'THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Sequel to the 1999 ensemble buddy film 'THE BEST MAN' reuniting the friend group, 14 years later, for the holidays. Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Regina Hall, Harold Perrineau, Monica Calhoun and Melissa De Sousa all reprise their roles from the original film. Malcolm D. Lee once again wrote and directed the movie. It's funny in places and sentimental enough for a Christmas film; about what most viewers will expect I think.
The movie finds Lance and Mia Sullivan (Chestnut and Calhoun) having a weekend Christmas party that they invite all their old friends to. Lance is retiring this year, as a star running back for the New York Giants, and Mia has some tragic news she's kept secret from the rest of the friend group. Lance hasn't been on speaking terms with his old best friend, Harper Stewart (Diggs), since the events of the original movie. Harper is now expecting a child with his nine-month pregnant wife, Robin (Lathan). Making things hard for them is the fact that Harper recently lost his teaching job, which he hasn't told Robin about, and hasn't written a hit book in years. At the advice of his agent (John Michael Higgins) he's thinking of doing an unauthorized biography on Lance. He'll of course have to smooth things over with him first in order to do so. Each of the other friends has their own drama and troubled relationships.
I never saw the original 1999 hit so I can't honestly say how this sequel lives up to it but I'm guessing fans of the original film would be pleased. It seems like your average old 'friends reunion movie'. Perhaps it's a tad too melodramatic (in places) but there are enough decent laughs to keep it entertaining. My favorite performance is by Terrence Howard, who undoubtedly has the most comedic role, but he is also my favorite actor in the thing. I don't usually go for these types of films but I definitely wasn't bored (for it's 2 hour-plus running time) and I'm pretty sure fans of these flicks will be more than pleased.
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