Director:
John Whitesell
Starring:
Danny DeVito ………. Buddy Hall
Matthew Broderick ………. Steve Finch
Kristin Chenoweth ………. Tia Hall
Kristin Davis ………. Kelly Finch
Alia Shawkat ………. Madison Finch
Dylan Blue ………. Carter Finch
Sabrina Aldridge ………. Ashley Hall
Kelly Aldridge ………. Emily Hall
Jorge Garcia ………. Wallace
Jackie Burroughs ………. Mrs. Ryor
Fred Armisen ………. Gustave
Gillian Vigman ………. Gerta
The Movie
Every year there seems to be at least one movie comedy that gets released around the Christmas season that turns out to be not that funny. It seems like it has been years since we have last seen a great Christmas comedy. A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation from the 1980s and early 1990s come to mind quickly. But since then nothing but mediocre comedies at best that have some kind of Christmas “theme” to them. On paper, a Christmas comedy about rivaling neighbors and their Christmas lights display seems like a funny idea. You add in Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as the two neighbors and you would think this would be the next great Christmas comedy. Oh how wrong you would be, though!
Determined to unseat local eye doctor and Christmas expert, Steve Finch’s (Broderick) reign as the town’s holiday season king, Buddy Hall (DeVito) plasters his house with so many decorative lights that it’ll be visible from space. When their wives Kelly Finch (Kristin Davis) and Tia Hall (Kristin Chenoweth) bond, and their kids follow suit, the two men only escalate their rivalry and their decorating.
The two neighbors seem to be as different as you can get. Steve Finch wants his kids to have a great Christmas, packed with Steve’s tried and true traditions, such as using an advent calendar, taking Christmas card pictures in matching sweaters, and getting a large tree. Buddy Hall is all about going over-the-top and innovative with his Christmas traditions. However, these two characters turn out to be more alike that you think. They both turn out to be unsympathetic and just creepy. Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito probably weren’t going for that, but you can’t really blame them. They are both terrific actors that aren’t given much comedic material to work with here. The wife and kids of the two neighbors are really a non-factor as well. It’s all about Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick. Too bad they can’t keep this movie from sinking.
This film tries to be funny for the whole family. It ends up being a little too crude to have a “PG” rating, though. Too often the movie resorts to “slapstick comedy” straight from the script of Home Alone or Christmas Vacation. Too often those scenes fall flat. In fact, for a “lighthearted family Christmas comedy” Deck the Halls isn’t that funny. It relies too much on jokes that have been told thousands of times before and were only slightly funny the first time around.
Even worse than the mostly unfunny scenes are the forced sentimental scenes that are completely phony. It would be one thing if the two lead characters were actually likable. Then maybe we could believe that this film had a heart. But it all goes back to the unlikeability of both of the characters played by Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick. They seem to have no heart at all and that is what ultimately sucks the life out of this film. However, if there is one reason to watch this film it is for the actual lighting display on Buddy Hall’s house. That was pretty impressive.
Deck the Halls is like a pair of socks or a sweater with a reindeer embroidered on it that you get on Christmas morning, but don’t want at all. If there is one nice thing you could say about the gift, though, it’s that the box it came in was nice. The same can be said for this horrid holiday comedy. The package that this film came in made it seem that something great would be inside. That’s not the case when you actually watch Deck the Halls. Maybe if this film would have been been given a better script or a better director it would have turned out better. As it is, though, we will have to keep waiting for the next great “Christmas comedy”.
The Video:
The video is given in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen color, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The video is pretty good with no major problems. The special effects used for the lighting display are quite impressive in this movie, so that’s a plus which has been mentioned before.
The Audio:
The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well. The music and dialogue come out loud and clear, so no major problems either.
The Extras:
Audio Commentary
This is a full-length commentary with actor, Danny DeVito, and director, John Whitesell. This one is pretty lackluster. John Whitesell takes control and explains some of the “behind-the-scenes” stuff for us, but Danny doesn’t offer much as much insight as you would have liked. Maybe he realizes that this movie is not that funny either.
“Construction of the Homes” Featurette
A four minute featurette on making the houses of the two neighbors. Just what you would expect. It’s short, but still interesting and informative.
“Lighting Design” Featurette
A three minute featurette on the impressive lighting display used in the movie. This is worth checking out for sure, since the lights are really the sole reason to watch this film.
“Winterizing/Shooting a Christmas Movie in July” Featurette
Another intriguing featurette on making a Christmas movie in July, like this one. It’s only four minutes long, but still good and somewhat fascinating.
The only reason to watch Deck the Halls is for the the lighting display. That’s really only a five minute chunk of this movie. So rent this movie if you want to see that, but I don’t recommend buying it even for Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito fans. Mostly you should stay far away from this movie as there are much better Christmas comedies out there.
