This Christmas

Positive—This movie deals with relevant family and daily life issues. The only issue I saw was that the two strongest Christians in the movie are actually sleeping together, though not married. There were other sex references between young unmarried people, but the scenes were not graphic, and though I disagree morally, it is a relevant topic for today. Overall, the movie encourages families to stick together through tough times. I really enjoyed it, and recommend it for audiences over 14. I’m glad to see an African-American family portrayed in a positive way!
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4

Positive—I like this movie; it was nice—maybe not good for children under the age of 11, but other then mild cursing and some other things, this movie is very enjoyable, fun, and something I’d enjoy seeing time and time again and (Chris Brown did very well for just his second movie). The cast was great, and the script was great. Overall, the movie was very good.

Positive—This is an excellent movie for ALL ages. Very good, 2 thumbs up!!
My Ratings: Better than Average / 5

Positive—This is a good movie for people OVER 12. I thought it was excellent.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4½

Positive—This is probably the best family Christmas movie I have ever seen. It is great for all ages!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5

Positive—This film is an all out comedy with a little drama thrown in to the mix. From a Christian perspective, it did have a tendency to glamorize fornication, and there were several scenes (although between a husband and wife) that left little to the imagination. The main Christian influences in the home were ambivalent when it came to putting their values to practice. Certain serious family matters were handled with violence and were rather impractical if one were to attempt to apply them in real life.

From a positive perspective, this movie definitely promoted the importance of ‘family bonding’ as well as the old adage that ‘the family that prays together stays together’. As someone who is often very wary of hypocritical faith-based films, I walked away from this one very pleased. The minor inconsistencies throughout the movie regarding the characters’ spiritual walk couldn’t by far, outweigh the powerful message of the necessity of familial ties and a belief in God. It’s definitely not suitable for ANY child to view, but it’s a great see for adults.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½

Neutral—Where do I start with this movie? Well, first of all, this movie is all about having sex. A lot of the scenes in the movie were very sexual and uncomfortable to watch. The title of this movie should have been “all about having sex this Christmas.” It did have moments of good nature, but all the talk about sex overshadowed it. I guess writers are not intelligent enough to create movies without sex that will make money. The rating of this movie should have been “R” instead of “PG-13.” Women in sexy night gowns, low cut shirts, talking about sex as if it’s okay to have sex without being married is just some of the content that makes this film immoral. Two of the scenes that truly disturbed me was the girl try to have sex with her boyfriend in her mom’s house and a scene where a character was wearing something a stripper would wear; it was for her husband in the movie, but I felt they went over the top with that scene. Do yourself a favor, if you’re a Christian, either don’t go see this film or be very cautioned. The filmmaking was good, but the content just ruins it. Although, the ending of the movie does shine some light on the importance of family and forgiveness.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive / 3

Negative—I viewed this movie with my 17 year old son and my 15 year old daughter; I was completely disgusted by the movie. Any message of forgiveness and redemption was lost in the fog of lust, fornication and adultery represented by most of the relationships. The movie made a mockery of Christianity by having “Deacon” Joe Black seem like such an upstanding man, even praying in the name of Jesus and defending the need to go to church, all the while, he’s shacked up and committing fornication on the regular. Has the body of Christ become so carnal, open-minded and tolerant that such a representation would not be offensive? Also, the rating should not have been PG-13, as some of the scenes were way too inappropriate for a 13 year old to view. The movie was a farce and did not represent my values as a Christian, a woman of color or a mother. I would not recommend it to anyone.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 2

Negative—It’s sad, but this film portrays the way most people view Christian living. The film itself was made to attract the people and simply showed what was there. Though the movie itself was offensive at times. It was actually a mirror to reflect society. The deacon lived with a woman who was not his wife. The woman, who represented our typical Christ-centered mother, was narrow-minded and would not allow her children an opportunity to grow. There were too many sexual references and situations where sin was glorified and accepted. The scene with the man in the towel (falling in a way that revealed too much) could have been left out. The long scenes of a barely-clothed woman could have been left out as well. Revenge was the prescribed way of handling problem situations. That’s been the underlying theme with several of today’s films. …I was left with a feeling like nothing was truly solved. While some of the content was offensive, I think we should take this move as a wake up call. This is what we’ve come to. This is a movie for adults and mature teens. This is not a true family movie, due to the sexual content and glorification of rebelliousness.
My Ratings: Average / 4

…some problematic immoral content, but it is an entertaining celebration of family ties with some strong Christian content noting the real reason for the season. …

…‘This Christmas’ is the rare movie about a cozy household at holiday time that’s as funny and dramatic and poignant as any seasonal family get-together should be. …

…An overly plotty soap-opera/comedy about Christmas in a large African-American family. … Not a single moment feels even slightly real…

…a teeming, warm-hearted family melodrama…

…Finally! A Christmas movie that is neither cynical nor saccharine in its handling of the holiday. … celebrates the family with a clear-eyed appreciation of and genuine affection for its characters…