It is a well-known fact that the joyful holiday season often brings with it mandatory "family time," which usu-ally results in particularly uncomfortable situations and scarring experiences. "Four Christmases" offers laugh-out-loud caricatures of the various personality types and awkward group interactions that emerge around the Christmas tree. Although holiday romantic comedies often bomb at the box office with sappy plotlines and unrealistically optimistic, happily-ever-after endings, "Four Christmases" blends comedy with just enough sentiment and holiday cheer to keep audiences smiling from beginning to end.
During Christmas time, most people are suckered into visiting crazy uncles, unbearable mothers-in-law and bratty, unappreciative nieces and nephews. But every year, Brad (played by Vince Vaughn) and Kate (played by Reese Witherspoon), a couple from San Francisco, opt to spend Christmas basking in the sun on exotic islands in order to escape the stress of visiting their families.
Unfortunately for the Fiji-bound pair, everything goes awry when all flights during the holiday are cancelled, crushing Brad and Kate's hopes for a relaxing vacation in a tropical paradise. To make things worse, the couple's families get word of their whereabouts when a live news reporter interviews them at the airport. Due to divorced parents on both sides, the couple is guilted into going to four dysfunctional Christmas celebrations in one day. The plot is, in essence, a slight twist of an old holiday-movie formula, but clever writing and strong performances help carry "Four Christmases" beyond mediocrity.
One of the funniest scenes in the movie occurs when Brad goes to visit his father and brothers (played by Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw, respectively). A full-grown man standing at a towering 6'5", Brad is forced to relive the horrors of his childhood as his vertically challenged, cage-fighter brothers intimidate and humiliate him. Within minutes of returning home, Brad's brothers wrestle him to the ground in a scene full of (hilariously) unsettling physical humor.
Though much of "Four Christmases" is devoted to good old-fashioned humor, novice director Seth Gordon effortlessly slips in a sentimental look at love and family to bring more substance to the romantic comedy. For the past three years, Brad and Kate have enjoyed the freedom of having successful careers, refusing to let things like marriage and children get in the way of their otherwise light-hearted relationship. But as the couple goes about their Christmas marathon, parents and siblings force them to re-evaluate their own relationship.
Surprisingly enough, Reese Witherspoon has won back her acting chops as a comedy actress in "Four Christmases," after less-than-stellar performances in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" (2003), "Just Like Heaven" (2005) and "Penelope" (2006), to name a few. Although the timing of her witty banter with Vince Vaughn is slightly off in the beginning of the movie, garnering only a few chuckles from the audience, Witherspoon quickly warms up to her role and manages to hold her own against the comedy veteran.
Playing the sophisticated, rather charmingly straight-laced Kate shouldn't have been too difficult for Witherspoon, seeing as how Kate's character seems to mirror Witherspoon's own personality. But regardless of this similarity — coincidental or not — Witherspoon deserves some credit for her sharp wit and her ability to make Kate's character not only likeable, but also believable.
While Witherspoon does a respectable job of playing Kate, Vaughn is the one who really steals the show and keeps audiences laughing the whole way through. Vaughn's portrayal of Brad, the laid-back, successful lawyer who is still young at heart, is hilarious. The best line of the movie is when Brad is explaining to some of his friends why he and Kate avoid family Christmases at all costs, and he says, "You can't spell families without lies." Needless to say, Vaughn's impeccable comedic timing, adorable smile and infectious charisma are what make "Four Christmases" worth watching.
With an all-star cast and an effortless mix of humor containing just the right amount of sentiment, "Four Christmases" is an undeniably fun, feel-good movie perfect for the holiday season.
