Four Christmases (Warner Brothers)
As Enjoyable As a Lump of Coal
Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn teach us a valuable lesson in their new film Four Christmases. In a romantic comedy such as this chemistry between the leads is everything, and in this movie these two just dont have it. They dont seem to really care about each other and as a result the audience doesnt care about either of them.
In the film Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) have lived together for several years. At Christmastime instead of going to see family they invent a fictitious charitable event they are doing. Then they go off and vacation somewhere exotic.
This Christmas however they are planning to go to Fiji but find all the flights are cancelled. A TV interviewer spots them in the airport and asks how this is affecting their plans. Their parents see them on TV then call and ask why they arent off on their charitable adventure. With no real answer available, they agree to visit all four parents on Christmas Day. The number of parents homes is four because both sets of parents are divorced.
At each household there seems to be one horrible event after another. But even worse, after the day is over the lives of these two people seem no better than when they started out on renewing their relationships with their families. Could it be that Brad and Kate are the problems and not the family members
As stated Witherspoon and Vaughn have zero chemistry between them. They each have a few funny moments but the emotional payoff that is expected and needed never materializes. Witherspoon is especially disappointing as she has been so good in other movies. Here her character is cold, distant and self centered.
Kristin Chenowith is a bright spot in the film as Witherspoons sister, and Jon Favreau provides some laughs as Brads brother Denver. Tim McGraw is barely recognizable as Brads other brother Dallas. Adding to the country music star roster is Dwight Yoakum as Pastor Phil.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual innuendoes.
If you are looking for a movie full of Christmas cheer, look elsewhere. This movie is about the dark side of Christmas where all your relatives are dumb and dumber and the other aspects of the holiday are nowhere to be found.
I scored Four Christmases a ho-hum 4 out of 10.
