Each one awful.
Director: Seth Gordon
Notable Cast: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth
The holiday season can be a wonderful time of year, but in the Cineplex the holidays only mean one thing: rehashed stories of peace and goodwill and, more disconcertingly in recent times, Vince Vaughn vehicles. It can be hard to muster the strength to see something like Four Christmases year after year, especially when the previews show audiences all they need to know. But if this review were only on the preview of Four Christmases then readers would be mislead to believe that the film is almost good.
The premise is promising, and the substitution of Reese Witherspoon instead of some less-talented actress is encouraging, but the praise ends there. Vaughn and Witherspoon play a self-centered couple who would rather spend the holidays in exotic locales than with any one of their divorced parents’ families living in the San Francisco area. The stunt casting includes Robert Duvall as Vaughn’s trailer park father; Mary Steenburgen as Witherspoon’s born-again, cougar mother; Sissy Spacek as Vaughn’s mother who married his old best friend; and Jon Voight as Witherspoon’s sage-like father.
Watching Vaughn and Witherspoon play off of so many screen veterans should be a pleasure, and there are a few occasions when everyone rises above the material but it is hardly enough to salvage this surprisingly inconsiderate Christmas clunker. Clocking in at under 90 minutes, Four Christmases has no time to develop any sort of relationship between the kids and their caricature parents. The tacked-on breakup and quick makeup between Vaughn and Witherspoon also feels rushed, not to mention illogical.
It is as if the two had only met right before the movie began and the only thing they have in common is that they are pretty actors. Vaughn’s inabilities as a leading man have become exposed in his last few movies, so there is no surprise there. But Witherspoon is better than this and one almost feels sorry for her as she moves from one uninspired pratfall to the next. As for the four parents, the less said the better. With the two leads fumbling from episode to episode at a brisk 15 to 20 minutes a visit, the four parents are left with little to do but mug and wink at the camera.
Thus, there is nobody to relate to and no relationship to connect with. Like most modern holiday movies, the package looks great, but there is nothing inside. Here’s hoping Vaughn doesn’t return again next year.
