Java Man Reviews "Four Christmases" (PG-13) Directed by Seth Gordon. Written by Matt R. Allen & Caleb Wilson and Jon Lucas & Scott Moore. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Jon Voight, Robert Duvall, Mary Steenburgen, Sissy Spacek, Jon Favreau, Carol Kane, Kristin Chenoweth and Tim McGraw. Originally appeared in LakewoodBuzz.com November, 2008.
OVERVIEW:
Brad and Kate (Vaughn and Witherspoon) are a happily UNmarried San Francisco couple who have a unique holiday tradition: Every year they embark upon a Christmas vacation to a sunny locale after fibbing to their families about where they are bound. This year they say, Burma for charity work, but it's really Fiji for frolicking. As they head for the airport, we see the Golden Gate bridge shrouded in fog. All flights are canceled, and worse yet, they get caught on camera when the nightly news does a segment on stranded passengers. They're busted . . . and expected to show up at each of their four divorced parents' homes for Christmas. If you are part of a dysfunctional family (and you know that you are), then just imagine your worst Christmas ever, and multiply that by four.
REVIEW: 2.5 out of 4 Java Mugs
You would think that when Brad and Kate find that their flight to Fiji has been canceled, it would arouse sympathy in the audience. Well, forget it! If we have to live through another family Christmas, so do they. In fact, we want to watch them suffer, because, as it turns out, their Christmas Day is going to turn out much worse than yours or mine.
The story is simple, and we have seen much of it before. With four divorced parents, their partners, and an array of siblings and step-siblings, every archetype of family dysfunction is on display. Brad gets ambushed and assaulted by his cage-fighting brothers (Favreau and McGraw), as Kate looks on in shock. Kate is humiliated about her childhood eating habits by her sister and mother (Chenoweth and Steenburgen), as Brad looks on in shock. There are children behaving badly and projectile vomiting babies. You get the idea.
There are a few truly humorous scenes, such as a family game of Taboo, during which Brad and Kate discover that they really don't know one another that well.
Performances are lively, and much of it seems improvised. The four parents are played by academy award winners Duval, Steenburgen, Spacek and Voight. While each did a respectable job, I don't think they need to figure on limousine-pooling to the Oscars next year. One of the most memorable characters is created by Chenoweth, as Kate's stressed-out big sister.
After a day of quadruple Christmases, Brad and Kate will surely decide to NEVER get married and NEVER have kids.
But what's that I hear? Tick . . . tick . . . tick.
OVERVIEW:
Brad and Kate (Vaughn and Witherspoon) are a happily UNmarried San Francisco couple who have a unique holiday tradition: Every year they embark upon a Christmas vacation to a sunny locale after fibbing to their families about where they are bound. This year they say, Burma for charity work, but it's really Fiji for frolicking. As they head for the airport, we see the Golden Gate bridge shrouded in fog. All flights are canceled, and worse yet, they get caught on camera when the nightly news does a segment on stranded passengers. They're busted . . . and expected to show up at each of their four divorced parents' homes for Christmas. If you are part of a dysfunctional family (and you know that you are), then just imagine your worst Christmas ever, and multiply that by four.
REVIEW: 2.5 out of 4 Java Mugs
You would think that when Brad and Kate find that their flight to Fiji has been canceled, it would arouse sympathy in the audience. Well, forget it! If we have to live through another family Christmas, so do they. In fact, we want to watch them suffer, because, as it turns out, their Christmas Day is going to turn out much worse than yours or mine.
The story is simple, and we have seen much of it before. With four divorced parents, their partners, and an array of siblings and step-siblings, every archetype of family dysfunction is on display. Brad gets ambushed and assaulted by his cage-fighting brothers (Favreau and McGraw), as Kate looks on in shock. Kate is humiliated about her childhood eating habits by her sister and mother (Chenoweth and Steenburgen), as Brad looks on in shock. There are children behaving badly and projectile vomiting babies. You get the idea.
There are a few truly humorous scenes, such as a family game of Taboo, during which Brad and Kate discover that they really don't know one another that well.
Performances are lively, and much of it seems improvised. The four parents are played by academy award winners Duval, Steenburgen, Spacek and Voight. While each did a respectable job, I don't think they need to figure on limousine-pooling to the Oscars next year. One of the most memorable characters is created by Chenoweth, as Kate's stressed-out big sister.
After a day of quadruple Christmases, Brad and Kate will surely decide to NEVER get married and NEVER have kids.
But what's that I hear? Tick . . . tick . . . tick.