Four Christmases (2008)

Director:

Seth Gordon

Writers (WGA):

Matt Allen (screenplay) &
Caleb Wilson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

His father, her mother, his mother and her father all in one day.

Plot:

A couple struggles to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Airport | Satellite Dish | Satellite Television | Elvis Presley

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	Brad
Reese Witherspoon	...	Kate
Robert Duvall	...	Howard
Sissy Spacek	...	Paula
Jon Voight	...	Creighton
Jon Favreau	...	Denver
Mary Steenburgen	...	Marilyn
Dwight Yoakam	...	Pastor Phil
Tim McGraw	...	Dallas
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Courtney
Katy Mixon	...	Susan
Colleen Camp	...	Aunt Donna
Jeanette Miller	...	Gram-Gram
Jack Donner	...	Grandpa
Steve Wiebe	...	Jim

Also Known As:

Four Holidays (Australia) (New Zealand: English title)
Mein Schatz, unsere Familie und ich (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44549) | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Norway:7 | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Sweden:Btl | France:U | Mexico:B | Germany:6 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Birnbaum/Barber

Trivia:

Many of the film's key scenes were improvised.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Brad referred to Burma as an Asian "island nation". It is not an island: its southern border is its only coastal border.

Quotes:

Connor: Do you know who I am?
Brad: What?
Connor: Google me bitch! I might be famous one day.

Movie Connections:

References Love Story (1970)

Has about as much Christmas spirit as a Friday the 13th film - although the horny characters are still present.

It's been a while since Hollywood gave us a genuinely good Christmas movie worth seeing. If you notice, the Christmas TV line-up is the same each year and the most modern film usually on the list is THE SANTA CLAUSE (1993). This just goes to show that, sadly, Hollywood isn't creating Christmas classics as it once did. Perhaps one of these years we will get a Christmas film reminiscent of the ones we love to watch on TV every year, but this ain't that year - or at least FOUR CHRISTMASES isn't that film.

The problem doesn't lie within the film's premise, but in the actual events that play out in the film. Kate and Brad live life with and for each other and that's it. They don't have much contact with their families - where each parent is divorced and some remarried - and each Christmas opt for a tropical vacation, telling their families they are doing charity work instead. All in all, they are happy with each other, but have buried their family issues. However, this year they get caught in their lie and are forced to visit each parent individually, celebrating a total of four Christmases. In the hands of an able and creative script writer this film could have been quite enjoyable as both Kate and Brad learn to appreciate their families and not exclude certain things - mainly marriage and children - in their lives just because their parents are bad examples of them. Instead, each visit with a parent seems to be a drawn out slapstick or sex joke and nothing else and is just not in any way funny or clever.

The film suffers from a lack of intelligence and it is shocking that it attracted the star power it did. The star's talents are hardly used and instead the film opts for over-sexed relatives, ultra violent brothers and insanely disobedient children - who get no reprimanding for their actions. As a genre of film that almost lends itself to families this one missed the mark and is not recommended for the kids. As an adult-geared Christmas film it just isn't funny. Adult humor can be funny and appropriate if there is other substance backing up the film - see 'KNOCKED UP' or 'FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL.' All we are offered in FOUR CHRISTMASES is one boring and uninspired vignette after the next with paper-thin character development and uninteresting characters.

With rarely an enjoyable moment and an atmosphere that provides almost no Christmas spirit, FOUR CHRISTMASES shouldn't be on anyone's list of holiday films. It is the awkward gift given by a relative. You know the type. It comes in a pretty package, but upon opening you find that it is a pair of underwear or a sweater that is designed to sit at the back of closets. This film surely will.