Who's in It: Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Keith Robinson, Laz Alonso, Mekhi Phifer, Regina King
The Basics:
1. Christmas, upscale.
2. Family, lots.
3. Emotional baggage, weird.
4. Secrets, several varieties.
5. Fighting, both mouthy and physical.
6. True meaning of Christmas, typical.
What's the Deal? It isn't nearly as corny and by-the-numbers as you'd think. I mean, it is corny and by-the-numbers, but it's way better than just about any Tyler Perry film featuring a large African-American cast, and here's why: It lets its people act like people instead of bland, generic types. They're allowed to be sarcastic, smart, self-deprecating, sexual and sappy. In fact, each one of them is allowed to be all of those things at various points. Even when events turn wacky and slapstick, and Christmas morning brawling begins, you don't feel like your brains are being sucked out of your skull too much.
How Much Sense the Big Happy Ending Makes: Not tons. It sort of bends over backwards to give every single member of the cast an obligatory merry Christmas, which is not really a spoiler because it is a family Christmas movie after all. And as Stepmom proved, the only actor allowed to die at the end of one from that particular genre is Susan Sarandon. Oh, and be sure to stick around for the post-film, extended Soul Train line dance where the entire cast collectively breaks character and mugs shamelessly for the camera; again, there's no reason for this, but it's fun to watch everybody do it to Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up."
Who in the Cast Is About to Become Gigantically Famous: Singing teen idol Brown, who couldn't be more readymade for superstardom if he had been genetically engineered in a lab somewhere. It's like this kid produces charisma by photosynthesis. He makes Zac Efron look like an amateur.
Dreamgirls Trivia Connection: Sharon Leal, as the main deliverer of snarky lines here, was the fourth member of the Dreams. Devine, as the mom, had a small role in the film and was one of the original Dreams in the first Broadway production.