The Sound of Christmas (2022) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)

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“The Sound of Christmas” gives you everything you could want from a holiday movie. There is singing, promotion of the Christian faith, and all kinds of drama.

Director(s)	Booker T. Mattison
Screenplay By	Booker T. Mattison
Based On	The Book “The Replacement Wife” by Tiffany L. Warren
Date Released (BET Plus)	11/24/2022
Genre(s)	Drama, Romance, Young Adult, Holiday, Musical, Religious
Duration	1 Hour 35 Minutes
Content Rating	TV-14
Noted Cast
Rio	Michael Anthony
Montana	Serayah
Estelle	Roxzane T. Mims
Daniel	Blake James
Deirdre	Alijah Kai
Quentin	Ne-Yo
Chloe	Draya Michele

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Film Summary

After three years with her boyfriend Rio, Montana has had enough. He wants to have sex, drink, and go against all her renewed Christian values, so she steps out on faith and leaves him. She brings this testimony to church during choir practice, and that leads to one of the wealthy members of the choir, Ms. Estelle, offering Montana a job. She is to help raise her grandchildren, Daniel and Deirdre, as their father, Quentin, doesn’t have the time and seems to still be traumatized by his wife dying of cancer.

But, while Estelle is lovely, and Montana is willing and able to get used to the kids and Quentin, Quentin’s girlfriend, Chloe, is something else. She feels threatened by Montana’s presence and how quickly she integrated into the family while she has been waiting for years for Quentin to propose. Thus leading to some contention that gets nasty.

Things To Note

Why Is “The Sound of Christmas” Rated

• Dialog: Chloe does use some insulting terms regarding Montana’s past, but beyond that, the dialog is tame
• Violence: No violence
• Sexual Content: There is talk of a nude picture, but that’s it
• Miscellaneous: That might be some drinking during some of the parties in the film

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. What happened to Quentin’s father, and what happened to Montana’s?
2. What led Montana to join Estelle’s church?

Collected Quote(s)

We clean up what we mess up, in life and in the kitchen.
— Montana

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Rio

Rio is Montana’s ex-boyfriend of three years who hasn’t made any long-term commitments to her but has many short terms ones regarding offering food, drinks, and sex. But with her wanting him to be more about his faith, as she has become, they seemingly have met an impasse.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Himself in “Ready To Love,” Ray Ray in “Saints & Sinners,” and Gary Stafford in “Raising Dion”

Montana

With recently being laid off but having had her faith healed and growing recently, Montana knows she’ll be alright but what will lead to the much-needed shift she needs is hard to say.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Tiana Brown in “Empire” and Rbel in “Kingdom Business”

Estelle

A notably wealthy part of her church, Estelle may not know Montana well but sees something in her, and even before learning Montana has been training and is now certified to teach, she hopes she can help with her grandchildren who need guidance beyond school.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Darlene in “Greenleaf”

Daniel

Like his sister, Daniel is just trying to adjust to his mom’s death the best he can, while causing mischief whenever someone tries to move into the space his mom would occupy if alive.

Deirdre

Like her brother, Deirdre is just trying to deal with life sans a mom and deal with her father being checked out and her grandmother meaning well, but not really asking what Deirdre  needs but making assumptions.

Quentin

A billionaire widow, Quentin fills his time more with work and the distraction of Chloe than anything that could remind him of his wife’s tragic passing due to cancer.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Sage Odom in “Step Up: High Water”

Chloe

Depending on who you ask, Chloe is either a gold digger, a socialite, or an heir to a fortune. Either way, Estelle and her grandkids aren’t that fond of her, and as for Quentin? Despite three years together, it doesn’t seem he is in a rush to show he is serious about her beyond steadily dating.

• You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Tracy in “We Belong Together,” Amanda in “Til Death Do Us Part,” and Cherelle in “True To The Game”

Review

Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)

Highlights

The Kids Are An Asset To The Film

Kids are always a coin flip when included in movies. Often, the best we get from them is someone who is adorable and likable but easily forgotten. At worse, you can see them forced upon you and made to be so precocious that they make you roll your eyes. That isn’t the case with Daniel and Deirdre. They are normal, kind of average kids, who can sing, but the attitude they originally present keeps either from coming off as perfect, but never as bad as Chloe paints.

If anything, like all kids in holiday movies, who always miss a parent, they struggle with the lack of time and effort from the one alive. Sometimes openly, as Deirdre struggles with a potential period issue, and other times a bit more covertly, as you can sometimes see with Daniel. But, aside from the drama, let us note these kids are funny. One scene that especially got to me was how Daniel reacted to Chloe touching him, which had me laugh louder audibly than some of the comedy specials we watched lately.

An Unparalleled Mix Of Music, Gospel, And Drama

“The Sound of Christmas” delivers everything you could want and expect from a Christmas or holiday movie. It has music, faith, and drama that is very un-Christian-like, and it gets you invested quickly. Serayah as Montana was an excellent choice as she is able to balance being a Christian without it becoming annoying. Also, her voice while singing gospel may not give you Jennifer Hudson or any other strong belter, but it works for those who aren’t necessarily big into gospel. Her voice isn’t showy, or over the top, just what you need to enjoy familiar and unfamiliar hymns or Christmas songs.

Then, when you get into the drama? Oh, it is good. From the warm-up of the kids being disrespectful to Montana and Rio being a bit of a creep to Chloe and Quentin, who give Montana some pushback? Especially Chloe when she feels that Montana is getting too close for comfort when it comes to Quentin? Oh, you’ll be fully engaged throughout.

How Religion Is Depicted

I think it is worth noting that “The Sound of Christmas” isn’t a Fathom Events kind of religious holiday movie. People’s faith gets challenged or has been challenged, and that leads to them becoming distant from the church in a way you understand. Also, while we get some judgey Christians, we’re also shown those like Estelle who remind us that church isn’t so much about faith as it is about finding community. Now, some community members gossip and could talk about you like a dog, as I’m sure they do about Chloe, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still care about you. It’s just they got your number and hope you find Jesus. For they wouldn’t mind being wrong if you get right with the lord.

While Chloe Is Wrong For What She Did, She Didn’t Overall Seem Like A Bad Person

With mentioning Chloe, I have to say that while she took things too far with Montana, at the same time, you get it. She has been in Quentin’s life for three years, and while many push the idea she is a gold digger, that isn’t necessarily something she embraces or claims. Quentin is the one who wants to take her places and give lavish gifts, and she just wants to be closer.

Heck, she even notes she’d rather wake up in his bed, in Georgia, than in some foreign hotel with him. So while the film doesn’t delve deep into Chloe not being what we can assume, there is an effort to make it clear she wasn’t born a villain, but her insecurities and Quentin playing with her time made her into one.

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