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:

usa | united states | family home | musician | christmas | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 1:40:44 in the man on the left is the only choir member not singing. He starts singing at 1:40:47.

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Goofs

At the end, when Baby is sitting in the church pew, he has an earing in his let ear. However, seconds later when he performs, the earring is in his right ear.

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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 MsMojo: Top 10 Modern Christmas Movies (2016)

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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

Very pleasant surprise!

I went to this movie expecting a humorous funny slapstick black comedy. I was mistaken. It was a real look into families at holiday time. It had several story lines which were interesting to follow and the actors did an excellent job in carrying them out. There was some really good humor as well but I appreciated the drama and the real look into what so many of us experience. I don't know the names of the characters but I've seen many of them before and they have done good work. You're going to love the very end(after the movie) so don't leave! Granted we all want a warm good feeling Christmas movie and this one will certainly not disappoint! The only hint I will leave is don't miss the scene with the baby oil! Go see this!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

This Christmas

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, 25 November 2007

Gross USA:

$49,121,934

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,778,552

Company Credits

Production Co:

Facilitator Films, Rainforest Films, Screen Gems

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1