It’s almost Christmas time again and that means you will start to see Christmas-themed films creep into your local theater or movie rental store. Released around Christmas 2007, This Christmas finally arrives on home video a year later. For any hardcore movie-watcher, upon viewing the trailer for this film, or even cover of the DVD, you would immediately think that this has to be a Tyler Perry film. All of the trademark Perry things seems to be in This Christmas including a mostly all African-American cast with strong family values and plenty of secrets and drama to be revealed. All that seems to be missing is Madea herself, but surprise, This Christmas is not a Tyler Perry film. Now is This Christmas just a Tyler Perry knockout that has some of the same flaws as Perry’s works or has writer-director Preston A. Whitmore II actually made a similar but more outstanding film than Perry?
In This Christmas, Ma’Dere Whitfield (Loretta Devine) is delighted to learn that all of her children have come home to spend Christmas with her and her secretly live-in boyfriend Joe (Delroy Lindo). Claude Whitfield (Columbus Short) is on leave from military service and has a surprise waiting in a hotel room. Kelli Whitfield (Sharon Leal), is a workaholic model, while Mel (Lauren London) is a career student who brought her boyfriend with her. Lisa (Regina King) is stuck in a troubled marriage to Malcom (Laz Alonso), while Quentin (Idris Elba) is a saxophone player on the run from a couple of bookies. Michael “Baby” Whitfield (Chris Brown), still living at home, has career aspirations that he’d rather not share with his mom. The Whitfield family has more than its fair share of secrets, and most of them are going to come out “this Christmas”.
For the most part, This Christmas stays away from all of the commercial Christmas aspects that almost always find their way into family Christmas films. In fact, it hardly ever feels like a Christmas film seeing as the location of this film is in sunny and warm Los Angeles. Thankfully Whitmore mainly sticks to the family aspects of the holiday season. There is drama for sure, but this film is never too dramatic. The story is fairly predictable, but most everything that goes on in This Christmas feels real, except for a few scenes towards the end. There is some comedy in this film as well, but it’s nowhere near “laugh-out-loud” material.
So what really holds this film together then is the cast. The interaction between the characters and the cast are what really make this film interesting and engaging. The cast is outstanding starting with Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine, and Regina King, and going all the way down to acting novice and music superstar, Chris Brown. Lindo commands your attention in every scene he is in, but it’s hard to find any flaws in the cast here. This could cast could likely be in any Tyler Perry film, but I doubt Perry would allow this cast to do what they do best as well as Whitmore does in This Christmas.
Lets face it, Preston A. Whitmore II may not be the next Tyler Perry, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Whitmore has already directed one bomb with critics and movie watchers alike in Crossover. But this film shouldn’t be confused for a Tyler Perry film at all. Unlike Perry, Whitmore tries to stay away from overdramatizing everything and preaching about a lot of things. So in a way Whitmore tries hard not to be compared to Tyler Perry. It mostly works but with all the drama that is built into the script, you can’t help but have brief moments of absurdness during this film. That being said, This Christmas is still an entertaining and interesting Christmas film that focuses mainly on family and heart rather than all of the perceived ills of the holiday season. That’s refreshing to see in a film that falls under this film genre, and worth checking out, despite it being nothing but an average film in the grand scheme of things.
The video is presented in 1080p/AVC at the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen color ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs of course. The video is pretty standard for a new release Blu-ray DVD from Sony. The colors are mostly vivid, but the overall picture is not as crisp as it could have been.
The audio included is available in either lossless English Dolby TruedHD Surround sound, lossless French Dolby TruedHD Surround sound, lossless Portuguese Dolby TruedHD Surround sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear, with no minor or major problems at all. This film is filled with music, and the audio quality on this Blu-ray is the best you can find.
Found on Standard Edition As Well…
Audio Commentary –
There is a full-length audio commentary with actresses Regina King, Sharon Leal, and Lauren London. These three actresses all seem to be friends so it is fairly entertaining. But they don’t give much insight into making this film. So this commentary is average at best.
“Making This Christmas” Featurette –
This runs 11 and a half minutes, and it’s your standard “making of” featurette. Various interviews with the cast and crew about making this film, which is mainly used to promote the movie more rather than give interesting insights into making this movie.
Deleted & Extended Scenes –
There is only one deleted scene and one extended scene. This “extra” material only runs 5 minutes, so it’s really not worth checking out.
This Christmas Music Video –
This runs 3 and half a minutes and it’s basically holiday-themed music clip with Chris Brown doing the singing.
This Christmas isn’t groundbreaking or anything, but it is a refreshing entry into the holiday movie film genre. The acting is top-notch and writer-director Preston A. Whitmore II allows the actors to take control of the material. That makes This Christmas worth renting, but a this film isn’t a “must-buy” except for Delroy Lindo fans.
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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents This Christmas. Directed and Written by Preston A. Whitmore II. Starring Delroy Lindo, Regina King, Chris Brown, Keith Robinson, Laz Alfonso, Sharon Neal, Lauren London, Mekhi Phifer, and Loretta Devine. Running time: 119 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: November 11, 2008. Available at Amazon.
