Perhaps it's because my expectations were low, or maybe it's because I saw Transporter 3 not but an hour earlier. Whatever the case may be, Four Christmases wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty stupid but it's isn't without it's funny moments. At the very least, it was far more humourous than the similarly toned Christmas With the Kranks, and it was much more entertaining than last year's lame Vince Vaughn holiday vehicle Fred Claus.
In Four Christmas, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are Brad and Kate, a happy couple who opt to go to Fiji for the holidays instead of spending time with their respective families. Upon arriving at the airport the duo are dismayed to discover all flights have been cancelled due to foggy weather. Making matters worse, Brad and Kate are blind sided by a news crew who happen to be hanging out at the airport getting reactions from disgruntled travelers. And you'll never guess who ends up seeing Brad and Kate on the news. Now, instead of being in a tropical paradise, Brad and Kate are forced to spend time with each of their divorced parents over the course of one hellacious day.
Four Christmases has "lousy sitcom" written all over it. It's generic and it's lowbrow, but surprisingly, the film does offer up some pretty big laughs. Of the four Christmases our fearless couple are forced to endure, it is the first that offers up the funniest bits. Robert Duvall is hilarious as Brad's father while Jon Faverau and Tim McGraw are an absolute riot as Brad's cage fighting brothers.
There are portions of Four Christmases that are pointlessly mean. Take for instance the segment featuring Kate's mother and sister (played, respectively, by Mary Steenburgen and Kristin Chenoweth). These are fine actresses, but their characters are positively shrill, and when we first meet them in the film, it becomes painfully clear why Kate wouldn't want to spend anytime with them. But then, I suppose that's the whole point.
As the film makes it's way towards a completely obvious turning point in Kate and Brad's relationship, the jokes come fast and furious. Some work while several others don't, and the final Christmas scenario is a head scratcher. The fourth Christmas features a couple of characters we've already met earlier in the movie, only their personality traits have been greatly altered. They are, quite suddenly, super sweet. Yes, this movie goes from cold and mean, to warm and fuzzy in about ten seconds, and it's pretty tough to swallow.
Vaughn and Witherspoon are pretty good as a team which is quite odd given their height differences and their polar opposite acting styles. In the end, they have chemistry, their comic timing is good, and for what it's worth, they're not nearly as unlikable as the trailer makes them look. They're not terribly bright, mind you, but at least you don't want to jump into the screen and punch them in the face. Perhaps that's because everyone else around them comes across as such an asshole.
It's strange to consider that this is the narrative feature debut of Seth Gordon, a director who just last year fashioned the delightful documentary King of Kong. Truth is definitely stranger (and in this case of King of Kong, funnier) than fiction.
Four Christmases is pretty mediocre and just when it looks like it might rebound in the final moments, the film goes in for one last, lame gag involving another news crew. Those damn news crews always show up at the most inopportune times. It's a shame too because the scene that directly precedes it–a sincere, funny, and surprisingly mature conversation between Brad and Kate-- actually works. It's not likely that Four Christmases will show up on anyone's "Favorite Christmas Movies" list, but it does offer up a handful of good laughs, and that's certainly better than nothing.
