Four Christmases

It’s that time of year again and Vince Vaughn is back in another holiday movie. Unlike last year’s Fred Claus, this one is a cute holiday-themed romantic comedy. An interesting cast and some situational comedy make this a fun and enjoyable holiday film… so long as you don’t go in expecting it to be more than it is. It’s certainly no Wedding Crashers, but it still has that Vince Vaughn panache that automatically makes a movie funnier.

Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play a couple with some unusual families that they have to visit for the holidays. Reese Witherspoon is back in the comedy saddle as Kate, a slightly neurotic girl who likes to be in control. She is, as usual, a pleasure to watch. Also a pleasure to watch is Vince Vaughn as her boyfriend, Brad. Once again, Vaughn is hilarious as his typical bantering character that it is pretty obvious is not much acting on Vaughn’s part. Though it is hard to imagine them as a couple, and even a little difficult to believe when first watching, there is some chemistry there between the two.

The families make for entertaining characters and some amusing situations. Aside from Reese Witherspoon, who won the 2006 Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Walk the Line, there is an unanticipated number of Oscar-winners making appearances as family members. Robert DuVall (1984 Best Actor in a Leading Role Tender Mercies) and Sissy Spacek (1981 Best Actress in a Leading Role Coal Miner’s Daughter) appear as Brad’s mother and father. Mary Steenburgen (1981 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Melvin and Howard) and an unmentioned in the trailer Jon Voight (1979 Best Actor in a Leading Role Coming Home) play Kate’s parents. Jon Favreau teams up with Vaughn yet again to play one of his UFC fighter brothers, the other played by a barely worth mentioning Tim McGraw. Lastly, Kristen Chenoweth plays Reese Witherspoon’s sister. Each actor gives a pretty standard performance, except for Favreau, who I found to be hilarious in a role very different from what he usually plays.

Apart from Vince Vaughn’s natural verbal flamoyance (obviously taking creative license with the script), the movie is more situationally funny than spokenly funny. It is a mix of Christmas Vacation, The Family Stone, The Break Up (but only to account for Vince Vaughn’s comedic talents). It is a movie that can definitely illicit more than a laugh or two, but if you can’t appreciate Vince Vaughn’s particular brand of humor, then you should probably skip this one.

~Maddie~