The Christmas Lottery (2020 BET)
Cast: Reginald VelJohnson, Lyon Beckwith, Terayle Hill
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Synopsis (via BET)
The Davenport sisters have drifted apart over the years, but when their Dad wins the lottery, all he wants is to have his girls home for Christmas. Getting over years of resentment proves a big task, but it’s pushed aside when their mother suffering from dementia loses the ticket. They put aside their differences to help find the ticket and, in doing so, get over their differences and finally learn to come together.
Thoughts
Nicole/Nikki is a RICH BITCH (said lovingly) and planning a trip to Bali and ignoring charity Santa’s. She has an assistant buy presents for her family.
Woah, we get a shirtless hunk doing yoga right off the bat. (Okay, BET, I see you!) His name is Spyder, and he is dating a performer named Tammy. They are evicted the week before Christmas. Namaste my ass.
Deidre (who is a lesbian!) lives in Texas and runs a restaurant with her father and mother. (Who has dementia.) Deidre is the oldest daughter and helps take care of the family and restaurant. Deidre resents her sisters, who moved away and left her and her wife Belinda to care for the ailing mother. Nicole and Tammy didn’t even come to Deidre and Belinda’s wedding?!?! Let’s just say the sisters don’t get along.
Gerald calls his daughters and asks them all to come home for the holidays because HE WON THE LOTTERY! He wants to cash his winnings as a family. Nicole and Tammy come back, looking for a payday. (Well, Tammy and Spyder move in, pretty much.)
Gerald and Diane welcome their kids home and are thrilled to share a meal. Until Tammy and Spyder reveal they are vegan and shame the family for not treating their body like a temple. Gerald is like, “Quinoa WHO?” it is hilarious. The lottery conversation starts, and everyone wants to know what Gerald will do with his 10 million dollars. The conversation is interrupted by THE BEST CAROLERS EVER! (The harmonizing alone was impressive!)
Gerald realizes that he has lost the lottery ticket. Diane is the only other person who knows the code to the safe. She says she hid it but can’t remember where she put the ticket. (Due to her dementia. Sad.) Diane just wants to open a music studio because she used to be a music teacher.
The sisters argue and come for one another. Tammy has been getting an allowance, and Nicole needs a million dollars for a business deal. She will get laid off if she can’t produce the money.
To destress, Tammy and shirtless Spyder take some edibles and then have some sexy time.
At the family restaurant, Nikki runs into an old boyfriend named Tyson. He asks if the sisters are going to sing at the block party. The two catch up, and Tyson is a college football coach. He fills a briefcase with cakes for his college athletes. Haha. Then his overbearing cheerleading coach girlfriend shows up, and she is a lot.
The block party happens! Cue a Christmas montage. It seems like things are getting better for the family until the sisters argue outside. Gerald puts a stop to it and tells his daughter to stop fighting like when they were children. He makes them settle it like they did when they were kids—sumo wrestling.
The family looks for the lottery ticket and does not find it. Diane finds the gummies and eats them with Gerald, which causes them to dance around and be happy. The daughters freak out and blame Tammy and Spyder. Everyone is keeping secrets in this family.
Diane goes missing, and the worried family calls the police for help. Tyson ends up finding her at the restaurant. Diane took another gummy and remembered where she left the lottery ticket. At the restaurant in a family photo. Spyder is more worried about the lottery ticket, and Tammy realizes that she can’t trust him. Tammy breaks up with him, so… does this mean I can date him? He is hot and does yoga. My perfect man!
Tammy decides to stay in Huston and help take care of her family. Nikki also realizes that she is in love with Tyson and needs to make changes in her life. She moves home and plans to work at the restaurant.
Belinda and Deidre adopt a baby boy and share the good news with their family. Her parents accept Belinda back into their lives after not talking with her for years because she is gay. It is never too late for family.
While the family celebrates the good news, Spyder sneaks out and steals the lottery ticket. The daughters chase him down, and Santa takes down Spyder. (Haha! So funny.) Tammy and Santa start dating.
The sister sing at the annual block party with full on dance moves and concert production. It is a bop. When is the Davenport Christmas album coming out, because I’m going to need a copy ASAP. The end!
Side Note
Minority Report: The entire cast is Black Actors. We also have a lesbian couple living a happy life! Yay!
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Overall rating
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 (5 Christmas Trees)
🍷🍷 (2 glasses of wine required.)
*Photo Credit: © 2020 BET
