X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Twas the Chaos before Christmas

Morgan and Jayla Mitchell are an affluent family from New York City. In an effort to keep the family together over the Christmas holidays, they decide to rent a luxurious home in Washington, DC where Morgan's mother can easily join the Mitchells and their teenage daughter, Raven to celebrate Christmas. Val and Ed Russell are a working-class family and parents to teenagers Deshawn and Destiny Russell from Asheville, North Carolina. When Val hits the lottery, she chooses to spend her winnings on a luxurious rental in Washington, DC over the Christmas holidays. That way, they can spend time doing free tourist activities and celebrate Christmas with Ed's sister Shanice, a Howard University student who can't afford to go home for the holidays. In the perfect storm, Jayla and Val, one unbeknownst to the other, book the same holiday rental on different websites, but over the same period of time. When the families all arrive at the same property, all chaos erupts. The two families cannot be more different. With the holidays in full swing, the families are stuck trying to figure out how to celebrate their Christmas holidays in their respective manners without losing it.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams
Jayla Mitchell
Sherri Shepherd
Valerie Russell
Affion Crockett
Ed Russell

Awards

  • 2020 - Image Award - Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Television) - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Pinocchio
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Spirited Away
Ratatouille

Popular Movies See all movies

Cutting Through Rocks

1 hr 35 mins
As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara's intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
80   Metascore
2025 Documentary, Family

Secondhand Lions

1 hr 49 mins
A young male spends the summer with his two great-uncles on their farm. While there, he gets to know them and learns about their past. He learns that they fought together. Along the way, they understand the meaning of family and sticking together.
52   Metascore
2003 Comedy, Drama, Family

I Can Only Imagine

1 hr 50 mins
10-year-old Bart Millard lives with his mother and abusive father Arthur in Texas. One day his mother drops him off at a Christian camp where he meets Shannon. Upon his return from camp, Bart finds his mother has left and movers are removing her belongings. He angrily confronts his father, who denies that his abusiveness was the reason she left. Years later, in high school, Bart and Shannon are dating. Bart plays football to please his father, but is injured, breaking both ankles and ending his career. The only elective with openings is music class, so he reluctantly signs up..
30   Metascore
2018 Documentary, Drama, Family, Music

Sing 2

1 hr 50 mins
With his theatrical company a local success, Buster Moon is dreaming of bigger things. Unfortunately, when a talent scout dismisses their work as inadequate for the big time, Buster is driven to prove her wrong, and he inspires his players to gamble everything to sneak into a talent audition in Redshore City for demanding entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal. Against the odds, they catch his interest with some frantic creative improvisation and even more desperate lies, like personally knowing reclusive rock star Clay Calloway, who has not been seen in 15 years. Now faced with a tight production window with only a vague story idea and dire consequences for failure, Buster and his friends must all stretch their talents put on a show. The gang's challenges seem insurmountable, but each of them finds new inspirations and friends where they least expect them to pursue an artistic dream worthy of them.
49   Metascore
2021 Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family, Music

Jimpa

1 hr 53 mins
A straight woman, her Queer family, and a life changing visit. Acclaimed director Sophie Hyde's most personal film yet - JIMPA - is a celebration of LGBTQI+ culture and considers, with nuance, the conflict and connection of a multigenerational Queer family on screen.
50   Metascore
2025 Drama, Family

The Ten Commandments

3 hr 40 mins
The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
1956 Action & Adventure, Drama, Family, Documentary