2008 Woodie Awards
'This Christmas' will bring a lot of drama
Jessica Rodriguez
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: A & E
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Starring R&B singer Chris Brown, actresses Loretta Devine and Regina King, and actor/producer Mekhi Phifer, "This Christmas" is the story of one family's Christmas holiday.
In this Preston A. Whitmore II film, you are immediately introduced to the Whitfields, a family of three sons, three daughters, in laws, cousins, grandchildren, and the mother that tries to be the glue of everyone's dramatic life.
"There was so much going on right off the bat, but nothing was really introduced. You're not sure who everyone is the first half hour of the movie," said senior Amanda Neglia. "It was hyped up to be funnier than it really was. Chris Brown's singing is what made the movie for me."
Each character has an ongoing problem within their lives that was undeniably rooted from their childhood.
According to an editorial review in the Washington Post by Stephen Hunter, controversial subjects are touched upon in this movie, which most Christmas films steer clear of.
Mother "Ma Dear" Whitfield, played by Loretta Devine, is the matriarch that keeps the family together through love and tradition, however, instills some fear in all of them, no matter how grown up they are, or think they are.
The eldest son, Quentin, played by Idris Elba of "The Wire", is from Devine's first marriage. He is a starving musician on the run from two bookies he regrettably owes $25,000. Quentin comes home but refuses to accept Ma Dear's new love, Joe Black, played by Delroy Lindo, as any kind of authority figure. Ma Dear buries the love she has for Joe during the holidays in order to avoid conflict.
Meanwhile, married daughter Lisa, played by Regina King, caters to her husband hand and foot. However, her more successful, Harvard-educated sister Kelli, played by Sharon Leal, sees through Lisa's cheating husband Malcolm, played by Laz Alonso.
Private Claude Whitfield, played by Columbus Short, is discovered to be AWOL from the Marine Corps, after being arrested for pulling a pistol out at a nightclub. However, his drama doesn't end there, he wedded a young woman without his family's knowledge, and his wife, played by Jessica Stroup, is not only pregnant but is also white.
In this Preston A. Whitmore II film, you are immediately introduced to the Whitfields, a family of three sons, three daughters, in laws, cousins, grandchildren, and the mother that tries to be the glue of everyone's dramatic life.
"There was so much going on right off the bat, but nothing was really introduced. You're not sure who everyone is the first half hour of the movie," said senior Amanda Neglia. "It was hyped up to be funnier than it really was. Chris Brown's singing is what made the movie for me."
Each character has an ongoing problem within their lives that was undeniably rooted from their childhood.
According to an editorial review in the Washington Post by Stephen Hunter, controversial subjects are touched upon in this movie, which most Christmas films steer clear of.
Mother "Ma Dear" Whitfield, played by Loretta Devine, is the matriarch that keeps the family together through love and tradition, however, instills some fear in all of them, no matter how grown up they are, or think they are.
The eldest son, Quentin, played by Idris Elba of "The Wire", is from Devine's first marriage. He is a starving musician on the run from two bookies he regrettably owes $25,000. Quentin comes home but refuses to accept Ma Dear's new love, Joe Black, played by Delroy Lindo, as any kind of authority figure. Ma Dear buries the love she has for Joe during the holidays in order to avoid conflict.
Meanwhile, married daughter Lisa, played by Regina King, caters to her husband hand and foot. However, her more successful, Harvard-educated sister Kelli, played by Sharon Leal, sees through Lisa's cheating husband Malcolm, played by Laz Alonso.
Private Claude Whitfield, played by Columbus Short, is discovered to be AWOL from the Marine Corps, after being arrested for pulling a pistol out at a nightclub. However, his drama doesn't end there, he wedded a young woman without his family's knowledge, and his wife, played by Jessica Stroup, is not only pregnant but is also white.
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