Metacritic reviews

David E. Talbert, the writer-director of Almost Christmas, has assembled a gifted cast and given them a chance to stretch out and play with their roles. He has made a heartwarming gripe-and-grouchfest that pushes a lot of buttons, though with a vivacity that’s exuberantly funny and sincere.

If you love Christmas movies for all the reasons that make them Christmas movies, Almost Christmas is a Christmas movie for you.

As holiday movie comfort food, it more than fills the bill.

For all the over-the-top operatic moments — car wrecks and prom throwbacks and rifles at the dinner table — there's something about the wild tonal shifts and chaos of Almost Christmas that rings true about the holiday season.

Whatever its faults, this is a nice movie, a crowdpleaser best experienced with an appreciative audience.

The film is most affecting in its simpler moments, particularly those revolving around food.

Writer-director Talbert similarly follows formula for the overcrowded and overplotted Noel-season movie, ladling out too-generous portions of churchiness, multigenerational dance-off, and Mars vs. Venus sermonizing.

What a waste of a wonderful cast.

Attempting to mix emotional pathos with broad farce, the film fails on both levels.

Almost Christmas is frustrating in its failure to not surpass what's expected of it. It's shallow in its emotions and misses opportunities to develop more realistic characters with more relatable feelings.