Witherspoon works hard to convince us otherwise, but this is a miscast mess. Definitely a turkey rather than a Christmas pudding.
Comment
11/28/08
Four Christmases (2008)
25
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:35
Rotten:103
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Despite a strong cast, this sour holiday comedy suffers from a hackneyed script.
Theatrical Release:26-11-2008
Synopsis: Documentarian Seth Gordon (THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS) makes his feature film directorial debut with FOUR CHRISTMASES. Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vince Vaughn) are a happily... [More]
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau
Director: Seth Gordon
Reviews for Four Christmases
Top CriticDismaying, indeed, that a movie purportedly selling itself on refreshing nay-saying scepticism should so cravenly succumb to the same old schmaltz.
11/28/08
Top CriticThe mix of gross-out gags, slapstick and saccharine sentiment should boost the sale of indigestion tablets this festive season.
11/28/08
Top CriticThese embarrassing truths, indeed the entire film, take a great deal of hard swallowing. The mawkish ending is thoroughly predictable. But it’s not quite as ghastly as the ingredients might suggest.
11/28/08
Top CriticIn this egregious Christmas movie, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon each demonstrate the classic "Hollywood romcom" face: waxy as a corpse, dead-eyed with self-loathing.
11/28/08
Top CriticSeeing such talent wasted on this dross is dismaying.
11/28/08
Top CriticBut as syrup and cynicism congeal into one painful clot, there is never any doubt that this is a major studio's crack at the Yuletide market.
11/28/08
It’s not a classic, but it is the best seasonal comedy Hollywood has given us in years, so thanks!
11/28/08
Witherspoon and Vaughn are physically ill-matched. She has never looked tinier, while the always gigantic Vaughn has put on so much weight that I half-expected the big plot revelation to be that he'd eaten her twin sister.
11/28/08
This bit of festive froth is nothing original but it delivers enough moments to make you smile.
11/28/08
Vaughn overcompensates with wild expressions as the film shifts from occasionally funny to smutty to sentimental.
11/28/08
A laboured romp.
11/28/08
A fabulous cast is thrown away on forced gags; still, by the genre's standards the message is interestingly complex and ambivalent – pro-family, naturally, but with such qualifications that you almost feel it's sincere.
11/28/08
Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play the leads. Do they convince as lawyers or lovers? No. Do they convince as space aliens trying to infiltrate the human race? Yes.
11/28/08
Average family comedy that's saved by likeable performances from Vaughn and Witherspoon, though it bungles its emotional finale and feels a little flat as a result.
11/28/08
This film is too fragmented to ever come together. Although terrific actors and some serious subtext make it enjoyable.
11/28/08
Director Seth Gordon's debut feature is a mutant meringue of a movie, with the sugar icing oddly squashed beneath the bitter lemon filling curdling on top. The result is an unpleasant goo that's neither sweet nor sour.
11/27/08
Dismaying, indeed, that a movie purportedly selling itself on refreshing nay-saying scepticism should so cravenly succumb to the same old schmaltz.
11/25/08
Top CriticFour rounds of family festivities produce very little merriment for either its protagonists or audiences.
11/24/08
How many Academy Award winners can a studio put in one cast and still turn out a bad movie?
11/19/09
Latest News for Four Christmases
November 30, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Four Christmases has a lot to be thankful for this weekend
Four Christmases had a sensational Thanksgiving weekend in the number one spot. Bolt picked up the pace while the sun started to set on Twilight. More...
November 28, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Local Critics Warm To Changeling; De Niro Delights But What Just Happened Doesn't
It's Friday, there's a new raft of movies in the UK cinemas this week, but are any of them any good? This week the UK film hacks give us their opinions on Clint Eastwood's... More...
November 26, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Vince & Reese Offer Holiday Cheer
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend sees a wide variety of films in the multiplexes giving all kinds of moviegoers something to see over the extended five-day session. Leading the... More...
November 25, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Four Christmases Gets Coal
This week at the movies, we've got yuletide yucks (Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), an epic from Down Under (Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and... More...
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