It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which means if you’re revisiting This Christmas, it’s a must that its pseudo follow-up (with a different cast, of course), Almost Christmas, is in the rotation as well. Will Packer, who produced This Christmas, also produced Almost Christmas, and it is directed by David E. Talbert.
The film follows a dysfunctional family reuniting for their first holiday following the loss of their matriarch. Survived by patriarch Walter Meyers (Danny Glover), his one wish is for his four adult children to spread Christmas cheer among one another for the five days under one roof, “without killing one another.”
A feat that is easier said than done, the request is nearly impossible with tensions rising thanks to the sibling rivalry between Glover’s on-screen daughters, Rachel (Gabrielle Union) and Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), a clout-chasing for politics son, Christian (Romany Malco), and the youngest child, Evan (Jessie T. Usher), is secretly battling an addiction to pain killers following a sports injury.
Mo’Nique provides comedic relief amid the chaos as the outspoken, over-the-top Aunt May, but at the center of Almost Christmas is a story about forgiveness, togetherness and the power of family.
The infamous dinner table scene
If you’ve seen the film, you’re likely to understand why the dinner table scene deserves its own holiday canon: the one where the side chick, Jasmine (Keri Hilson), shows up and all hell breaks loose.
Family tensions hit the fan, or in this case, the table, when a plan set in motion by Rachel to out her sister’s cheating husband, Evan (J.B. Smoove), backfires.
Everyone has gathered for Christmas dinner, but the atmosphere is already tense thanks to secrets and animosity not so hidden. Things take a complete turn when Jasmine arrives with potato salad, only to discover that her lover, Lonnie, is also at the table, sitting next to his wife, Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), whom she believed was the name of his grandmother.
Not to mention, the cutaway of Evan behind the wheel, inebriated with drugs, is a foreshadowing of what’s to come for him and his struggle with addiction.
Another thing to bookmark is the teenagers’ use of technology. The film is set in 2016, and looking back, does a remarkable job of showcasing the rise of iPhone emojis and video conferencing software like Skype when the children are dismissed from the table at the climax of the scene — the moment the side chick passes her phone around the table to show photos between her and Lonnie, noting that she was thrilled by the “surprise” she thinks had been set up by him, who previously mentioned spending the holidays together would be hard due to his “grandmother” Cheryl (Don’t worry we’ve linked a clip to the scene below if it’s hard to keep up with all of that or you need a refresher).
When Jasmine says she’d “love to meet Grandma Cheryl,” Cheryl jumps at the chance to go grab her, but it turns out that “grandma” is a shotgun rifle.
The scene makes for a chaotic, funny, hot mess, but it’s the defining moment when the family realizes that, at the end of the day, it’s them against the world.
After intentionally firing a missed shot at her husband, Lonnie, the scene ends with Walter retrieving the gun from his emotionally stricken daughter, reminding her, “We all got you.”
‘Almost Christmas’ ending explained
After struggling to find his late wife’s sweet potato recipe and making many failed attempts, Walter finally gets the chance to share a slice with his children; Rachel gets a dream prom with Malachi (Omar Epps); and Christian abandons his political ambitions to volunteer at his parents’ homeless shelter.
There’s also a breakthrough moment for Evan, who finally comes clean that his pills had become a crutch for the guilt he had for feeling as though he wasn’t there for his mother when she got ill.
In true Will Packer fashion, Almost Christmas closes with the family smiling and laughing, mirroring the feel-good ending of its somewhat sibling film, This Christmas, released almost a decade earlier in 2007.