Right around Thanksgiving it begins to happen. As we mindlessly stuff ourselves with turkey, the world outside transforms in a majestic way; front lawns become biblical light shows, toy stores become parental battle grounds, and repetitive, peppy music infuses every store, car and restaurant in America. Behind all this snowy wonderment, Hollywood plays a sinister trick, and all over the country cliché, sentimental family films pop up like blemishes on the face of the movie industry. One of these blackheads, "Four Christmases," smiles at you while you writhe in pain and feel the urge to punch someone out of boredom.
There's nothing too complicated about the story. Longtime sweethearts Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) are forced to attend their divorced parents' four different Christmas parties after their plans of fleeing the country are thwarted by weather. Along the way, they learn the importance of family and marriage by being forced to examine their own families and relationship. The story wouldn't have been so bad if this had been the first Christmas movie ever made, but its predictability was beyond the point of being enjoyable.
The acting isn't all that different. Both Vaughn and Witherspoon play the same characters they always do: Vaughn as the laughable oaf and Witherspoon as the blonde trying to be taken seriously. To some extent, these characters work and occasionally afford a few cheap laughs, but the predictability kills it.
As harsh as this review is, this movie is far from the worst Christmas movie out there. Vaughn adds his trademark fast-talking comedic touch to a few scenes, and the movie is mercifully short, somehow managing to run under 90 minutes. But despite these few redeeming qualities, the movie just feels like receiving an oversized sweater bearing the face of Santa Claus on the front: It's a nice thought, but it will end up hidden in the back of the closet with the rest of the holiday disappointments.
