Get ready for all the holiday hijinks!
Iconic singer and actress Brandy Norwood — or simply, Brandy — is bringing Christmas cheer to Netflix in Best. Christmas. Ever! And she’s doing so alongside her co-stars Heather Graham, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño. According to the official summary, Its got a long-standing rivalry, a twist of fate, and a reconciliation just in time to save the holidays.
Every Christmas, without fail, Jackie (Norwood) sends a boastful holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte (Graham) feel like a lump of coal. When a twist of fate lands Charlotte, her husband Rob (Biggs), and their family on Jackie and her husband Valentino's (Cedeño) snowy doorstep just days before Christmas, Charlotte seizes the opportunity to prove that her old friend's "perfect" life can't possibly be that perfect. But in her overzealous attempt to expose Jackie, Charlotte nearly ruins Christmas for both families and must team up with her old friend to reassemble the pieces.
A Cast of Holiday First-Timers
This actually marks the first holiday film for all four of its leads. This marks Norwoods first film role since 2016’s The Perfect Match, before reprising her iconic role as Cinderella in next year’s Descendants: The Rise of Red. Graham, her on-screen frenemy, is known mostly for horror and comedy, and just stepped into directing and writing with her upcoming film, Chosen Family. Aside from starring in the American Pie franchise, Biggs was part of Orange is the New Black’s extensive cast. As for Cedeño, he currently stars in Netflix’s Ruthless and previously featured in Power, Z Nation, and Devious Maids.
From Horror to Holidays (and a Sense of Hope)
Fortunately, the cast was in excellent hands with veteran director, Mary Lambert. Best known for horror — most notably 1989’s Pet Sematary — she has also directed numerous TV episodes and music videos. She frequently collaborated with Madonna throughout the 1980s, including her controversial video for Like A Prayer. Then, in 2021, Lambert decided to delve into holiday movies with Netflix’s A Castle for Christmas. And when the streaming giant reached out to her with another screenplay — written by Todd Calgi Gallicano and Charles Shyer (The Noel Diary) — she jumped at the chance to direct it.
Most of all, Lambert was very interested in exploring the dichotomy for how we treat the holidays. While Charlotte doesn’t like them at all, Jackie fully embraces them and wants others to feel the same. In an interview with Today.com, Lambert explained:
"You get together and everybody reacts to the holidays in a different way. But everybody wants to be happy at the foundation of it all. Everybody really wants to just fight against the darkness and celebrate that the shortest day of the year is gone and it’s kind of going to start getting lighter and brighter from there on."
She was especially happy to work with Brandy, who’s radiance and positivity were just as infective as her character’s.
“She just exudes joy and happiness, and when she walks in the room and when she’s ready to be part of the group, everybody is just so happy. It’s like a shining light ... She just sort of breathes you in and then she breathes you back out. And you’re better when she breathes you back out."
Best. Christmas. Ever! premieres on Netflix November 16th, 2023!
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