'Almost Christmas' succeeds as pleasant family comedy
David E. Talbert's pleasant, preholiday domestic comedy “Almost Christmas” chugs along on generous good will, accomplished performances and affectionate humor ...
... until Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) whips a lever-action rifle out of no where and shoots at her two-timing hubby Lonnie (JB Smoove) on the front lawn.
Domestic gun violence might be comical when Tyler Perry's pistol-packing, cross-dressing granny Medea whips out her .45 semiautomatic to address a slight.
But in Talbert's more reality-grounded “Almost Christmas,” the introduction of a gun and the sight of a man running for his life violate the movie's gentle tone.
It's jarring for the story to jump from a funny, socially awkward moment to a fleeing man fearing he'll be shot in the back.
(But that doesn't happen. A family member explains that Cheryl deliberately missed her target because “She's the best shot in the family!” Did they take family marksmanship classes?)
“Almost Christmas” comes stuffed with stock characters presided over by the aging patriarch, Walter Meyers, transformed into the movie's most fully realized character by Danny Glover, imbuing his sad and weary father figure with patience and quiet wisdom.
Walter's wife died 10 months earlier and his Birmingham, Alabama, house hasn't been the same. Five days until Christmas, the kids and extended family members slowly arrive for the holidays, not knowing what we know: Walter is planning to sell the house.
Here they come: competitive sisters Cheryl and Rachel (Gabriel Union) can't tolerate each other, despite Walter's plea for them to bury the hatchet - but not in each other.
Christian (Romany Malco), Walter's older son, won't stop campaigning for public office, disappointing his wife (Nicole Ari Parker), but not his slow-on-the-draw manager (John Michael Higgins).
Walter's “surprise” fourth child and star school athlete Evan (Jessie T. Usher) appears to be scoring a lot, mostly addictive painkillers that he's illegally buying.
Aunt May (Mo'Nique) supplies the obligatory role of the bossy, amusingly insulting force of nature. Omar Epps plays Malachi, who has unfinished business with Rachel ever since their disastrous prom date never actually happened back in high school.
As the movie counts down the days before Christmas like a digital timer on a bomb, “Almost Christmas” aptly captures the universal experience of family holiday gatherings with all the emotional luggage, old scores to settle and opportunities to start afresh.
No matter what the mood, John Paesano's cloying score is always at the ready, constantly imploring us, “Please like these characters and this movie.”
OK, it's likable.
Talbert, director of “First Sunday” and “Baggage Claim,” has great fun with the kids in this cast, employing them as keen observers of the sometimes childish adults.
He also creates the movie's most inventive comic bit by having the kids silently communicate with each on their telephones, strictly employing emoji symbols to carry their messages.
It's a happy-face experience.
“Almost Christmas”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, Gabrielle Union, Omar Epps, Romany Malco
Directed by: David E. Talbert
Other: A Universal Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for drug use, language and sexual situations. 120 minutes