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The Whitmore family reunites for a suburban shindig in This Christmas, a comedy drama about secrets and lies in the festive season. Loretta Devine is the matriarch welcoming her six grown children (including Regina King and Idris Elba) back into the fold, unaware of the problems they are facing such as debt, infidelity and forbidden romance. Their theatrical banter rarely rings true, but occasionally amuses in this holiday movie aimed squarely at sentimental sorts with a weakness for mild innuendo.

Much like a TV sitcom, This Christmas is full of timely dramatic entrances and groups neatly assembled to face the camera: you half expect a recorded live audience to start cheering when each family member arrives for Christmas. This is a house in which people talk loudly about their secrets with their bedroom doors open, then feign shock when they're overheard.

"DON"T EXPECT REALISM FROM THIS FROTHY NUMBER"

So, don't expect realism from this frothy little number, but do expect a bit of heart-warming cheer courtesy of romantic unions, overcome prejudices, reconciled enemies and general peace and understanding. The cast are adept in the main and there's plenty of eye candy (the elusive Pa Whitmore must have been some looker). Mekhi Phifer even pops in as a sexy firefighter in a Santa suit, eliciting one of the film's few smirk-worthy lines when his conquest is jokingly called a 'Ho ho ho'. This Christmas is the sort of movie you can only really get away with once a year, but it just about muddles through on good intentions and festive cheer.

This Christmas is out in the UK on 30th November 2007.