Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis – Review and Summary
Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis loses its best plot for the sake of a happy ending.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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What Is Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis About?
- Director(s): Kenny Young
- Writer(s): Kenny Young
- Distributor: BET+
- Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 36 Minutes
- Public Release Date (BET Plus): December 11, 2025
- Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Holiday
- Content Rating: Rated TV-14
- Primary Language: English
- More Information (External Link)
Monica was one of the most popular dating coaches in the Memphis area until she broke up with Pierre, the most popular male morning show host. In doing that, her clients whittled down until all that was left was Joe.
Monica initially took on Joe as a client and thought she had an uphill battle due to his awkwardness and inexperience. However, as she got to know him, it became clear he is a catch, and like a few others in town, it did cross her mind that, if things were different, he wouldn’t be a bad man for her to catch.
Cast and Characters
Monica (Melissa L. Williams)
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- Character Summary: Monica Montgomery owns Cupid Counsel and is one of the most sought-after dating coaches in the area.
Pierre (Chris Sakyi)
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- Character Summary: Pierre is a former underwear model turned morning show host, who is quite popular in the Memphis area.
Joe (Juhahn Jones)
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- Character Summary: Joe works for Rainy Day Insurance and is socially awkward to the point of potentially being on the spectrum. This isn’t confirmed, but it is made clear that his lack of social skills has led to him being notably inexperienced in romantic relationships.
What To Expect In “Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis ” (Rated TV-14) – Content Overview
- Miscellaneous:
- Drinking: Yes
Review and Commentary
Highlight(s)
The Songs K. Michelle Sings [83/100]
Admittedly, I don’t know K. Michelle’s music that well, but hearing her sing “Christmas Blues” and “Never Gonna Be Alone For Christmas” tempts me to explore her discography. For, to be very frank with you, they are the most memorable parts of the movie. I would even go as far as to say that her rendition of the songs should be put in your annual rotation.
On The Fence
When Things Shift Between Monica and Joe [74/100]
Perhaps our main issue with Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis begins with Monica and Joe’s relationship. When things start out, he is a client, and there is a boundary there. You like and respect it, especially as it becomes clear that a part of Joe’s struggles is because he doesn’t seem to have any friends with whom he doesn’t have a transactional relationship.
The church uses him for his Christmas spirit, and K. Michelle’s character likes a consistent customer, who probably tips. But, as for anyone volunteering to be a wingman or something like that, no takers. Heck, at work, Joe is pretty much treated like he has a condition that leads to the company getting a tax write-off. So when it comes to Monica, while you acknowledge he is a client, you also appreciate her stepping in like a big sister who may have a heavy hand in Joe’s dating life, but is someone not just looking for what they can get out of him, but what he can get from their interaction as well.
Which is why when things shifted from her trying to help him date in the area, to her crossing professional boundaries, it slowly but surely took away our interest.
To me, the “Christmas Miracle,” for lack of a better way of putting it, would have been a more confident Joe who maybe didn’t get a date for Christmas, but was in a much better position to have someone by Valentine’s Day. Because, let’s be clear, the hot mess that Joe was, hoping he could get a date in a week, while not impossible, it was a lot to expect.
So, recognizing holiday movies prefer faith, with a sprinkle of delusion, over reality, you get why they ultimately chose a simple ending over something with an ellipsis. But, considering how one girl, Amanda, was with him? It would have been nice to show this movie as just the start of his journey, not a rushed end to it.
Pierre & The B-Line Drama/Story [72/100]
The catalyst of most of the film’s drama comes from Pierre and Monica not communicating about what life would look like as a married couple. This leads to the slightest of pushes to make Pierre into the bad guy, if not his station manager too, but it falls apart quickly. For one, if Monica is a dating coach who hasn’t discussed what Pierre wanted and expected as a wife, I feel like she has to take accountability for letting things go as far as they did.
On top of that, as much as Pierre was pressured to get Monica back for ratings, the film as a whole seems so uninterested in Pierre. His effort to get her back is almost exclusively through begging on camera, not in person. Because of that, all of your focus is on Joe’s story, with Pierre being an afterthought, so when he gets shoved front and center, and you see Monica even considering him, it is hard not to be perplexed.
But, then again, it isn’t like anyone is chatting up Monica, even as she joins Joe for multiple local mixers.
Overall
Our Rating (76/100): Mixed (Divisive)
Never Alone For Christmas: Memphis, in how it concludes its story and takes a well-treaded path, loses what could have made it stand out. On top of that, the Pierre storyline was notably weak, and Monica felt so underdeveloped that you can barely use the excuse that holiday movies tend to avoid depth, when in this case, it appears lowered expectations meant less need to make an effort.
it is using the lowered expectations to put in less effort.
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