As much as I like Reese Whitherspoon, I hated “Four Christmases.” The awkward attempts at humor more often fall flat than garner any chuckles. When a fogged in San Francisco airport causes Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) to remain in the city on Christmas day, they are obligated to visit both sets of parents. The first visit takes them to testosterone central inhabited by Brad’s father (Robert Duvall) and his two brothers, Denver (Jon Favreau) and Dallas (Tim McGraw). The next stop is Kate’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) and sister (Kristen Chenoweth). This is followed by a visit to Brad’s mom (Sissy Spacek) and then to Kate’s father (Jon Voight). With each of these visits, we see the loving relationship between Brad and Kate slowly unravel.
The characters of Brad and Kate are not developed enough that we care what happens to them. They’re more caricatures than real people – and boring caricatures, at that. Neither exudes much vivacity or vitality. The supporting cast proves to be more comedic, especially Jon Favreau, who has a great time playing Brad’s dumb, but buff brother. “Four Christmases” is a disappointment and a waste of time and with a running time of 82 minutes, that’s saying quite a lot. 1/1/09
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