I hate it when they get sports wrong in movies. HATE. Why? Because it’s sooooo easy not to. There are, literally, millions of potential American consultants who can help you get it right. Millions. A football team with 17 points at the half will not end the game with 28. Yes, it can happen, but it doesn’t. When a player is going for a “rushing yardage record,” a loss of yardage on a swing pass will not detract from that total. I mean, that’s not just extremely improbable, it’s a big fat WRONG. And a team itching to make the NFL playoffs will likely put in slightly more preparation time than a PTA planning a week-day bake sale.
I also hate it when movies enlist professional sporting teams, but fail to buy the rights to insignia usage. It underlines fake. It underlines cheap. Oh, yes, these are the New York Giants who suddenly and inexplicably for dramatic purposes now sport blue helmets with a solid block “NY” standard and no longer the lower case “ny” logo. Ah, and their Atlanta Falcon counterparts still don their customary red and black color scheme, yet their helmeted raptor is now streamlined. Huh, when did that happen? Cheap. Fake.
Why does this matter? Why is it a big deal? It isn’t. BUT, The Best Man Holiday tells the tale of Christmas gathering among a collection of high-profile celebrities: Lance (Morris Chestnut) the NFL player closing in on a career rushing record, multiple Emmy-winner Candace (Regina Hall), reality TV star Shelby (Melissa De Sousa), etc. together with significant others for extended together time. All of these couples have $$ except for Harper (Taye Diggs) and his pregnant wife Robyn (Sanaa Lathan). The window dressing here is a lip sync by Diggs, Chestnut, Terrence Howard and Harold Perrineau all with expensive custom matching outfits. Do you wear expensive new custom matching outfits for your family talent show? In other words, the producers wanted the feel of big bucks and big lifestyles, except when it comes to, you know, reality.
Harper is a writer whose last hit (we’re told) predated Senator Obama. His new book is a bomb and with wife pregnant, he needs a winner just to pay the bills. His publisher suggests a biography of old school chum and soon-to-retire NFL great Lance would hit paydirt.
Oh, and, what have we here? An extended invitation to spend the Christmas season at Lance’s mansion. It can’t be that easy. can it? No, it can’t. There are secrets to explore and eight other cast members with backstory.
One can see, unfortunately, the clear influence of Tyler Perry on Malcolm D. Lee. The Best Man Holiday actually sounds a lot like a Tyler Perry script: A gathering of friends, the men go one way, the women another, the children rarely show at all. Some cat fighting and some marital trouble and then we wrap up with God. The writing/directing here is better than Tyler’s, of course, but the similarities are disturbing. When you have children, they are your focus; you can’t just stick them in another room and expect their story to go away just because their acting skills are poor. The main focus of The Best Man Holiday is Harper keeping it together with a pregnant wife and no income. A movie like this seems to imply that as soon as the baby is born, the problems end.
It’s fair to say a lot bugs me about this film … the disposable income of the players, the poorly researched sports, a Northeastern mansion that’s driving distance to Giants Stadium, but an hour from the nearest hospital. Where do you suppose that is, huh? That said, The Best Man Holiday isn’t a terrible film. Even if the situation is wrong, the emotion is right, which is more than I can ever say for a Tyler Perry film.
Ten overactors opted to sign;
One proved white, then there were nine.
Nine overactors went upstate;
One went viral, then there were eight.
Eight overactors talked about heaven;
One didn’t need to, then there were seven.
Seven overactors caught in the stix;
One needed practice, then there were six.
Six overactors … good God, bury me alive.
I’m actually kind of excited thinking about how much better this would be as a horror film.
Rated R, 123 Minutes
D: Malcolm D. Lee
W: Malcolm D. Lee
Genre: Reunion “fun”
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Who doesn’t enjoy a sexy chocolate lip-sync?
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Fans who need their NFL to be real.
Article on Faith-Based screenplays found here.
