Holiday Heart

Caught this movie on the Black Entertainment Network while

flipping channels. It was a pleasant surprise!!! Entertaining! Funny

and heart tugging all at once.

When a young girl cries for help for her mom who is being beaten

up by her boyfriend, the only one to help is a drag queen--Holiday

Heart-- who packs a punch. He befriends the duo taking them to

his home and they become a family in spite of their differences.

All is well until another man comes along putting a rift between the

mother and Holiday. Then Drugs pull the mom away from the

family.

I found Holiday;s need for a family heartbreaking and truthful--and

it was an incredible portrayal. Also great are Alfre Woodward and

the young girl.

There are a couple of holes in the plot but this story of a drag

queen with a heart of gold really packs an emotional wallop. What

a sleeper. Highly recommended

This is absolutely the very best film that Ving Rames has ever made. His performance was amazing, totally outside of his expected roles. His portrait of a gay drag queen is exquisite. It shows a depth of understanding and empathy which has not been seen is years. His performance is more than deserving of an academy award, not withstandinq that this offering does not qualify for such an award.

Upon seeing "Holiday Heart" last night, I was left with a heartwarming feeling. A slightly unusual Christmas tale, but very well done. As in any movie, there were certain parts that were less than realistic (Social Services would've been all over this situation) and I would've liked to have seen a little more development of the relationship between all the characters, but as I usually say, I don't watch movies for reality, I watch them for entertainment or escape. I'll watch A&E, Discovery, and The Learning Channel for reality television.

The always-enjoyable Ving Rhames looked a little uncomfortable portraying a drag queen at first, but was impressively camping it up by the end of the film. There was a fine supporting cast as well, especially the exceptional Alfre Woodard as the mother who struggles with her drug addiction. Jesika Reynolds did a fine job in this role as the heartbroken daughter, and Mykelti Williamson was excellent as usual as Silas. Kudos to Robert Townsend for a lovely and slightly surprising story.

All in all, if you have a chance to watch this movie, I highly recommend it! You've got to give Ving Rhames credit for being in full drag on stage lip-synching "Baby love, my baby love..." Showtime delivers another "No Limits" performance.

I've seen lots of movies with Ms Woodard and not knowingly have seen Mr Rhames in his other movies. Pulp Fiction was way too intense for me and Holiday Heart was something that I decided to watch, but these two actors in this movie are AWESOME!!! Ms Woodard is so convincing as a full-blown, out-there-on-that-end drug user, then to see her as a ghost who needs to finish business on earth in Heart and Soul.......this woman is amazing! And Mr Rhames had me thinking he was indeed a drag queen outside of the movies! Dang, he's good!! One of the best scenes is in the drug store for Nikki and that's all I'm saying!! (Unfortunately, there are women who fit Ms Woodard's striking profile of the drug user and though some do end up as Wanda, many do make it through and become clean and go forward. I hope this was so for the lady who had to live the nightmare with her mother. (If this paragraph has to be removed because it's personal, I understand.))

I rented this movie on the basis of Alfre Woodard,one of the most under-rated actors in the industry, and I was not disappointed. She is absolutely fabulous as the errant mother. The screen play is extremely realistic and the casting is superb. Ving Rhames is tremendous and Jesika Reynolds is a talented force to be reckoned with. We will see her in many movies to come.

It was a feel good movie, but the ghetto scenes (whores, drugs, violence, crack, etc.) are so real. I know it's a little "touched by an angel" ish, but sometimes that kind of movie just feels good. It gets your attention and never lets you go until the end. Sometimes good folks and children win in this world, if not the battle, the war.