Finally, a black, family film that doesn’t have Tyler Perry’s name written all over it.

“This Christmas” stars Loretta Devine, Idris Elba and everyone’s favorite triple-threat, Chris Brown. Let’s get this out of the way now. Yes, Chris Brown was in the movie and no, his acting wasn’t horrible.

He was there to bring the big bucks and the teenaged girls in and he succeeded. A movie about a successful, black family getting together for the holiday season, you might want to gauge your bets by casting a popular R&B singer.

Although released a tad early in terms of the Christmas holiday, “This Christmas” is quite refreshing. The movie opens on the large, successful Whitfield family all preparing for the Christmas holiday.

Like any Christmas movie, all is well and happy and then the drama unfolds. The family has its fair share of commotion. “This Christmas” goes from one extreme to the next, but in a good way. From Quentin, played by Idris Elba, owing a handsome sum in back money to Lisa, played by Regina King, struggling to maintain balance between an unhappy marriage and the family business, the movie dances the lines of drama, humor but still maintains its sense of family. Brown delivered a relatively strong performance as the youngest sibling, “Baby”.

Aside from the excitement and humor, the cast of “This Christmas” is like the who’s who of black actors. In all honesty, Sony Pictures couldn’t have assembled a better cast if they tried. It seemed the only the only actors that were missing was Morris Chestnut and the ubiquitous Gabrielle Union but Sony Pictures probably sensed her over-exposure and decided to go with more fresh faces.

Seeing all these black actors in one place is inspirational and it’s in a family setting and no one is getting shot (almost, but not quite!). The success of “This Christmas” was a bit surprising because whenever a family movie is released around the holidays, you can count on the cheesiness factor being in full effect.

It isn’t a stretch to say that the movie wasn’t cheesy because many of the scenarios are relatable and realistic. As much as it is centered on a black family, people from every background can enjoy this movie and that’s where the success lies.

It’s one thing to make a black movie because nine times out of 10, blacks will support one another in the cinematic sense. It is quite another for a predominantly black movie to cross over and reach a larger audience. That takes talent and apparently Chris Brown.

There is definitely an abundance of superb acting, no over-acting and no under-acting like a certain black film recently released.

There is no possible way to have a film review of “This Christmas” without including a mini-review of Brown’s performances. That’s right; he performed twice, two songs.

As a huge fan of classic soul, seeing Brown perform Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness” was disheartening. Brown lacked the soul and depth needed to truly sing the song. They could have left that on the cutting room floor.

It was no surprise that the classic holiday song “This Christmas” would be performed at some point during the movie and it was appropriately saved for the end. It was good, but in no way was it great. His tone was even and fluid but it didn’t bring chills and there was no need for applause after his performance but that didn’t stop the audience from launching in to a full-blown standing ovation.

In terms of holiday movies, “This Christmas” is an instant favorite. Maybe not a classic, but it is something that the whole family can sit down and enjoy without fear of too much profanity or sexuality. A strong cast and strong acting makes this movie easily likeable and well worth the money.

Oneika Richardson can be reached at [email protected]