This Christmas
Screen Gems | Release Date: November 21, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Fast paced and engagingly acted. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This Christmas is the rare movie about a cozy household at holiday time that's as funny and dramatic and poignant as any seasonal family get-together should be. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
What's surprising is how well Whitmore, the director, manages to direct traffic. He's got one crisis cooling, another problem exploding, a third dilemma gathering steam and people exchanging significant looks about secrets still not introduced. It's sort of a screwball-comedy effect, but with a heart. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
It's warm, witty and alive, with a fantastic cast and a belief in its characters that transcends its formulaic tendencies. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
At the multiplex where so many holiday movies feel regifted, This Christmas is a gift. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Everyone in this madly good-looking clan has got soapy problems as befits an aspirational, say-amen holiday movie. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
It's different from the usual fare in one obvious way -- most of the cast are African Americans -- and, more importantly, in its willingness to leave some problems unsolved and volatile or unhappy people unchanged. Read full review
70
VarietyLael Loewenstein
A rare holiday treat, a package that's both thoughtfully selected and sure to please its intended recipients. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The result is a big, gushy, emotional, secret-driven, family-obsessive casserole, perhaps facile in some of its resolutions, but so full of good heart and love -- the real kind, which is scratchy, awkward, difficult to express and doesn't conquer all but just some -- that the movie is difficult to resist. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
This carefully observed film has lots of heart. Read full review
70
Film ThreatStina Chyn
Impressively stays away from the cheese and the sap that ordinarily accompany holiday pictures. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
"Christmas" won't wow anyone with its audacity or originality, but it's bound to make plenty of people happy with its slick, crowd-pleasing familiarity. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Overstuffed, formulaic but very easy to take. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Enjoyable enough. Though like some holiday fare, it doesn't quite stay with you. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
So full of solid performances and appealing characters that I wished writer/director/producer Preston Whitmore (“The Walking Dead") had considered the dictum “less is more." Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
One of those overstaffed, overstuffed "when do we eat?" holiday dramedies. Call it a double-extra-strength episode of "Soul Food." Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
No matter how silly the situation, each member of the uniformly strong cast creates a nice balance between sentimental and sweet - which is just how every holiday gathering should feel. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Writer-director Preston A. Whitmore II throws enough soap opera for an entire TV season into a story that nearly -- but not quite -- sinks from the weight of all these implausible events. Animated acting and the sheer chaos of this squabbling family give the film a comic buoyancy. Read full review
60
The New York TimesLaura Kern
Boisterous and bittersweet, the film is not dull, but it does feel hopelessly overstuffed, with scant time to devote to any one story line. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerAndy Spletzer
Not a bad movie, per se. It's just harmless and bland and dull and predictable, and sometimes that's worse than a bad movie. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason Anderson
Occasionally engaging but very chaotic movie. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAaron Hillis
The cast has spirit, but the dialogue and situations are phonier than the Yule log on TV. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
It’s redemption through sentimentality, salvation through schmaltz. Read full review
40
EmpireEmily Phillips
Like mum's home-made comfort food, it's warming but not really that good for you. Read full review
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