This Christmas (2007)

A Christmastime drama centered around the Whitfield family's first holiday together in four years.

Director:

Preston A. Whitmore II

Writer:

Preston A. Whitmore II

Stars:

Regina King, Columbus Short, Delroy Lindo

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Delroy Lindo	...	Joseph Black
Idris Elba	...	Quentin Whitfield
Loretta Devine	...	Ma'Dere Whitfield
Chris Brown	...	Michael 'Baby' Whitfield
Keith Robinson	...	Devean Brooks
Laz Alonso	...	Malcolm Moore
Columbus Short	...	Claude Whitfield
Sharon Leal	...	Kelli Whitfield
Lauren London	...	Melanie 'Mel' Whitfield
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Rosie
Jessica Stroup	...	Sandi
Mekhi Phifer	...	Gerald
Regina King	...	Lisa Moore
David Banner	...	Mo
Ricky Harris	...	Cousin Fred

Storyline

In Los Angeles, Shirley Ann Whitfield, affectionately called Ma'Dere, is the matriarch of the Whitfield family, she with six children: San Francisco residing wife and mother Lisa who feels the need to act as the responsible one in managing her extended family's welfare, as such sacrificing her own wants in the process; traveling jazz musician Quentin Jr. who the family has not seen in four years; Claude the marine; New York ad exec Kelli who admits she is the selfish one; college student Mel; and Michael (called Baby) who still lives at home while figuring out what he wants to do with his life. Ma'Dere has lived in the family home for a few years now with Joe Black, a church deacon, with Ma'Dere's husband/the children's father, Quentin Whitfield Sr., long having left the family to pursue a life as a jazz musician. Because of the pain associated for Ma'Dere, Sr.'s piano sits in the garage untouched. Quentin, being a chip off the old paternal block, is the most disconnected from the ...

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Plot Keywords:

family home | musician | christmas | secret | piano | 

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Taglines:

You can't exchange family.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for comic sexual content and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Acasă de Crăciun

Filming Locations:

St. John's Episcopal Cathedral - 514 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,958,183, 24 November 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$49,121,934, 6 January 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Facilitator Films, Rainforest Films, Screen Gems

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the first dinner, Devean says Mel goes to Spelman & he goes to Morehouse. In Boyz N The Hood Tre goes to Morehouse with his girlfriend Brandy across the way at Spelman. Regina King co starred in Boyz N The Hood.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the film, Malcolm is seen wearing slippers while sitting in the Escalade.While walking to the house you see that he is clearly wearing dress shoes.

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Quotes

Shirley Ann 'MaDere' Whitfield: [Noticing Sandi] Who is this?
Lisa Moore: That's your daughter-in-law.
Kelli Whitfield: Um, this is not funny.
Lisa Moore: No, it's not, but I'm going to keep drinking until it is.

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Crazy Credits

The opening Screen Gems logo is bright red and covered in Christmas tree lights.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Mist/This Christmas/August Rush/I'm Not There/Purple Violets (2007)

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Soundtracks

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin
Performed by Oscar Peterson
Courtesy of Telarc International Corporation

User Reviews

Family movie - but NOT for the family

I'm not a big moviegoer, but I do know that this movie was too full of drama to be reasonably resolved within a 2-hour window. Maybe it would have made a better novel??? The only plot that seemed to actually play through was the husband-wife scenario, but even that was rushed (though it was resolved with great humor). The movie also didn't "warm my heart" in the traditional sense of a holiday movie. I was left wondering what the true message was supposed to be??? As a side note, I took my middle school daughter and a few of her Chris-Brown-crazy friends to see this movie, and I was disappointed. I knew it was rated PG-13, but I'm convinced now more than ever that the range of PG-13 is far too wide. The movie trailers look made it look like this would be a family movie. Well, it was ABOUT family - but it definitely not FOR the family. Specifically, I was disappointed in the way the family "ideal" was portrayed. In the words of my grandmother, there was too much "shackin' up" in this movie - in fact (the viewer learns in the first few minutes of the movie), the wise, God-fearing matriarch has a live-in boyfriend who happens to be a deacon in the church. Needless to say, two of the matriarchs apples don't fall far from the tree. And since when to do one-night-stands lead to true love??? I know that this movie was not marketed as a moral movie per se, but the matriarch and live-in patriarch sure did talk a LOT of Christian talk to be living with each other and leanin' on the Lord for deliverance from their family problems. I realize that this is life - people do what they want to do. I'm just saying: don't try to do the Tyler Perry thing (add a spiritual connection) at the same time you're trying to do the Zane thing (everybody-get-their-freak-on). Just let it be one or the other, and don't sell us out with a teen-magnet like Chris brown if you're going the Zane route (and DON'T try to hide it under the "holiday film" radar)! I do hope that the film-makers remember: when you put Chris Brown into a film, you're going to attract a lot of young, impressionable girls. Be mindful of the message you're sending. I do try to support films that portray African-American families positively and I know how important that first weekend is for a new film. But, next time, I'll have to wait and see what a few of my friends say before viewing similar movies.