The Perfect Holiday

Play trailer

The Perfect Holiday

PG

Released Dec 12, 2007

1h 36m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Romance

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

19%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a divorced mother of three, feels especially lonely during the holidays. Sensing her sadness, Nancy's youngest daughter, Emily (Khail Bryant), has a plan to make her mom happy again. She asks Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), a department-store Santa Claus, to pay Nancy a compliment. And Benjamin, who is also a struggling songwriter, knows exactly the right words to say.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

The Perfect Holiday is the perfect example of Christmas movie clichés run amok.

Read Critics Reviews

Maitland McDonagh

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Bad Santa! No cookie!

Rated: 2/4

Feb 1, 2008

Full Review

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

I'd rather watch 90 minutes of a flickering yule log video than sit through this overcooked Christmas goose again.

Dec 17, 2007

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Union, who's as impossibly beautiful as Chestnut is good looking, fares better here.

Rated: 2.5/4.0

Sep 19, 2020

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Not just a film that I would I take all of my nephews to see, but one that would bring a smile to my grandmother's face were she here watching it, The Perfect Holiday is the perfect holiday film.

Nov 14, 2019

Full Review

Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com

Love eventually conquers all, as expected, but not before we're forced to sit through a nearly endless parade of clichs, unfunny jokes, and empty drama.

Rated: 3/10

Sep 8, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Esther L

It's a great fun family holiday movie! It's on rotation for holiday movies, along with Home Alone 2, A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, and It's a wonderful Life! "The Perfect Holiday" is a family favorite.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/22/23

Full Review

Stephen M

Excellent movie all star quality cast funny, great family movie. I would give this movie a 77%. Great Christmas family movie love it. Rotten Tomatoes can kick rocks...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I liked it.... Wasn't great but was entertaining Christmas movie. These weak critiques have no soul. I've seen the movies they liked and they sucked.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm just over these cookie cutter seasonal movies.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Good Christmas movie overall with a nice story line and some humorous parts

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Original? No. Sappy? Yes. Is that bad? I don't think so. There is a lot of flack for the lack of originality in this movie, but it never occurred to me that was the intent. Instead I think it's meant to be a family friendly, Christmas themed sap-fest to get you in the Christmas spirit. I think the characters (particularly those portrayed by Gabrielle Union and Morris Chestnut) are sweet and endearing, and if you are able to suspend your disbelief for an hour and a half this is a great movie to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Lance Rivera

Director

Gabrielle Union

Nancy

Morris Chestnut

Benjamin

Queen Latifah

Mrs. Christmas

Terrence Howard

Bah-Humbug

Malik Hammond

John-John

Little Manhattan

77%

86%

Little Manhattan

Watchlist

A Hollywood Christmas

80%

61%

A Hollywood Christmas

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Hollywood Christmas

Christmas in the Clouds

69%

64%

Christmas in the Clouds

Watchlist

Unaccompanied Minors

30%

53%

Unaccompanied Minors

Watchlist

Jingle All the Way

20%

41%

Jingle All the Way

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Jingle All the Way

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a divorced mother of three, feels especially lonely during the holidays. Sensing her sadness, Nancy's youngest daughter, Emily (Khail Bryant), has a plan to make her mom happy again. She asks Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), a department-store Santa Claus, to pay Nancy a compliment. And Benjamin, who is also a struggling songwriter, knows exactly the right words to say.

Director: Lance Rivera
Producer: Shakim Compere, Leifur B. Dagfinnsson, Mike Elliott, Joseph P. Genier, Queen Latifah, Marvin Pearlt, Lance Rivera
Screenwriter: Lance Rivera, Marc Calixte
Distributor: Yari Film Group
Production Co: Capital Arts Entertainment
Rating: PG (Brief Language|Suggestive Humor)
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.8M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now