Film

Almost Christmas

Name: Almost Christmas
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2016
Cast: Kimberly Elise, Omar Epps, Danny Glover, John Michael Higgins, Romany Malco

Family drama

Almost Christmas is a warm ensemble dramedy about a fractured family forced to confront old wounds and find common ground during their first holiday without their mother. It's the kind of film that balances genuine heartache with genuine laughs, mining comedy from character rather than easy targets. Made for anyone who knows that family gatherings are never simple.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love crowded ensemble comedies where sharp family bickering keeps tipping into real affection, and you don't mind sentiment arriving right on schedule.

Skip it if you want a lean, surprising story, since this one plays its holiday beats predictably and leans on broad jokes more often than it lands a fresh one.

What it asks of you: Two hours of cramped rooms, overlapping voices and constant arguments, with little quiet space to breathe between the jokes and the emotional swings.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Joyful Noise2012

Two strong women lead a church choir through grief and discord toward something transcendent. Features Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah in a story about community, faith, and finding joy after loss—thematically aligned with Almost Christmas's heart.

But The tone can veer sentimental, and the musical numbers won't surprise anyone looking for subtlety. Some may find the inspirational arc predictable.

Think Like a Man2012

An ensemble cast navigates relationships and family expectations with genuine warmth and sharp comedy. It has the same gift for balancing romantic comedy beats with real character stakes and a strong supporting cast.

But The relationship dynamics are fairly conventional, and it leans heavily on wish-fulfillment rather than genuine conflict resolution. The pacing sags in the second act.

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys2008

Tyler Perry orchestrates an ensemble of flawed, loving people through secrets and forgiveness. It captures that same blend of humor, melodrama, and genuine affection between people bound by blood and history.

But Perry's storytelling can feel overwrought, and the simultaneous plot threads compete for attention. Some will find it tonally messy rather than dynamically balanced.

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Almost Christmas

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco2019

Both are about adults grappling with what their parents' generation left behind and whether that inheritance is a gift or a burden.

A meditation on inheritance, legacy, and what you owe the people and places that made you. Like Almost Christmas, it's about a man returning to confront family history, but it trades comedy for poetry and transforms the entire aesthetic into something formally stunning and deeply mournful.

But It's slow, visually oblique, and requires patience with ambiguity. There's no cathartic resolution—only understanding. Some will find it frustratingly opaque.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco poster

Madea's Family Reunion2006

Family secrets unravel at a celebration where old grievances surface and healing becomes possible. Like Almost Christmas, it understands that family moments are pressure cookers where everything matters and nothing is simple.

But Tyler Perry's broad comedy style won't land for everyone, and the film treats some serious matters with levity that might feel inappropriate depending on your tolerance.

I Can Do Bad All By Myself2009

A multi-generational story about adults learning to let go of pride and actually help each other. It has the messy, loving quality of people who irritate each other but show up anyway.

But The plot mechanics feel contrived in places, and character motivations occasionally strain credibility. The tonal shifts between comedy and drama are sometimes jarring.

Sparkle2012

Three sisters navigate ambition, loyalty, and family responsibility during their rise in the music industry. It's about what you owe the people who raised you versus what you owe yourself—deeply relevant to family ensemble stories.

But The musical performances, while earnest, can feel dated. The film tries to balance too many storylines and some get short-changed.

The Best Man1999

An ensemble of friends confront secrets, jealousy, and genuine affection across a wedding weekend. It pioneered the formula of letting a capable cast carry character-driven comedy with real relationship stakes.

But The film hasn't aged perfectly—some of the romantic dynamics feel dated, and the gender politics are occasionally clumsy by modern standards.

Jumping the Broom2011

Two families from different backgrounds collide at a wedding, forcing people to confront their assumptions about class, love, and loyalty. It shares Almost Christmas's interest in what happens when family members must actually listen to each other.

But The conflict feels somewhat manufactured, and the resolution comes easily for problems that deserved more complexity. The class commentary sits uneasily alongside the romantic comedy.

A Madea Christmas2013

Madea descends on a small town for the holidays and upends everyone's carefully constructed lies with her blunt wisdom. If you enjoyed Almost Christmas's mix of dysfunction and deep affection, this delivers both in abundance.

But It's Tyler Perry at his broadest and least subtle. If you find his comedy grating rather than cathartic, this will test your patience severely.

Aftersun2022

Where Almost Christmas gathers family to heal after loss, Aftersun is about the small, quiet erosions that happen in families before the big breaks. Both understand that family is where we're most ourselves and least understood.

A father and daughter vacation together, and beneath the warmth runs an undercurrent of something unspoken and sad. It captures the complexity of family love—how you can be genuinely close to someone and still not fully know them, and how that gap matters.

But It's restrained to the point of opacity. The emotional payoff comes from what isn't said, and if you prefer explicit catharsis, this will feel deliberately withholding.

Minari2021

Both films locate their emotional truth in the small, daily moments between family members—the arguments, the sacrifices, the love that lives in obligation and presence rather than grand declarations.

A Korean-American family pursues the American dream in rural Arkansas, and the dream and the family keep colliding. It's achingly human about sacrifice, loyalty, and the generational tensions that run through every family, especially immigrant ones chasing something better.

But It's quiet and observational rather than dramatically tense. The story accumulates meaning rather than hitting beats, and if you want clear conflict and resolution, the pacing will frustrate you.