Almost Christmas (2016)

Almost Christmas (2016)

5/10

Starring

Kimberly Elise

Omar Epps

Danny Glover

Gabrielle Union

J.B. Smoove

Directed by David E. Talbert

Almost Christmas is almost a good movie. The movie didn’t totally suck, and it had all the ingredients to make you laugh and think deeply about what was happening on screen. The "but" here is that it didn’t make the best use of all those ingredients to become a memorable film. The moment the credit shows, the chances of you even remembering one of the characters you just watched is low.

The good thing about the movie is Mo’Nique. Her character was all over the place, making enough jokes to keep me interested in what was happening. Mo’Nique wasn’t the only good thing—Kimberly Elise gave a stunning performance in her portrayal of Cheryl throughout the movie.

One of the bad things about the movie is that it had too many people in it, which studios do in the hope of getting the audience to go see the movie, but sometimes this does not work. A lot of things were going on at the same time, making it hard to keep up. Although the cast tried to deliver good performances, there were too many of those “tries” going around, and in the end, I was left wishing some of them would just go away or stop showing up on screen. The problem lies with the director not making the best of the script and the writers trying to jam too many actors into one film—which is never a bad idea if you know how to use them well.

The movie had a cast lineup of Kimberly Elise, Omar Epps, Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union, J.B. Smoove, and more.

That said, the script was very cheesy, and the story, while not predictable at all times, definitely had more than enough room for improvement.

The movie plot starts with the introduction of Walter Meyers (Danny Glover), who is now a widower after the passing of his wife. This will be the first Christmas the family has without her, and getting things just right the way she used to do it is becoming a problem.

His grown children and family are also coming for Christmas, along with their Aunty May (Mo’Nique). Sibling rivalry starts between the children, and as Christmas draws near, it looks like a dark and sad holiday is ahead.

In the end, I can’t safely tell anyone to go see this movie, but I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to give it a try or not.

Dutch (1991)

Dutch (1991)

6/10

Starring

Ed O'Neill

Ethan Randall

Directed by Peter Faiman

When Dutch kicks off, you’re left wondering how the movie will turn out. Maybe it’ll go the way you expect, or maybe it’ll bring with it many different angles you wouldn’t expect from a movie like this. Well, it did the latter. Dutch brought unexpected comedic moments—not all of them great—but even though it wasn’t a superb or great movie, I had fun watching it, and you will too.

Many of the things I saw while watching this 1991 movie—produced by John Hughes—were fresh takes I hadn’t seen before. A lot of what happened on screen had me laughing uncontrollably at times, even if not every joke landed. The cast, Ed O’Neill (Dutch) and Ethan Embry (Doyle), did a great job portraying two mismatched individuals trying to get home for the holidays.

The Dutch character was a total surprise in the movie, both in the way he handled himself and the way he was handled by Doyle, the child he’s supposed to care for. The two started a drive to Chicago, which ended up being more like a hitchhiker’s journey than a straightforward road trip. The whole bonding thing between them took a while to develop, and for most of the movie, it seemed like it might not happen at all. But by the end, we see a strong bond forming and a real shift in Doyle’s character.

Dutch is about a spoiled child who lives with his mother. She’s divorced from his father, who is also spoiled and filthy rich. The mother is now dating a man named Dutch, who is willing to do anything to get closer to her. To achieve this, he volunteers to pick up her son, Doyle, from school and drive him home because Doyle’s father claims he’ll be traveling for the holidays.

The bonding session started with an attack on Dutch, which led to him tying Doyle up and dragging him to the car.

The journey, which was meant to be a joyride, ended up being a disaster, and we’re privileged to see how Dutch plans to break the kid and how the kid plans to break Dutch. 

Dutch struggles with pacing, as some scenes drag on longer than necessary. Also, the humor is hit-or-miss, with some jokes landing well while others don't. While the dynamic between Dutch and Doyle is fun to watch, their bond takes longer to develop than it probably should. Lastly, I feel there is nothing particularly memorable about the movie, even though it took a path I didn't expect.

The movie has bad ratings on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but the audience poll on it was much better. When it came to financial returns, the movie was a flop back in 1991.

Well, it’s a rare privilege of a movie and one I enjoyed seeing this festive season.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

7/10

Starring

Steve Martin

John Candy

Directed by John Hughes

The late John Hughes was popular for having an eye for comedy, and this is one of his very good ones. It had enough funny moments to stick in your mind even after you’re done watching the movie. The mismatched pair was a bowl of laughs for someone like me who had only heard about the movie and never seen it.

Each time the two parted, I didn’t have to wait long before strange, unfortunate events brought them back together. And when they were together, it didn’t take long before strange things started happening that made you feel sorry for both of them—because they were never meant to share the same space, whether in a room or any form of transport.

The movie pushed the boundaries of human tolerance when it came to its characters. While watching, you won’t be able to side with one or the other, as each one deserved to have the life choked out of them.

The movie was written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It was made way back in 1987, and although it’s not about the Christmas season, it’s about the holidays—Thanksgiving, to be exact.

Hughes’ success in comedy in the ’80s with classics like Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) made him a name to watch. This movie, unlike Home Alone, which was made in the ’90s, isn’t for young viewers because of the language used. But if you, like me, haven’t seen this movie before now, you should.

The movie starts with the introduction of one of our lead characters, Neal (Steve Martin), and his plan to travel home for the holidays to be with his family. His journey never started well from the get-go. He struggled to get a taxi to the airport, and when he finally did, his flight was delayed. When he finally got on a flight, he was seated next to the person who stole his taxi—Del Griffith (John Candy).

The plane ride was already difficult, but they had to land due to bad weather. Now stuck far from home and unable to get a room in a motel, Neal had to bunk with Del.

Their unusual partnership started there, leading to a train ride and a car ride from hell. Many times, they pissed each other off and had to part ways, only to be brought back together again as they both needed each other to get home.

The movie drags at times when it could’ve been a bit quicker. While the characters are funny their constant bickering does gets old. Also, some of the jokes felt a bit repetitive after a while.

A good movie to see again—as I plan to in the future.