Merry dysfunction

A catfight in the rain, a belt-and-baby-oil beat-down in a bathroom and a saxophonist on the run from money-collecting goons -- everything you could want in a Christmas movie, and "This Christmas" has all that and more. \nBacked by a talented ensemble cast that will also satisfy everyone's eye-candy desires, "This Christmas" features a handful of plotlines playing out during the Whitfield family's holiday gathering. The matriarch with six children Ma'Dere (Loretta Devine) is delighted when her entire family manages to come together for several days of Christmas activities. \nPeople-pleaser Lisa (Regina King) tries to get the rest of the kids to sell their shares of the family dry-cleaning business while her husband jets off to have an affair. Workaholic Kelli (Sharon Leal) is successful but without a man and college gal Mel (Lauren London) is home from her seventh year of school with another new degree and another new boyfriend. Claude (Columbus Short) is on leave from the Marines but is hiding something, just like his brothers Quentin (Idris Elba) -- a jazz musician running from a $25,000 debt -- and "Baby" (Chris Brown), who has a secret dream that he must hide while he still lives under his mother's roof. \nAlthough they might seem confusing, the different stories play out nicely, with enough attention to each to satisfy but not so much as to let the movie get bogged down in any one story line. However, if character development and a slow unravel is what you're looking for, move on. \n"This Christmas" was exactly what I expected to be, a fun movie with decent acting and great holiday music. When the credits roll, you're left with a neatly resolved package that's wrapped up tighter than a present beneath the tree. And even though you might feel a little silly watching the entire cast do a Soul Train dance line (for the second time during the movie), it reminds you not to take everything so seriously and just sit back and enjoy.