Perfect Holiday (2007)

"...easygoing and heartwarming.  Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"...a big-hearted romantic comedy...full of spirit and cheer!  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Editor's Note Christmas wishes come true in Lance Rivera's (THE COOKOUT) second turn as a director, THE PERFECT HOLIDAY. Struggling songwriter Benjamin Armstrong (Morris Chestnut) is an all-around nice guy who is both looking for love and waiting for his big break. In the meantime, he works part-time as a shopping mall Santa, and one day receives a sweet request from young Emily (Khail Bryant): all she wants for Christmas is for her mommy to meet a nice man. A busy divorced single mother of three, Nancy (Gabrielle Union) has lost her faith in love since her bitter divorce from James, aka mega-rap star J-Jizzy (Charlie Murphy). When Benjamin uses Emily's inside information to make her Christmas wish come true, it looks likes he's found love with Nancy. But will a big career break cost him everything? And will Nancy's eldest son, John-John (Malik Hammond) accept him and give up on his dream that his parents will reconcile? With some help from Mrs. Christmas (Queen Latifah), reminiscent of Clarence in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, they all just might have a perfect holiday. Murphy, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his younger brother Eddie, is fun as J-Jizzy, pushing the gangsta rapper stereotype to comic extremes. Terrence Howard appears briefly as Bah-Humbug, who attempts to foil Mrs. Christmas's good deeds. Faizon Love and Katt Williams lend comic support as Ben's best buddy, Jamal, and J-Jizzy's manager, Delicious. Union and Chestnut make a lovely couple, but the kids steal the show here. Hammond does a great job as a little boy who is trying to be a man and along the way realizes that his father isn't perfect. Bryant and Jeremy Gumbs, who plays middle-child Mikey, make their big-screen debuts.

	Katt Williams
	Morris Chestnut
	Queen Latifah
	Jeremy Gumbs
	Malik Hammond
	Faizon Love
	Jill Marie Jones
	Khail Bryant
	Gabrielle Union
	Charlie Murphy
	Rachel True
	Terrence Howard
	Marc Calixte - Screenwriter
	Queen Latifah - Producer
	Christopher Lennertz - Composer
	Marc Calixte - Story
	Lance Rivera - Screenwriter
	Paul di Franco - Music Supervisor
	Joseph P. Genier - Producer
	Jeff Stein - Screenwriter
	Nat Mauldin - Screenwriter
	Teodoro Maniaci - Director of Photography
	Leifur B. Dagfinnsson - Producer
	Lance Rivera - Story
	Marvin Peart - Producer
	Shakim Compere - Producer
	Mike Elliott - Producer
	Lance Rivera - Director

Variety 5 of 10
There's a lot of sap in this Christmas tree. The self-proclaimed "first African-American ensemble comedy" of the season (despite following November hit "This Christmas"), helmer Lance Rivera's romance "The Perfect Holiday" is neither perfect nor much of a holiday, more like a fruitcake passed around from arthritic aunt to demented uncle -- stale, predictable and made with fossilized ingredients...Seizing upon that perennial yuletide staple, divine intervention, "The Perfect Holiday" opens with Queen Latifah as some kind of angel (she's identified only as the "narrator"), trying to catch the first snowflake of the winter on her tongue. It's an appealing image. Belittling her efforts is Bah-Humbug, her antithesis in Christmas cheer (played by Terrence Howard, who seems to have lost a bet)...The mortals they'll be following are Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a single mother of three who's in the midst of a nasty custody battle with her ex, rapper-producer J-Jizzy (a delightfully obnoxious Charlie Murphy)...The device of having Howard and Latifah (one of the film's producers) only occasionally enter the picture to perform some kind of idle magic feels so tacked on, it's ludicrous (not Ludacris). But from the opening credits, which have the retro look of an old "Lucy Show," nothing here seems to have been sufficiently thought out...Adding to the pic's lack of seasonal cheer is the blandness of the cinematography and production design. - John Anderson