This film has the perfect setup to be a big hit...it comes out on DVD over the holidays when (many) people are, after a day or two, trying to get away from the relatives for awhile, and the plot even centers on that same subject matter! Yet, through a multitude of problems, first and foremost being the continued dumbing down of what people must think is funny, it fails to resonate on any level.
Basically, the story sees a couple (played by Reece Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) trying to escape their holiday family get-togethers due to tension from both sets of parents. However, when their flight to Fiji is cancelled due to fog, they are forced to spend the day at four different homes (both sets of their parents are divorced) celebrating Christmas. They meet a wide variety of odd characters and even begin to drift away from each other once past secrets begin to be revealed.
While that may sound like an interesting concept, it just doesn't get off the group. First, the lead couple, though played by the very competent Witherspoon and Vaughn, are so unlikable that you really can't get drawn into their relationship. In fact, you may actually root AGAINST them as they are so annoying. Secondly, the auxiliary family members that should bring the comedy to the film are, in actually, quite annoying themselves also. Not until the last home do you get a touch of interesting character development, but by then you really don't care anymore.
However, the biggest problem with the entire film is that it relies on far too many sight gags and an over abundance of crude humor. The scenes in the film that should get the biggest laughs involve "Vaughn" falling off a roof, a breast pump, and a baby vomiting. Now I suppose that when it comes to humor it's sort of "to each his own", but personally I feel that resorting to that type of humor is a cheap way to get a chuckle (if that) and doesn't really endear itself to viewers.
Thus, here is the real test of whether or not I found this to be enjoyable whatsoever: After finishing it, I flipped around my cable TV and found two great films on...Father of the Bride and When Harry Met Sally. After just 15 minutes of flipping back and forth between those two, I had more laughs than during the entire 88 minutes of Four Christmases.
Basically, the story sees a couple (played by Reece Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) trying to escape their holiday family get-togethers due to tension from both sets of parents. However, when their flight to Fiji is cancelled due to fog, they are forced to spend the day at four different homes (both sets of their parents are divorced) celebrating Christmas. They meet a wide variety of odd characters and even begin to drift away from each other once past secrets begin to be revealed.
While that may sound like an interesting concept, it just doesn't get off the group. First, the lead couple, though played by the very competent Witherspoon and Vaughn, are so unlikable that you really can't get drawn into their relationship. In fact, you may actually root AGAINST them as they are so annoying. Secondly, the auxiliary family members that should bring the comedy to the film are, in actually, quite annoying themselves also. Not until the last home do you get a touch of interesting character development, but by then you really don't care anymore.
However, the biggest problem with the entire film is that it relies on far too many sight gags and an over abundance of crude humor. The scenes in the film that should get the biggest laughs involve "Vaughn" falling off a roof, a breast pump, and a baby vomiting. Now I suppose that when it comes to humor it's sort of "to each his own", but personally I feel that resorting to that type of humor is a cheap way to get a chuckle (if that) and doesn't really endear itself to viewers.
Thus, here is the real test of whether or not I found this to be enjoyable whatsoever: After finishing it, I flipped around my cable TV and found two great films on...Father of the Bride and When Harry Met Sally. After just 15 minutes of flipping back and forth between those two, I had more laughs than during the entire 88 minutes of Four Christmases.