Danny Glover might be too old for this kind of sugar. A spiky feel good festive film but a little slow to get going and too many flat and clichéd characters.Walter (Glover) is the patriarch and recently widowed who has invited his family round for Christmas at his home, a house he plans to sell but as yet not told his kids.In attendance are his daughters Cheryl and Rachel who do not get along. His son Christian who plans to run for congress and his youngest son Evan who is hooked on painkillers after a sports injury.There are other family members and hanger on's such as Christian's campaign manager who wants to redevelop a centre for the destitute that upsets Walter.You have a family squabbling, an errant husband having a bit on the side with a store clerk but it is only sporadically amusing but is inoffensive and is amiable enough to watch at Christmas.

Almost Christmas was traditionally funny in the sense where you have a family with relatable issues to any audience. Here we have a family who had a yearly Christmas tradition up until their beloved mother passes. Walter (Danny Glover) thinks that if his family can spend at least five days together it will truly be his Christmas miracle. But of course you have two sisters who can't get along, a cheating husband, pain pill taking football player, a son who's a congressman, and the vibrant and outspoken Aunty. This family recipe doesn't seem like it will work but in the end everyone comes out getting what was coming to them. And in the end....family is all that mattered.

First, let me start by saying I don't care what any of the other reviews say, this movie is great. Anyone who didn't like it obviously doesn't have very good taste in holiday movies. Did it make me cry? Check. Did it make me laugh? Check. Was it a warm holiday movie? Check. I don't really know what else anyone could ask for. Danny Glover was superb as always, as was the rest of the cast. I may not know them well, but I think everyone was really good in this movie. If you are looking for a heart warming holiday movie then give this one a chance. Yes, it may not be an instant holiday classic, but it definitely deserves a watch or two.

Ah, the holidays. It's a chance for families and friends to get together in complete peace and harmony. Pffft! If only! It's a wonderful thing when people come together to celebrate holidays and other family-centric moments, but they rarely go according to plan – or as smoothly as most of us wish they would. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Eid, Festivus, the Winter Solstice or any other gathering with loved ones, you're probably familiar with the problem. You get together people who love each other, but rarely see each other outside of holidays, weddings and funerals and some people pick up right where they last left off – with annoying habits, strong differences of opinion and old grudges that should've been dealt with or dropped long ago in the interest of family harmony. This scenario is the foundation of many a holiday comedy, including "Almost Christmas" (PG-13, 1:52).Walter Meyers (Danny Glover) is having a very tough time. The mother of his children and the love of his life died suddenly some months ago and he's now facing his first Christmas without her. He has also secretly made the difficult decision to sell the family home, a house that has become a place of sadness for him since his dear wife's passing. Walter is also struggling with trying to duplicate his wife's famous sweet potato pie for the holidays. He invites his four adult children and their families to spend Christmas together in that house (one last time), despite the problems that he knows they have getting along.As with all families, there are a lot of differences within the Meyers family – and a lot of history – some positive and some… challenging. Rachel (Gabrielle Union) is a single mom who's very independent (almost pathologically so) who aspires to be a lawyer, but feels stuck in her job as a waitress. Rachel's lack of actual accomplishments brings judgment from her older sister, Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), who is a dentist. But Cheryl has problems of her own, mostly because of Lonnie (J. B. Smoove), her ex-athlete husband who constantly talks about his glory days, often to pretty young women who are not his wife.Walter also has two sons who are at very different places in their own lives. Christian (Romany Malco) and his wife, Sonya (Nicole Ari Parker), have their hands full with two precocious children. Christian is also running for Congress and is so focused on his campaign that he brings his campaign manager (John Michael Higgins) with his family for the holidays. The youngest of Walter's kids, Evan (Jessie T. Usher) is a college football player with lots of potential – if he can recover from a shoulder injury, and stop taking his pain killers, and get past his mother's death, which seems to be affecting him more than his siblings.Not only are all these related (but very different) people coming together for Christmas, they're all staying in the family home for the days leading up to the holiday. Adding to the… um, festivities are Walter's loving but loud and opinionated sister-in-law, career back-up singer Aunt May (Mo'Nique), Evan's best friend, Eric (DC Young Fly), who has "a thing" for Aunt May, next-door neighbor Malachi (Omar Epps), against whom Rachel is nursing a very old grudge, and a local grocery store cashier named Jasmine (Keri Hilson) who has what turns out to be an unfortunate connection with two members of the extended Meyers family. There's plenty for this collection of characters to try to work through during these five days – without killing each other in the process. It's a good thing that it is almost Christmas."Almost Christmas" is one of the best holiday family comedies I've seen. Its plot calls to mind the fun of 1989's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". That film may have more laughs, but this one has more heart. Both have outrageous moments – and moments to make you chuckle – and smile. This ensemble is terrific (especially Glover, in one of his best recent roles) and each actor has a lot to do, with good character development and backstories that are engaging and come together wonderfully. "Almost Christmas" isn't especially original, is otherwise almost perfect. "A-"