Four Christmases Vince Vaughn Reese Witherspoon Movie Review: by Peter Tosto

Vince Vaughn (Brad) and Reese Witherspoon (Kate) bring us Four Christmases this holiday season. With an outstanding supporting cast for Brad’s family that include Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek the divorced parents of Brad aka Orlando. Vaughn’s brothers played by Jon Favreau the icon behind Iron Man and Tim McGraw country singer and husband to Faith Hill.

Reese Witherspoon who plays Kate Vaughn’s girlfried has her parents played by Angelina Jolie’s father Jon Voight while her mother is played by Mary Steenburgen who earlier in the year played Will Ferrell’s mom in the genius comedy Stepbrothers (a much funnier movie by the way). Step Brothers out on DVD Tuesday is something to look forward to unlike Four Christmases.

The film takes place in Northern California on Christmas Eve. Brad and Kate each year since they have been dating (3) make up an excuse to avoid the holidays with their family. This year is no different. The problem is Brad and Kate are ready to check in at the airport in San Francisco only to find all flights are grounded due to fog.

This leaves Kate and Brad stuck with a choice between the airport hotel or their families. After they are caught on T.V. being interviewed by a reporter live for their families to see.

Brad and Kate’s cell phones ring with their families calling them about coming over for the holiday after seeing them on the news. This is where we hope the previews that brought us the laughs that make us want to go see this film will come in bunches. The problem is they came and went too fast and we were left wanting more from this one to be a real winner.

I enjoy Vince Vaughn, Resse Witherspoon and Robert Duvall while coming to really enjoy Mary Steenburgen’s comedic roles of late. Her timing is good as is Duvall who plays a miserable father to Vaughn. Vaughn’s mother played by Sissy Spacek didn’t hit it out of the park for me and I wanted her to. The problem is not the actors the script comes up short.

Four Christmases did make it clear for me how come Kate and Brad did not want to go home for the holidays.  This one left me wishing I had done what Kate and Brad did and gone somewhere else too, instead of sitting through Four Christmases.

Movie Review scale for Four Christmases Comedy 2 out of 4 stars.

Stepbrothers, Juno and Superbad all are better scripts. The overall problem with the film was it didn’t flow. They had to go to four different homes in one day in 1 hour and twenty two minutes. This was after Vaughn and Witherspoon had already went to the airport. The visits seemed longer and not believable from a time frame taking in Church with Witherspoon’s family and a second trip for Vaughn back to his and Witherspoon’s fathers houses. It sure didn’t seem like they all lived so close.

I would listen to Brad and Kate and go somewhere else this holiday season  instead of to their families with them.