Best. Christmas. Ever! | 2023 | TV-PG | – 3.3.3

Why is “Best. Christmas. Ever!” rated TV-PG? The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board rating indicates that “this program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene, several kissing scenes, discussions of infidelity, flirting, references to the death of loved ones, a few punches and kicks, house fires caused by a robot vacuum, swerving on icy roads, shouting and arguing, discussions of Santa Claus being real, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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An envious woman (Heather Graham) plans to show an old rival (Brandy Norwood) that the way she celebrates her Christmas, as well as her life overall, are both better than hers. The plan goes awry though, with the unintended consequence that it brings the two women closer. Also with Jason Biggs and Matt Dedeno. Directed by May Lambert. A few phrases are spoken in Spanish without translation. [Running Time: 1:22]

Best. Christmas. Ever! SEX/NUDITY 3

 – a couple kisses briefly once and holds hands once. A woman and a man kiss for several seconds behind a large dollhouse as the chimney puffs smoke suddenly. A man and a woman blow a kiss to each other. A man kisses a woman on one cheek.
► A married woman holds hands with a man (not her husband). A wife and her husband hug and kiss for several seconds in public twice and he slaps her clothed buttock in front of three children and another adult couple, as the second woman gasps. A woman gasps, staring at a man wearing a tank top. A married man sits on a couch and squeezes a woman’s (not his wife) knee and pats her lower thighs, and the woman looks shocked.
► A man and a woman (both clothed and under the covers in a bed) are alarmed when the bed begins to rattle and move a few inches forward, twice, as we hear grunting from the room next door; the glass in a picture frame shatters when it falls off a wall (no one is hurt) and the next day both couples talk about “moving the furniture,” as three children nearby look confused. A husband accuses his wife of ogling another man, the woman accuses him of having an affair with the other man’s wife, and the first couple argues briefly.
► A woman wearing a deeply cut top bends forward over a dinner table and exposes cleavage. A woman wears tight-fitting tights that cling to the curves of legs and buttocks.

Best. Christmas. Ever! VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A woman enters a dark room and a man enters behind her, punching her hard as we hear the smacking punch; we see the woman lying on the floor, holding her stomach and groaning as she gets up and the man, another man, and another woman berate the first woman, who leans on a table and upsets a large dollhouse, which falls to the floor and breaks apart; she looks shocked as the others leave the room, looking disgusted. A short scene and a flashback of the same scene includes a karate instructor performing a jump kick with both feet to strike two men in the face; the two men have their back to the camera, and we do not see the kicks connect, but hear a muffled smack in the first scene and none in the replay; the men seem to fall backwards.
► A robot vacuum on a table ignites into flames but a man successfully uses a fire extinguisher on it. A few days later, a TV newscast reports that the robot-vacuum company shipped the defective device to many homes, where the units burned down the houses; we see flames engulfing a table on the TV screen as a voice-over announces the company will go bankrupt (no people are shown harmed).
► We hear that a man’s mother built ornate dollhouses and her warehouse burned to the ground, after which she planned to rebuild, but then died. We hear that a woman’s son is never seen because he died; the woman and a friend both cry briefly.
► A woman screams in three scenes when she unexpectedly sees her young son’s large stuffed monkey; the third time, she is driving and sees the toy staring from the backseat, swerves off and back onto the icy road, stops in a snow drift, sees a woman in an angel costume approaching and asks if she is in Heaven. A woman lifts off in a high-tech hot air balloon and quickly lands again when a chiming alarm goes off; another woman fixes the problem and the two fly over housetops until they accidentally hook a lighted sleigh decoration, one woman climbs down a rope ladder and the balloon carries it over the heads of people at a gathering, as children cry out that it’s Santa; the balloon sets the sleigh down away from the gathering, the second woman untangles the sleigh, and a man wearing a Santa suit helps, saying he has had experience with sleighs and the woman turns and the man has vanished (suggesting he’s the real Santa Claus). A hot air balloon with a lighted star on it hovers over a nativity scene.
► A woman screams when she steps outside to find five feet of snow; she is locked out of the house, falls over a railing into the snow face down, kicks over a snowman, and the scene cuts to her at a local Christmas gathering (she’s fine). A young boy in a van screams for his father to stop so he can contact Santa Claus, the dad slams on the brakes at the end of their driveway, and his little sister screams. A man and a woman begin to kiss and hug in public (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details) but the woman’s hand gets stuck in his hair as he yelps in pain; another man says it’s because of sap in her hand from a Christmas tree. A young boy uses sticky sap to pull off Santa Claus’ hair and beard and the Santa shouts.
► A young girl and a younger boy quiz a Santa actor with questions; he asks them to leave and they do, but the girl’s father grounds her from TV for a week for being rude to Santa. A young boy runs away to find the real Santa, adults look for him, and his mother finds him in a restaurant and takes him home, telling him the real Santa texted her. A young girl goes to a microphone and announces that all children should believe in Santa Claus. A man and a woman argue briefly four times. Two women argue briefly three times. A 10-year-old girl berates and belittles a bank officer as customers stare, and as the girl and two women turn to leave, the man calls loudly with better offers on a loan.

Best. Christmas. Ever! LANGUAGE 3

 – 3 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (crazy, brag letters, pathetic, gross, Miss Spontaneity, Captain and Tenille), exclamations (heck, oh my gosh, oh my goodness, thank goodness, wow, whoa, ugh, whoo), 20 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, O.M.G., God, Godspeed, Christmas tree). | profanity glossary |

Best. Christmas. Ever! SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man drinks wine at home, a man offers a woman some wine, she guzzles it and they each have two more glasses, and a man dressed as Santa Claus at a gathering drinks from an energy drink.

Best. Christmas. Ever! DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Christmas, Santa Claus, holiday family newsletters, bragging, old rivalries, intelligent children who are purposely rude, technology, inventions, deep-fakes, impressing others, embarrassment, death, grief, belief, faith, success, suspicion, envy of things, jealousy of relationships, conflict, honesty, reconciliation, friendship, family, starting over.

Best. Christmas. Ever! MESSAGE

 – Forgiving people who make mistakes is part of being human, and people are more important than possessions.