'Holiday Rush'

When successful local DJ, Rush Williams (Romany Malco), wakes up two weeks before Christmas, he is a happy man. He receives a text from his young twin daughters, Evie and Gabby (Andrea-Marie and Selena-Marie Alphonse) asking for mini horses for Christmas. Real ones. His middle daughter, Mya (Deysha Nelson) is forced to give him a written list after her sisters hide her phone and the eldest, son Jamal (Amarr M. Wooten), has dreams of getting into Harvard.

Rush spoils his children, giving them everything they want. He is a single parent bringing up the children alone ever since his wife, Paula (La La. Anthony), died. His aunt, Jo Robinson (Darlene Love), helps out. Roxy (Sonequa Martin-Green), his producer, turns up to pick him up for work. Rush tells her about his children’s wish lists and how he needs his Christmas bonus.

At the station, Roxy tells Rush she has put together a proposal to make them partners in the radio station. After the show, the station boss, Marshall Stone (Deon Cole) comes to see them. The station has been taken over by a larger conglomerate. The new boss wants to see Rush and Roxy. Rush is convinced he is going to be syndicated as they have the number one show on the station.

The new boss, Jocelyn Hawkins (Tamala Jones), tells them that they are fired and the show will end the next day. Rush realises he is unemployed and his extravagant lifestyle will have to change. When he tells his children, they do not take it at all well. Jamal is worried that, having got into Harvard, he will not be able to go. Rush also tells them that they will have to move back into the family home which only Jamal is old enough to remember.

Roxy, not wanting to be defeated, tells Rush that the old radio station that they used to work at is up for sale. With help from Jo, they purchase the building. Jocelyn hears of their venture and orders Marshall to stop them from attracting any advertisers.

Rush decides that they will broadcast advertiser-free and they decide to purchaser billboards to promote the fact. Jamal is not happy being back in the old home. The twins adjust quite easily and even the social media-obsessed Mya comes around to her new reality.

Rush belatedly realises that Roxy is who he wants to be with. He tells the family, who all react positively except for Jamal. The next day, Rush and Roxy are preparing to broadcast when they receive news that the sale of Rush’s home has fallen through. They cannot afford to keep broadcasting for very long. Rush gets a call from aunt Jo. Jamal is missing.

They all go out looking for Jamal. Darkness falls and Rush believes he knows where Jamal is. He finds his son. Jamal says that he remembers his mother in the house and finds it difficult to be there. He and his dad make up and bond over the memories of mother and wife respectively.

Marshall, feeling bad about hurting Rush and Roxy’s business, quits his job at the radio station.

The Williams celebrate a more frugal and heartfelt Christmas. They welcome Roxy to the family. Marshall comes over to the house and brings a cheque telling them he wants to help with their venture. Rush does a Christmas Day broadcast and later all of them go and help out at the soup kitchen. The end.

Holiday Rush is a hit and miss effort of a Christmas film. Written by Sean Dwyer and Greg Cope White and directed by Leslie Small, it goes for the normal Christmas message vibe of heart and family over avarice and possessions.

Romany Malco, unusually, plays the romantic lead. A veteran of many films and television shows, Malco generally is cast as comic relief. Here he is paired with the luminous Sonequa Martin-Green. Best known for her Star Trek: Discovery and also The Walking Dead roles, the pair work well together, their chemistry believable.

The twins are cute and smiley, masking the blandness of their lines. Deysha Nelson’s Mya is, unfortunately, not afforded the same protection, the script just makes her look bad and one-dimensional. Wooten’s Jamal is given a little more to do but the way in which his emotional scenes come about is untidy and makes his character inconsistent.

There is an awful scene after Rush and Roxy are told that they are no longer employed, where Tamala Jones’ Jocelyn laughs with a couple of her underlings at the fate Rush and Roxy, setting her up to be the antagonist of the film. This strand does not really go anywhere with her character forgotten an hour into proceedings.

The Williams’, after Rush is fired, are forced to move into a smaller home with aunt Jo, much to the children’s disdain. Obviously, I am living the poor life because I would happily live in the ‘small’ house they were forced to move into. There is also the strange choice of having Rush speak to his dead wife shortly before moving into the old family home. She tells him he needs to move on with his life and Roxy is the perfect partner for him!

With all that being said, Holiday Rush is not unwatchable and actually ends being a feel-good movie. As I mentioned before, the central pairing works well, their chemistry helping to carry the film. The film is beautifully lit and lensed even if it is not particularly well directed. Cole’s Marshall is somewhat underused comic relief, a problem that afflicts a lot of the minor characters, them being underwritten to the point of being redundant.

At ninety-two minutes long, the film bumps along at a steady pace, with enough going on to prevent one looking at the clock. By no means a Christmas classic, Holiday Rush is entertaining enough and no worse than any of the forgettable Christmas fare that populates Netflix at this time of year. Worth a watch if you have seen all of your favourites and need a Christmas fix.