The Perfect Holiday

The Perfect Holiday tries too hard to be the perfect holiday family flick. The plot is formulaic, as holiday/romantic comedies tend to be, and its resolution is more predictable than overplayed Christmas music.

The movie starts with a sugary introduction by Maybelline Cover Girl Queen Latifah, as narrator of past, present and future. She introduces angelic Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a single mother of three who spends all of her time on her kids, leaving none for herself. Then there is Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), a struggling songwriter who works part-time as a mall Santa.

In a moment of holiday season vulnerability, Nancy declares that she wishes for just one stranger to come up to her and give her a compliment. Hearing this, her cherubic youngest child, Emily, tells Benjamin--as Santa-she wants her mom's wish to come true. Naturally, being the handsome kindhearted mall rent-a-Santa he is, Benjamin fulfills Nancy's wish. Taken aback by the gesture, she immediately latches onto Benjamin and literally hunts him down-going so far as to stake out the local Starbucks. After the awkward initial meeting, the two predictably become involved in a serious relationship, all in a matter of days.

Just when things are looking perfect for Benjamin and Nancy, a few problems arise. Benjamin is rejected by John-John, Nancy's eldest, because he is not his father. At the same time, Benjamin is presented with an opportunity to make it big as a songwriter with big-time rapper "J-Jizzy" (Charles Q. Murphy). In an "unforeseeable" twist, "J-Jizzy" just happens to be Nancy's ex-husband.

While Benjamin tries to figure out what to do, two supernatural characters make random and unnecessary appearances-the benevolent narrator and the mischievous Mr. Bah Humbug, played by Terrence Howard. The Dickens allusions are a clever nod to the holiday tradition, but fail to distract from the shortcomings of the trite main story.

Comedians Katt Williams, as "J-Jizzy's" assistant, Delicious, and Faizon Love as Benjamin's sidekick, Jamal, provide a few decently funny scenes, but add little to the general quality of the narrative. These players all combine to put together a pretty package that, when opened, may leave most viewers wishing they'd spent their Holiday elsewhere.

-Braden Hendricks