The Best Man Holiday DVD

The Best Man Holiday DVD

Cast: Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Harold Perrineau, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Genre: Comedy
Rated: M
Running Time: 123 minutes

After nearly 15 years apart, the cast of The Best Man have returned to their career-launching roles in The Best Man Holiday, the long awaited next chapter to the film that ushered in a new era of comedy. Starring Morris Chestnut (Identity Thief), Taye Diggs (Baggage Claim), Regina Hall (Scary Movie franchise), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Sanaa Lathan (Contagion), Nia Long (Soul Food), Harold Perrineau (Zero Dark Thirty), Monica Calhoun (Love & Basketball) and Melissa De Sousa (Miss Congeniality), The Best Man Holiday will have you in stitches as the group reignites long forgotten rivalries and romances.

After marrying in The Best Man, Mia (Calhoun) and Lance (Chestnut), seem to have the perfect life. Lance has a successful career as a footballer for the Giants and together they have four beautiful children. However Mia is desperately missing her old friends who have drifted apart over the years and despite Lance's reluctance, she invites them all to their suburban mansion in New York for the Christmas holiday season.

However, this is no ordinary get together as old rivalries and romances are rekindled and new secrets begin to emerge. Best selling author Harper (Diggs) has an ulterior motive for attending, and is oblivious to his wife Robyn's (Lathan) anxiety over him reconnecting with his former flame Jordan (Long). Meanwhile, Candace (Hall) and Shelby (De Sousa) are set to battle for the affections of Julian (Perrineau), who is coming to terms with a shocking revelation.

Hilarious and heartfelt, The Best Man Holiday will have you laughing and crying as you follow the gang on the emotional journey of their complicated lives. Featuring a stellar cast, The Best Man Holiday is everything you love about old friends and disastrous holidays.

The Best Man Holiday
RRP: $34.95
Blu-ray: $39.95

 

 

Interview with Monica Calhoun (Mia)

They are back. After a break of 15-years, the beloved cast of the 1999 comedy hit, The Best Man, have reunited for the long awaited sequel, The Best Man Holiday. Written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the new movie centers on Monica Calhoun's character Mia, who as the loving wife of Lance (Morris Chestnut), sets the party in motion when she invites their old friends to their home for a Christmas reunion. Featuring original cast members Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Terrence Howard, Harold Perrineau, Regina Hall and Melissa De Sousa, the characters must now take stock of each other, the bonds which still unite them, and the course their lives have taken.

A Philadelphia native, Monica Calhoun is best known for her roles in Bagdad Café (1987), Diary of a Single Mom (2009 – 2011) and The Best Man (1999).


Question: Were you surprised by the new film's success at the US box office?

Monica Calhoun: I'll say this – I was surprised, pleasantly, that The Best Man Holiday had a huge success at the box office. The first film was a super-surprise. The second time around was a pleasant surprise. This was an ensemble cast of friends reuniting, with the audience having the opportunity to catch up with them and see how their lives have turned out since the big wedding. So it was wonderful that it was so successful. It was actually even more successful than the first film.


Question: The Best Man (1999) has remained popular with audiences some fifteen years since its initial release. Why was the first film so popular?

Monica Calhoun: Why was it so popular? I don't know. College kids getting ready to take on the world, that ensemble cast, beautiful women, beautiful men…? I don't really know. But it did present different images of American-Americans. You have to remember back when the film was first released… African-American films at that time, you had Boyz n the Hood (1991), Love Jones (1997) and Boomerang (1992). Those films sort of set the tone for this ensemble cast to come together. Of course, the story was not half bad, either!


Question: Why did you want to make the sequel?

Monica Calhoun: For me, personally, I thought it would be really cool to reunite with my friends and bring these characters to life again. What excited me about the project in particular though, without giving anything away, was the opportunity to completely step outside of what my comfort zone in portraying that struggle that Mia has in the film.


Question: Again, without giving too much away, how has the character changed from when we last saw her?

Monica Calhoun: Mia has matured in the sense that she is a very strong woman. She has a couple of beautiful kids. She has maintained her household and she has been the picture perfect wife for her husband. She has created a wonderful sense of family and home for them. But she is now facing one of the biggest challenges of her life, which is why she invites her friends to come and visit.


Question: How have you changed as an actress since making the first film? Are you a better performer now than you were when you made The Best Man back in 1999?
Monica Calhoun: I don't believe that I'm a stronger actress. I believe that I still have a lot of room to grow and I also believe that the material that will be presented to me in the future will give me the opportunity to go even further. I am anxious to roll up my sleeves and do more...


Question: What was the importance of The Best Man Holiday to your career today?

Monica Calhoun: It opened a different approach to my creative process. I learned how to bring that realness to whatever it is that I do.


Question: Did you know you had a hit on your hands when you were making the first film?

Monica Calhoun: Yes. After we did that first table read in New York, I took a deep breath and I said, 'Wow…" I was one of those kids that grew up watching The Breakfast Club (1985). I had always wanted to participate in an ensemble piece or in a film like that. That is what it reminded me of.


Question: Have you stayed in touch with the original cast over the years? Or was the shoot more like an actual reunion?

Monica Calhoun: A combination of both. It was like a reunion. We had been sort of seeing each other out and about at different events and auditions and things like that. But once we were all together and having dinner, it was like old times – a real reunion. Not just of friends, but family because we have matured and grown and our lives are so different. There are children now and families of our own so it was like a family reunion, more so than just a reunion of friends.


Question: What do you hope audiences take away from The Best Man Holiday?

Monica Calhoun: I hope audiences are reminded to live, laugh and love. That they remember to never miss an opportunity to tell someone how much they care about them.