Almost Christmas (film)

Almost Christmas is a 2016 American Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by David E. Talbert and starring Kimberly Elise, Mo'Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Gabrielle Union, Keri Hilson, Jessie Usher, Danny Glover, Omar Epps, John Michael Higgins, D. C. Young Fly, and Romany Malco. The film follows a dysfunctional family that comes together for the holidays for the first time since their mother's death.

Almost Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid E. Talbert
Written byDavid E. Talbert
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLarry Blanford
Edited byTroy Takaki
Music byJohn Paesano
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
Running time
111 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million[2]
Box office$42.6 million[3]

Principal photography began in late 2015 and early 2016 in Covington, Georgia. The film premiered in Los Angeles on November 3, 2016 and was theatrically released in the United States on November 11, 2016 by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews and grossed $42 million.

Plot

Walter Meyers (Danny Glover) is a retired automotive engineer who lost his wife Grace (Rachel Kylian) 10 months earlier.

Now that the holiday season is here, he invites his four grown children and the rest of the family to his house for a traditional celebration.

Walter knows that if his daughters Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) and Rachel (Gabrielle Union) and sons Christian (Romany Malco) and Evan (Jessie Usher) can spend five days together under the same roof, it will truly be a Christmas miracle. As his children arrive, Walter realizes a perfect Christmas without his wife, Grace is easier said than done.

Cheryl, a dentist and the eldest child, arrives for the holidays with her goofy husband Lonnie (J. B. Smoove), a previously famous basketball player who develops a mutual interest in a young grocery store worker named Jasmine (Keri Hilson) shortly after arriving in town.

His eldest son and second born, Christian, struggles with balancing his campaign to become a congressman and his desire to spend time with his wife and 2 kids. Christian invites his campaign manager along so they can get more work done. His manager helps set him up with potential financial backers.

Meanwhile, Rachel, his youngest daughter and third born, struggles to financially support herself and her daughter due to her recent divorce and studying to become a lawyer.

The youngest, Evan is a successful football player recovering from a shoulder injury, but when his coach tells him his arm is completely healed, Evan struggles to give up the pain medication.

Throughout their 5 days together, the Meyers family experiences ups and downs. Rachel and Cheryl trade barbs at each other, Lonnie has an affair with Jasmine, and Christian is pressured to help demolish a part of town that includes a homeless shelter his mother supported. Out of spite, Rachel invites Jasmine to Christmas dinner to embarrass Lonnie and Cheryl but when the sisters accidentally find their mother's tin of recipes, they stop fighting and Rachel tries to disinvite Jasmine via voicemail. On Christmas Day, Evan discovers Walter plans on selling the house and confronts him. The kids are shocked but Walter stands by his decision. Evan storms off and gets into a car accident. Jasmine arrives to dinner, to Rachel and Lonnie's surprise, and inadvertently reveals their fling to the whole table. Cheryl chases Lonnie off with a shotgun.

Later on, in the hospital, Walter helps Evan confront his grief of losing Grace. Cheryl and Rachel make amends and Cheryl gives her sister a check to help her finish law school. Christian tells his potential backers that he won't demolish the shelter. The film ends with Walter finally perfecting Grace's sweet potato pie and him deciding to keep the house.

Cast

Production

On April 27, 2015, it was announced that Universal Pictures had bought the comedy script A Meyers Thanksgiving from David E. Talbert, who directed the film, with Will Packer producing through Will Packer Productions.[14] The film was first retitled A Meyers Christmas, with its setting moved to the Christmas holidays.[15] In April 2016, Universal Pictures announced another title change for the film, now called Almost Christmas.[16]

Casting for the film was done in late 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia.[17][18] Principal photography took place in Georgia from early November until December 2015.[19]

Release

Universal scheduled the film for a November 11, 2016 release.[15] A trailer for the film was released April 14, 2016.[20]

Box office

Almost Christmas was released alongside Arrival and Shut In, and was expected to gross around $15 million from 2,376 theaters in its opening weekend.[21] The film made $507,000 from Thursday night previews at 1,885 theaters and $5.9 million on its first day. It went on to gross $15.6 million for the weekend, finishing fourth at the box office.[22] In its second weekend, the film grossed $7.3 million (a drop of 56%), finishing fifth.[23]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 49% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While far from the worst holiday dramedy audiences could hope for, Almost Christmas isn't distinctive enough to prompt a visit to the theater – or annual yuletide viewings."[24] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[22]

Accolades

For her performance, Mo' Nique was nominated for the Image Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Image Awards.[26]

See also

References
  1. "Almost Christmas (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  2. McNary, Dave (November 9, 2016). "Box Office: 'Doctor Strange' to Ward Off Newcomers 'Arrival' and 'Almost Christmas'". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  3. "Almost Christmas (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  4. Ford, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (October 9, 2015). "Danny Glover to Star in 'A Meyers Christmas' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  5. Pedersen, Erik (October 26, 2015). "Kimberly Elise Is Wished 'A Meyers Christmas'". deadline.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  6. Ford, Rebecca (November 17, 2015). "Romany Malco Joins 'A Meyers Christmas' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  7. Ford, Rebecca; Galuppo, Mia (October 5, 2015). "Gabrielle Union to Star in 'A Meyers Christmas' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  8. Ford, Rebecca (October 22, 2015). "'Survivor's Remorse' Star Jessie Usher Joins 'A Meyers Christmas' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  9. Ford, Rebecca (October 27, 2015). "Chandra Currelley Joins 'A Meyers Christmas' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  10. "First Look Of J.B. Smoove, DC Young Fly, and Chandra Currelley in 'Almost Christmas'". April 14, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  11. Pedersen, Erik (November 6, 2015). "Nicole Ari Parker Joins The Family For 'A Meyers Christmas'". deadline.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  12. Busch, Anita (November 9, 2015). "Omar Epps Joins Universal Pictures' Comedy 'A Meyers Christmas'". deadline.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  13. Fennel, Brittany (June 17, 2016). "Trailer For Star Studded Holiday Movie 'Almost Christmas'". jawbreaker.nyc. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 27, 2015). "Universal & Will Packer Land David E. Talbert Spec 'A Meyers Thanksgiving'; Eye Holiday 2016". deadline.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  15. A. Lincoln, Ross (May 14, 2015). "Universal Sets Release Dates For 'Legend', 'A Meyers Christmas'". deadline.com. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  16. Lincoln, Ross A. (April 13, 2016). "Universal Retitles Family Comedy 'A Meyers Christmas'". Deadline. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  17. "'A Meyers Christmas' Starring Gabrielle Union Open Casting Call in Atlanta". projectcasting.com. October 27, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  18. "On the Set for 11/6/15: Emily Blunt and Luke Evans Start 'Girl on the Train', Brad Pitt Wraps 'Lost City of Z'". ssninsider.com. November 6, 2015. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  19. McDonald, Adrian (May 1, 2016). "2016 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  20. "Almost Christmas - Teaser (HD)". YouTube. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  21. "'Doctor Strange' to hold off 'Arrival' and 'Almost Christmas' at the box office". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 2016.
  22. "'Doctor Strange' to Repeat at #1 as 'Arrival', 'Almost Christmas' & 'Shut In' Hit Theaters". Box Office Mojo.
  23. D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2016). "'Moana' Rings Up $81M+ & Ranks As 2nd Best Thanksgiving Debut After 'Frozen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  24. "Almost Christmas (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  25. "Almost Christmas Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  26. Lewis, Hilary; Washington, Arlene (February 10, 2017). "Mo' Nique nominated for Best Supporting Actress at Image Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
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