The Best Man Holiday
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 15, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonNov 15, 2013
The Best Man Holiday has the potential to become a staple of Christmastime movie watching in the 'hood. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaNov 14, 2013
One reason the movie works so well: Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee returns from the original, so the characters feel true to the first film. Secondly, most of the cast is back, and they have the kind of comfortable chemistry you can’t fake. It’s easy to believe these people have a history together. Read full review
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekNov 12, 2013
Lee seems less interested in capturing how people of color talk than in capturing how people talk. He coaxes us to step in and listen, and the very casualness of his invitation is the key to the joyousness of The Best Man Holiday, flaws be damned. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesNov 13, 2013
High spirits mark the first half of the film; quite simply, these guys are just fun to be around – most especially Howard, all half-lidded, cat-who-got-the-cream coolness. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. JohnsonNov 14, 2013
A full plate of tear-jerking drama is served here. And it’s even tastier than the first time around. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 14, 2013
There’s something pretty special about this cast, all of whom turn in excellent performances while alternating between light comedy and some seriously heavy dramatic lifting. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 14, 2013
A far more Tyler Perry-ish mixture of comedy and tragedy than the easygoing "Best Man" was, back in the pre-Perry movie era. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNov 18, 2013
The Best Man Holiday is an inelegant movie, but its cast is so damn likable that we’re still willing to follow them — even when they’re not going anywhere. Read full review
69
Film.comKate ErblandNov 13, 2013
The Best Man Holiday goes whole hog on the holiday cheese, and there’s something admirable about an adult feature that doesn’t balk at real feelings, especially around the holidays (sex montages notwithstanding). Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyNov 13, 2013
While The Best Man Holiday doesn’t have anything especially original to say on the subject, it’s still refreshing to see a reunion movie set aside the usual themes of aging and reconciliation to focus on how a group deals with death. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanNov 13, 2013
The Best Man Holiday is an eggnog that's sticky-sweet and heavy at the same time. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 18, 2013
After starting out as a character-based ensemble piece, The Best Man Holiday turns into a predictable affair determined to hit as many familiar beats as possible while striving to wring tears and cheers in equal quantities from its audience. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 14, 2013
You don’t go to The Best Man Holiday to deconstruct its flaws. You go for its myriad, adamantly un-cerebral pleasures. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughNov 14, 2013
All in all, maybe the best 90 minutes of romantic comedy in theaters this fall. Unfortunately, the film is 122 minutes long. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreNov 13, 2013
An amusing, well-acted and sharply-timed holiday comedy, old friends getting together to prove that careers, families and kids aside, they’ve still got their R-rated edge, just as they did in college. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldNov 14, 2013
Mr. Lee’s film is more traditional than its sexually frank humor might indicate, with faith and charity ultimately given pride of place (right alongside human pettiness). But even if some of the crudeness and the drama feel forced, it’s hard to hate. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyNov 14, 2013
A joyous, raucous, righteous film but also a frustrating and disappointing one. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNov 14, 2013
The movie ends with a setup for another sequel, which will undoubtedly be embraced by fans. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another 14 years to see it. Read full review
60
The DissolveNathan RabinNov 14, 2013
The Best Man Holiday alternates smoothly between raucous comedy and soap opera for a solid hour... Yet the balance begins to tip toward leaden melodrama in the crazily overloaded third act, which speeds past the line separating crowd-pleasing from crowd-pandering. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberNov 13, 2013
All of the cast members deliver smooth, capable performances, but this sequel clarifies why Howard has become the biggest star from the original ensemble. (He also gave one of the strongest performances in Lee Daniels’ The Butler this past summer.) Read full review
60
The GuardianKatey RichNov 13, 2013
The Best Man Holiday takes advantage of the actors' pre-existing chemistry to add zing to standard tropes of midlife crisis and melodrama. Read full review
60
Time OutSam AdamsNov 12, 2013
The script’s sporadic silliness makes every plot turn questionable; how the talent deftly negotiates such goofiness makes the film near-impossible to resist. Read full review
58
The PlaylistDrew TaylorNov 13, 2013
It might be overlong, overstuffed, and occasionally operatic, but that doesn't mean that it can wring the tears out of you. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereNov 14, 2013
Traditionally, Christmas movies are about the power of the holiday spirit to conquer all in the name of seasonal detente, and The Best Man Holiday, although sprinkled with bad behaviour and salty bon mots, is traditional right to the twinkly-tipped top of the tree. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithNov 14, 2013
A likable cast and interior-­décor porn worthy of Martha Stewart Living are the highlights of The Best Man Holiday, but the mix of raunchy sex comedy and Christian faith doesn’t quite come off. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigNov 14, 2013
Only a few charming tidbits are nestled snugly in this over-stuffed Christmas stocking. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 14, 2013
It's not all bad. It's just part bad: It suffers from cliches and corniness, from the same kinds of scenes played over and over, and from more false endings than the last "Lord of the Rings" movie. Read full review
50
VarietyAndrew BarkerNov 13, 2013
The cluttered, overlong narrative never really finds its footing. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 15, 2013
To be fair, in its best moments, The Best Man Holiday is more enjoyable than even a well-wrapped steam iron, functioning as it does as passable light entertainment -- but only just. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineChris CabinNov 12, 2013
The sexism isn't quite as noxious as one might find in Tyler Perry's films, but that's as far as the compliments go when it comes to this overextended and deeply crude sermon. Read full review
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