“The Best Man Holiday” tries hard to make its audience laugh and cry, but fails at accomplishing either. There are some funny lines every so often, but these jokes are ones you might overhear in a middle school boys’ locker room rather than in an comedy film.
“The Best Man Holiday” is the sequel to Malcolm D. Lee’s 1999 film “The Best Man.” In the movie, nine friends reunite for the holidays after a 15–year hiatus. Within the first 30 minutes or so, it’s pretty easy to figure out the major dramatic points of “The Best Man;” it helps that some parts of it are included in the sequel’s opening sequence. Even 15 years later, there is still tension between Harper (Taye Diggs) and his former friend and the star running back for the New York Giants, Lance (Morris Chestnut of “Like Mike” and “Boyz n the Hood”). In the last movie, Harper was the best man at Lance’s wedding to Mia (Monica Calhoun), and we discovered that Harper and Mia had slept together a few years back. This along with other character backstories makes the relationships within the group complicated and drama-filled.
The whole gang reconvenes, which prompts some good laughs and a bunch of mediocre ones (with one too many jokes about genitalia). Plus, there is a ton of melodrama, tears and so much sentimentality that, at times, it feels more like a soap opera than a comedy. Throw in a bunch of blue Christmas lights, the same old carols and painful predictability for the cherry on top. Two hours is a pretty significant chunk of your time; so don’t waste it this holiday season on “The Best Man Holiday.”
Grade: C Rating & Run Time: R, 122 mins. See If You Liked: “The Best Ma"
