Holiday Heart

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.))

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.

What a surprise I had when I accidentally came across this movie. I saw Holiday Heart on Logo early one Saturday morning after dropping my partner off at the airport. I was basically killing time! NOT! I began watching the film and I simply couldn't stop! I was hooked after the first ten minutes.

This is really a great little film and I recommend it to everyone. It touches a lot of issues and the setting is so refreshingly different. I also think Ving did a brilliant job playing the main character. I am sure he is glad to have that as part of his CV.

As for the rest of the cast, I thought they all did a great job. It wasn't until later that I remembered where I had seen Mykelty Williams - Boomtown. He played a great supporting role! Its great that Logo is bringing this movie to us and I hope plenty of people get to see it.

I have watched this film numerous times. I have done so because this movie is wonderful, it teaches honesty, love, understanding and forgiveness. It also places emphasis on how to be a friend and open minded in the time of adversity. This movie is heart warming, sad, happy and very much entertaining. Being different only adds to the mystique of being an individual. This movie teaches us that we must be there when needed and that someone will be there we they are needed. DON'T JUDGE...LISTEN TO WHAT THEIR HEART IS SAYING!!! As Holiday says: "Honey, we all have a story to tell"...and we do.

Listen...Understand...Know!!!

Please take the time to enjoy this wonderful movie!