Four Christmases Review

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 11.27.2008

The Vile One invades Tinseltown's most famous theatre for the latest comedy from superstars Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.

FOUR CHRISTMASES


A bystander managed to sneak a shot of the mythical, elusive creature known as The Vile One following the screening of Four Christmases at the Graumann’s Chinese Theatre

Directed By: Seth Gordon
Written By: Matt R. Allen, Caleb Wilson, Jon Lucas, & Scott Moore
Runtime: 82 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and language.
Official Website: Warner Bros. – Four Christmases Official Site

Brad - Vince Vaughn
Kate - Reese Witherspoon
Howard - Robert Duvall
Paula - Sissy Spacek
Creighton - Jon Voight
Denver - Jon Favreau
Marilyn - Marty Steenburgen
Pastor Phil - Dwight Yoakam
Dallas - Tim McGraw
Courtney - Kristin Chenoweth
Jim - Steve “The King of Kong” Wiebe

It is surprising thing how for quite some time, Hollywood tried so hard to make Vince Vaughn into something he wasn't -- a serious, dramatic actor. It seems right after Vaughn broke out with Swingers in the mid-90's, role after role in Vaughn's filmography were a bunch of mediocre dramatic movies with Vaughn playing a generally "serious" role. Then Old School comes out in 2003 and suddenly things really start to click for Vaughn and he's found his niche. The dude is a natural comedian and it built from there. What followed was a string of hits including Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, and The Break Up. Vaughn then started to stumble a bit with what was really his first comedic dud, Fred Claus. And he goes back to the comedic well once again with Four Christmases, and this time gets share the screen with another hot, lovely, talented actress, Reese Witherspoon.

Vaughn and Witherspoon are respectively Brad and Kate, a happily unwed couple, living together in Seattle, Washington. They’ve been together several years, and despite already living with and adoring each other, they don’t feel the need to take the next step in their relationship toward marriage and children. They keep things passionate in the relationship by sexual role-playing in public, ballroom dancing, and exotic vacations around the world. In fact, they already set up a winter break vacation in Fiji. But what about the couple's families who want to see them over the holidays? Well, Brad and Kate both have divorced parents, who can be quite a handful, so they regularly concoct elaborate ruses to tell their parents they are doing charity work while living it up and not fulfilling the familial obligations over Christmas time.

Unfortunately for Brad and Kate, nature intervenes and delays their flight to paradise. And an anxious TV news reporter plasters the mugs of the lying pair all over television. The jig is up, and now Kate and Brad are stuck having to visit several eccentric family homes before they can take their delayed vacation flight the following day.

The problem with Four Christmases is that the comedy and the story are a little too contrived for their own good -- not to mention how episodic and vignette-ish the flick comes off. Vaughn is his usual entertaining and charismatic self and easily plays to type here. Vaughn doing his usual schtick isn’t bad, but it’s just not as good as Wedding Crashers or even the more the unconventional, anti-rom-com, The Break Up, a highly underrated movie. The writers made everything way too convenient by putting all the parents in the Washington area. Everyone seems to live within minutes of each other.

The parents are divorced, yet they appear to get along and be civil with each other even though Kate and Brad are uncomfortable while together in the presence of their parents. The writers really reach by having Brad and Kate attend four separate gatherings even though two of the get togethers mix some of the same family members. Yes, I get that the parents are divorced/ But if Kate’s wacky, born again Christian mother, Marilyn (Steenburgen), can go to her ex-husband Creighton’s home with her new boyfriend, Pastor Phil (Dwight Yoakam) around without fists being thrown, what’s the big deal?

The idea is that Kate and Brad aren’t totally honest with each other, and that keeps them from progressing in their relationship. Kate and Brad are both embarrassed by their families and how they both were in their youth. Brad is still physically bullied by his wannabe-Kimbo Slice bros, Dallas (McGraw) and Denver (longtime Vaughn friend and collaborator, Favreau). As a young, heavy girl, Kate struggled with her identity, and then unknowingly participated in a semi-lesbian relationship. She also has a life-long fear of those inflatable castle things. Witherspoon has matured and aged quite well as an actress, and while she's not as naturally comedic as her co-star she does at least keep up and not get upstaged by the Vince Vaughn intensity.

More than anything, the biggest problem with Four Christmases is that it feels like a basic sitcom pilot with a tremendous amount of filler to fill a barely feature length runtime.

The 411: A mildly amusing, but ultimately flat and uninspiring comedy from Vaughn and company. Four Christmases would definitely make for a fun, cheap early-bird matinee, or even better as a DVD rental. But as far as the regular theatrical viewing experience goes, nothing special. At least the fine folks at Graumann's were nice enough to offer unlimited refreshments for the evening including popcorn and soft drinks. And hey, it's even got a gratuitous cameo by Steve Wiebe, the subject of the excellent documentary, The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]