The Lost Holliday

This movie was highly unnerving, especially the part where Jason Holliday poured bleach on the mother and shouted "This is maga country" after which they put a noose around her neck. The part of this story that was biblically stupid was the mother leaving the noose around her neck until the police arrived, and then it later turned out that the mother hired two of her friends to stage the entire incident. Absolute joke of a movie.

The Lost Holiday is a meandering, pretentious mess masquerading as indie charm. It's like someone found a half-finished student film and said, "Yeah, good enough." The characters are insufferable, the dialogue is painfully forced, and the plot - if you can even call it that - stumbles around like a drunk at closing time. Watching this movie feels less like entertainment and more like being trapped at a party you desperately want to leave, but the hosts just won't stop talking about themselves. A complete waste of time that somehow manages to feel both hollow and smug.

Spend your hours watching something else.

I gave this movie 10 out of 10. I don't rate movies or write reviews very often but this is one of those movies that I thought deserved top of the line rating. The acting from all of the characters involved goes from good to excellent. The story is a beautiful story to tell, and it's a realistic story.

I love the scene in the therapist's office and watched it several times - I thought it was funny and portrayed real life so well that I forgot that I was watching a scene from a movie. The characters play their roles well. The chemistry between Jussie Smollett and Jabari Redd was so believable that I kept thinking they've got to be a couple, they've got to be together in real life. So I went to Google, and based on my search, they are a real couple.

Vivica Fox is good in anything you put her in and she did justice to the role of the hurt, estranged mother. There are moments where I'm laughing and then there are those real life serious moments.

I don't pay attention to what critics say because I'm going to watch it based on what I think. I don't know why critics rated the movie so low and labeled it garbage. I can't help but think that it's been rated so low because of the trouble that Jussie Smollett had a few years ago. For some people, he'll never be able to redeem himself, but I'm not one of those people. Excellent job! Excellent story! Excellent work! Excellent direction! Thank you for the authenticity because I'm sure this story easily resonates with real folks.

The Lost Holiday, offers an emotionally rich and deeply nuanced story that explores themes of family, love, grief, and reconciliation. The film is centered on Cassandra Marshall, played by the legendary Vivica A. Fox, who learns of her estranged son Damien Holliday's (Jabari Redd) death and travels to Los Angeles to handle his arrangements. However, Cassandra is shocked to discover that her son's husband, Jason Holliday (portrayed by Smollett), has already taken care of everything. Cassandra not only grapples with her son's death but also the revelation that he was gay and had a life - including a husband and a foster daughter - she knew nothing about.

Vivica A. Fox commands the screen as Cassandra, a character that blends fabulousness with moments of being a bit over-the-top. Her performance is both spunky and heartfelt. Fox's impeccable comedic timing brings levity to the heavier aspects of the story. She masterfully conveys a mother grappling with the shock of discovering her son's hidden life, all while grieving and undergoing her own journey of personal growth. This subplot of Cassandra's evolution injects a sense of hope into the film, serving as a reminder that life, even in the wake of grief, continues.

Smollett's direction shines, particularly in his ability to tell a story that authentically captures the experiences of Black LGBTQ+ individuals. The relationship between Jason and Damien is portrayed with respect and depth, avoiding stereotypical narratives, and instead focuses on love, care, and partnership.

Overall, The Lost Holiday is a solid, heartwarming, and often humorous film with a stellar cast and a script that skillfully weaves humor with heavy emotional moments. Smollett's performance as Jason is a standout, as is Fox's award-worthy portrayal of Cassandra. This film is not only about family and love, but also about coming to terms with the past and finding healing in unexpected places.

You know that awkward feeling when you're watching a high school theater production, and someone's mom just knows their kid is destined for Broadway... but it's painfully clear to everyone else this is a one-way ticket to regional dinner theater obscurity? That's The Lost Holliday, except it's wrapped in faux prestige and somehow directed by Jussie Smollett, who seems determined to prove that not only can he not act - he can't direct or write, either. This isn't a comeback; it's a cry for help.

Let's talk direction - or rather, the erratic mess that passes for it. The movie feels like it was pieced together during someone's unpaid lunch breaks. Scenes meander without purpose, blocking is unintentionally comical, and the tone whiplashes between maudlin soap opera and artsy Instagram reel. Smollett clearly believes he's crafting something profound, but it's just a muddled, overlit vanity project that wouldn't make it past freshman film class.

The writing? Absolutely brutal. Every line sounds like it was run through a cliché generator powered by half-baked trauma and fake-deep Pinterest quotes. The dialogue is so unnatural it makes the actors look like they're reading ransom notes - especially poor Jabari Redd, who tried to breathe life into a character that feels like it was written by ChatGPT on Ambien. Vivica A. Fox is here too, and frankly deserves hazard pay for showing up and pretending this dreck matters.

Fox delivers each line with that hollow gravitas actors use when they're suppressing the urge to fire their agent. You can see the awareness in their eyes: they know this isn't a movie - it's Jussie's self-financed rehab-my-PR tour. Unfortunately, not even their commitment can salvage a script this contrived, or direction this clueless.

Which brings us back to Smollett. Look, if this is what Hollywood exile looks like, I guess we're all being punished. It's hard not to feel like The Lost Holliday is a metaphor for his own career - desperate, disjointed, and somehow convinced it's saying something important. It's not. And neither is he.

By the time the credits rolled, I wasn't just bored - I was offended that everyone involved thought this deserved my attention. The Lost Holliday isn't art. It's damage control in slow motion. And just like the infamous hoax that tanked Jussie's credibility, this film is an elaborate fiction nobody asked for - and fewer people believe.