David Banner – This Christmas
“This Christmas” is a 2007 film billed as a comedy-drama written, directed, and produced by Preston A. Whitmore II. It is a story revolving around the Christmas holiday and the Whitfield family in particular. The children are home for the holiday, including one son that has not been home in four years. All of them have their own stories, their own “baggage,” that is brought along for the vacation. Throughout the film, secrets become revealed and the bonds of the family are continually tested. As all the lives of the Whitfield family meet together, in the end, they are able to learn what it truly means to be a family.
This movie stars Idris Elba, Chris Brown, and Regina King. Other actors and actresses include Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Sharon Leal, David Banner, and a cameo by Mekhi Phifer.
The reception of “This Christmas” was very mixed. On the review aggregate website, Rotten Tomatoes, a small majority declared the film as “rotten.” The main consensus about this film was that it “has strong performances, but relies too heavily on holiday movie clich?�s.” Even with a few bad interviews, when it premiered in theaters, it was ranked as second in the box office and opened with over $17,000,000. The whole film grossed $49,121,934 domestically.
The film’s score generated favorable reviews. The Jive Records released the soundtrack in November 2007. It featured the vocal styling of Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks, B2K, Aaron Neville, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Toni Braxton, and TLC.
The movie did garner a few awards and nominations. MTV nominated Chris Brown for a movie award for Best Breakthrough Performance, while the Image Awards nominated Loretta Devine for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and Preston A. Whitmore II for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture. Sharon Leal won an Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Actress in a Movie.
