Review by Todd Murphy www.allaboutmovies.net
Directed by Seth Gordon – Starring Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight
Rating 4/10 – Click here to see this review on All About Movies.net
BOTTOM LINE: Predictable, boring and sloppily put together, “Four Christmases” is a tepid joke with Vaughn repeating the same character he usually plays, leading to an unconvincing and poor ending.
THE GOOD: Some moments of comedy work in this tale of couple Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) who want to enjoy living life without the complications and drudgery of marriage and kids. The film opens with a funny sequence where the couple are role-playing their first meet in a night club, with Brad playing a geeky try-hard and Kate playing harsh. Brad then becomes tough and the two get it on in the bathroom before returning home, where we learn they have actually been together for three years. Everything in their life is going smoothly until they find themselves in the unfortunate situation of going to all four of their divorced parents’ houses for Christmas. At best, the film works in individual moments, such as the slapstick violence between Brad and his brothers, or Kate fighting with a group of kids to get her pregnancy test back from them after the kids steal it. A sequence early in the film where Brad and Kate gleefully mock marriage in front of two married couples is very funny. The supporting cast do an okay job of filling out their roles, particularly Robert Duvall who has not played this kind of neanderthal character before.
THE BAD: The film is boring, predictable and completely forgettable. Vince Vaughn has made his own comedy sub-genre playing the “big teddy-bear goof ball with wit” in many films but in this case the performance is tired and nothing new. Reese Witherspoon is not convincing in her role, particularly as she does the unbelievable in transforming from a girl who wants no commitments to one that wants marriage and kids in the course of only one day after visiting her family whom she cannot stand. An inconsistency emerges between the types of comedy on show in this film, as it vacillates between moments of witty dialogue to stupid slapstick that barely hang together comfortably. The characters at best are stereotypical caricatures, particularly Brad’s family with his southern-hick father and new-age mother. The adherence to formula leads the film to its predictable conclusion where Brad and Kate decide to do more with their relationship. As a piece of filmmaking, “Four Christmases” is sloppily put together, without much thought in to pace or character development, relying solely on the likeability of its stars to carry it through; in this case, it was not enough.
Todd Murphy is a film analyst and staff writer/review at the film and DVD review web site All About Movies.net.
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