Fantasia, Tank, CeCe Winans and More Are Taking Us to Church in Tyler Perry’s ‘The Gospel of Christmas’
The voices are assembled, Kirk Franklin is handling the music, and I’m praying the script gives this cast something worthy of an amen.
Now, Tyler Perry. You have my attention.
Fantasia and Tank are starring in The Gospel of Christmas, coming to Netflix on November 11, with Kirk Franklin producing the music. Add CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, the Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar and Ann Nesby to the cast, and suddenly I need to know where the offering plate is. Netflix has the official details.
Because with a lineup like this, somebody is going to sing the paint off those church walls.
The story
Written and directed by Perry, the film follows Isaac, a struggling pastor played by Tank, who inherits his family’s church in a troubled New York neighborhood. Fantasia plays his wife, Rebecca. As Isaac faces doubt, temptation and threats to everything he’s trying to hold together, saving the church becomes a fight for his family and community, too.
Why I’m watching
That premise has potential. But let me tell you why I’m especially interested: Tank has been in his acting bag.
I’ve been watching the latest season of Reasonable Doubt, and he has been eating his scenes all the way up. Alongside Morris Chestnut and series lead Emayatzy Corinealdi, Tank is giving me a reason to pay attention beyond the vocals. I’m enjoying watching him work, and now I want to see what he does with this pastor role.
And Fantasia? After her performance in The Color Purple, I’m ready to see her take on another character. We know what happens when she opens her mouth to sing. Give her a role with some depth, some tension and something to say, and I’m seated.
Tyler, here’s my prayer
Now, I also need to give Tyler his credit.
In my opinion, Doing Life was a real tour de force. The writing, the performances, the direction—it came together in a way that reminded me why I keep coming back to his work. I would put it among his best since The Family That Preys. And yes, I said what I said.
That is the level I’m hoping he brings to The Gospel of Christmas.
This cast deserves a story that lets them do more than deliver a big speech, shed a tear and wait for the next musical number. Let the characters breathe. Let the conflict develop. Trust these performers to make us feel something without dragging every emotional moment halfway to Easter.
Please don’t send us back into that meandering purgatory of sappy overacting and bad wigs. The congregation has suffered enough.
With Kirk Franklin behind the music, my expectations for the soundtrack are already high. My hope is that the storytelling rises to meet it. I want to be moved by what these people are going through, then have the music take me the rest of the way.
So yes, I’ll be watching on November 11. There’s too much talent in this church for me to miss service.
Are y’all coming to the pews with me, or waiting for the reviews before you put on your church shoes?
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Source: Netflix Tudum.
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