Four Christmases

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Written by: Matt R. Allen
Caleb Wilson
Jon Lucas
Scott Moore

Directed by: Seth Gordon

Release Date:
Theatrical: November 26, 2008
DVD: November 24, 2009

Running Time: 82 minutes, Color

Origin: USA | Germany

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for some sexual humor and language

Starring Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Voight, and Sissy Spacek

No one enjoys the holidays more than Brad and Kate. Every December 25th, this happily unmarried, upscale San Francisco couple embark on a holiday tradition they have shared every year since they met—ditching their crazy families for a relaxing, fun-filled vacation in some sunny exotic locale. But not this year. Shorts and sunglasses packed, Brad and Kate are trapped at the San Francisco airport by a fogbank that cancels every outbound flight. Worse yet, they are caught on camera by a local news crew, revealing their whereabouts to the whole city…and to their families. With no escape and no excuses, they are now expected home by Brad’s father. And Kate’s mother. And Brad’s mother. And Kate’s father. Four Christmases in one day. (New Line Cinema)

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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site

What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 4.8 (out of 10) based on 34 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ian A. gave it an8:
I went with caution as most of the critics didn't really care for this movie but I have to say I thought it was really enjoyable. I thought Vaughn and Witherspoon were terrific together and I actually laughed out loud several times. It didn't deteriorate into the syrupy feel good crap either ... thank goodness. I honestly don't see why it received such bad reviews.

Chris P. gave it a2:
If watching some nice guy who hasn't really done anything wrong, get the crap beaten out of him by his brothers in his dad's living room while his dad verbally abuses him strikes you as somehow funny, then you might enjoy this movie. I didn't find it funny, and sometimes found it a little upsetting, to be honest. The basic joke in most of the family scenes is: families push your boundaries in inappropriate ways, causing embarrassment. Only, that's not intrinsically funny, it has to be made funny by some kind of wit or twist or surprise, which as far as I can tell is lacking here. The main characters are urban yuppies who don't want to get married or have kids, and maybe you're supposed to hate them, hate them with such a passion that seeing them turned into emotional (and sometimes physical) punching bags is really enjoyable for you, and maybe you're supposed to believe that the urge to marry and have kids is so natural that it will overcome people eventually if they're just exposed to other people's families for a day. Or maybe it's just that the script was put together by four credited writers, and who knows how many uncredited ones, and it just really didn't come together. But if you want to watch comedy about family over the Christmas break, you're better off renting the first two seasons of Arrested Development. Infinitely so.

Viki gave it a2:
Vince Vaugh and Reese Witherspoon makes the worst couple ever on screen, worse than 'The Breakup'. This movie is a typical xmas genre with spills and kills you'd expect from the trying to survive actor Vince Vaugh. Rent a movie at home.

Collin J. gave it a6:
Not bad, for a Christmas movie. the only thing keeping me from giving it a higher rating is the fact that this movie is a little too predicable.

Tank J. gave it a2:
The movie seems unfinished...almost like the edited it to get it under 90 minutes. Anyway, very few funny moments. This movie is horrible.

Chad S. gave it a4:
Blink and you may miss it; it being the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots in Brad's childhood room. Red robot. Blue robot. Red state. Blue state. Brad(Vince Vaughn) and Kate(Reese Witherspoon) grew up rooting for the red robot, but now they're backing the blue robot, ever since they left home to escape horrific childhoods that made them feel small. "Four Christmases" is a game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, which disappointingly, ends in a muddling draw. At the outset, the blue robot brings it; he throws a few body blows to conservative ideology(Brad's brothers are named Denver and Dallas: two notably red state cities), knocking family values and the church into submission. But then, those twin pillars of Republican mind control receives its smelling salts by the red robot's trainer and rallies to rope-a-dope the blue robot. So the sparring match goes the distance, so it goes to the judges' decision. It's a draw. In Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch-Drunk Love", Barry(Adam Sandler) survives a childhood marred by constant verbal(and perhaps, physical) abuse from his siblings, just like the Liberal Elitist in "Four Christmases", who was formerly known as Orlando. While the Sandler-Is-A-Serious-Actor vehicle never delves into the Emily Watson character's past, the audience can gauge that her childhood wasn't a particularly rosy one either, such was Kate's formative years, in which the fairer Liberal Elitist suffered the same low self-esteem issues at the hands of her family. Without realizing it, because they kept their "hick" pasts a secret, Brad and Kate are a perfect match. A "Punch-Drunk Love"-like storyline could have materialized, but it doesn't, because their trip to Fiji is thwared by fog(incidentally, Hawaii, the setting for Barry and Lena's vacation, gets a mention). In its place, echoes of Paul Schrader's "Affliction"(the final conversation between father(James Coburn) and son(Nick Nolte)) can be discerned as Brad talks to his hard-ass father(Robert Duvall) late in the film. "Four Christmases" is most convincing when the blue robot hits below the belt; then out of the blue, Kate's family suddenly becomes warmer and more nurturing at a new venue(her father's house), not soon after Kate's first confrontation with her sister(Kristen Chenowith) and mother(Mary Steenburgen), which ably explains why she hadn't returned home in years.

Mitch A. gave it a10:
Great holiday film. Vaughn and Witherspoon are a delightful comedic duo to say the least. Hilarious!

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