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Movies / On DVD / Four Christmases
Four Christmases

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Four Christmases (2008)

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Reviews Counted:137

Fresh:35

Rotten:102

Average Rating:4.3/10

Consensus: Despite a strong cast, this sour holiday comedy suffers from a hackneyed script.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some sexual humor and language.

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Comedies

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... 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 unmarried couple who avoid spending Christmas with their families at all costs and instead travel to exotic locales. But when they find themselves fogged in at the San Francisco airport and their flight to Fiji cancelled, they have no choice but to spend the holiday with their divorced parents and the rest of their dysfunctional relatives. From his wrestling brothers and cradle-robbing mother to her oversexed grandmother and perfect sister, the couple is forced to face their worst nightmare head-on. Kate and Brad's greatest fears are realized as their families share their most personal secrets. This film addresses broader themes of how people really know each other and the importance of connecting with family, no matter how crazy they might be. Vaughn and Witherspoon have nice chemistry as a couple that thought they had everything they wanted, improvising and playing off of each other well. Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek appear as Brad's parents, while Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen play Kate's parents. Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw are a hoot as Brad's tormenting brothers, and Kristen Chenoweth fits the bill as Kate's sister. Parents should be aware that the film includes adult language and themes, and some comments about Santa that may upset young children. [More]

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Voight, Sissy Spacek

Director: Seth Gordon

Director: Seth Gordon
Screenwriter: Matt Allen, Caleb Wilson
Producer: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jon Glickman, Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon
Composer: Alex Wurman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Four Christmases

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Witherspoon works hard to convince us otherwise, but this is a miscast mess. Definitely a turkey rather than a Christmas pudding.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/28/08
Helen OHara
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dismaying, indeed, that a movie purportedly selling itself on refreshing nay-saying scepticism should so cravenly succumb to the same old schmaltz.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/28/08
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The mix of gross-out gags, slapstick and saccharine sentiment should boost the sale of indigestion tablets this festive season.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/28/08
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

These 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.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/28/08
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In 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.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/28/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seeing such talent wasted on this dross is dismaying.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
11/28/08
David Gritten
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

But 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.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
11/28/08
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

It’s not a classic, but it is the best seasonal comedy Hollywood has given us in years, so thanks!

Full Review Source: Heart 106.2 | comment Comment
11/28/08
Heart 106.2

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.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 1 Comment
11/28/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

This bit of festive froth is nothing original but it delivers enough moments to make you smile.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
11/28/08
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Daily Mirror [UK]

Vaughn overcompensates with wild expressions as the film shifts from occasionally funny to smutty to sentimental.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
11/28/08
Sun Online

A laboured romp.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
11/28/08
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

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.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
11/28/08
Robert Hanks
Robert Hanks
Independent

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.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment 2 Comments
11/28/08
Charlotte O'Sullivan
Charlotte O'Sullivan
This is London

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.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/28/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This film is too fragmented to ever come together. Although terrific actors and some serious subtext make it enjoyable.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/28/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
11/27/08
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

Dismaying, indeed, that a movie purportedly selling itself on refreshing nay-saying scepticism should so cravenly succumb to the same old schmaltz.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/25/08
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Four rounds of family festivities produce very little merriment for either its protagonists or audiences.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
11/24/08
John Hazelton
John Hazelton
Screen International

Although not a yuletide classic, Four Christmases is better than most of the holiday-oriented slop put out in recent years.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

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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