The Best Man Holiday (2013)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Malcolm D. Lee

Country

USA

Cast

Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa, Regina Hall, Eddie Cibrian, John Michael Higgins, Isis Moore, Riele Downs, Catherine Bruhier

Storyline

After 15 years apart, a group of college friends reunite over the Christmas holidays, and they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.

Opinion

Can a sequel be better than the first? Yes, it can be, and Malcolm D. Lee proves it overcoming his debut length feature The Best Man, which by the way is a good film.

Still with a wonderful cast, The Best Man Holiday is a bittersweet picture where hilarious moments are perfectly balanced with dramatic ones.

Malcolm D. Lee, once again directing and writing, still deals with masculinity, friendship, love and faith but particularly taps into friendship and forgiveness. I am no religious myself, but I did appreciate Lee's fearless choice to show how strong the faith in God can be, despite the circumstances. 

Even though it happens 15 years later, the film follows the events of the first film, and acknowledging the viewer's need of watching the 1999's film to fully understand this one, Lee astutely decided to insert a sort of summary in the opening credits along with what happened in the past 15 years to our beloved characters.

The film also makes amends for The Best Man's disappointing finale, even though the confrontation could have been a little more deepened.

The cast - basically the same except for Eddie Cibrian and the kids - is still great and they all deliver believable, heart-felt and emotional performances. 

Just a little advise: you better get your Kleenex ready.