the plot of the movie. Done very well.Love the very well known black cast that fills the film. The only people who I never seen before were the actors playing the children. Although I cannot recall if these actors have worked together before (With the exception of Romany Malco, Nicole Ari Parker and J B Smooth all being cast members of Kevin Hart's show Real House Husbands of Atlanta), I did see some good chemistry among the cast.Yes, a lot of it was cliché with typical family archetypes like Kimberly Elise as Cheryl, the older sister who has got her life together (on the surface anyway) and judges her little sister Rachel, played by Gabrielle Union for not having hers together, and Jesse T. Usher as Evan, the young bratty baby brother whose the most emotional and it sends him down a dark path.But the cast is amazing, made up of seasoned players who are experts in the roles they play. I really liked Danny Glover as the center of the household force to keep it together as the family celebrate their 1st Christmas without his wife, the real backbone of the family. JB Smooth was real funny, but Mon'Niqe was really killing it as Aunt May. Every laugh out loud joke in it, she was a part of.It's a well played hand. The clichés are just that, but the cast is good at bringing life to them enough to take you off your guard with laughter and get you all choked up about celebrating the holiday season with your family.