Product Description

A COUPLE STRUGGLES TO VISIT ALL FOUR OF THEIR DIVORCED PARENTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #846 in DVD
• Brand: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2009-11-24
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Features

• FOUR CHRISTMASES (DVD MOVIE)

Amazon.com
When your significant other tells you you both need an exit "safe word" before you enter his dad's Christmas gathering, you know you're not in Bedford Falls. But while Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon may not be It's a Wonderful Life's George and Mary Bailey, Four Christmases is a modern holiday classic in its own right. For one thing, every family neurosis and dysfunction have taken root in the four families of Vaughn and Witherspoon's characters, Brad and Kate--and the sleek yuppie façade each has built with the other is about to come tumbling down. There are real belly laughs as the couple unexpectedly has to spend holidays with their four extended family groups. "I don't want to speak ill of your mother on Christmas," growls Howard (Robert Duvall) to son Brad, while Brad's bullnecked ultimate-fighter brothers are rassling everything in sight, "but she's nothing but a common street whore." Brad may cringe, but Kate's own family is about to mortify her in abundant ways, from her randy "Gram-Gram" and about-to-pounce cougar mom Mary Steenburgen ("I feel like a Saudi prince in here," marvels Brad as all of Kate's female relatives drape themselves over him), to the revelation to Brad that Kate used to be--how to put this--a bit on the chubby side. If the plot isn't full of surprises, the quips are nonstop and the acting believable and charming. The supporting cast also includes Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau and Dwight Yoakam in a memorable turn as the mega-church pastor Steenburgen's character is involved with. It's a comic Christmas blessing, and there'll be no need to say "mistletoe"--at least not till the viewers are home with their own families. --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

Four Christmases
Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) are heading to Figi for Christmas so they do not have to spend time with their family. A dense fogbank grounds all flights out of San Francisco and destroys their plans. A local television report from the airport seals their fate, and soon they are off to see their families - Brad's divorced mom and dad and Kate's divorced mom and dad. Brad's dad (Duvall) and brothers (Favreau and McGraw) are hell on Brad, but Kate finds amusement in his discomfort. Kate's mom (Steenburgen) is a bit of a cougar, making things uncomfortable for everyone. By the time they have survived Brad's mom (Spacek), their relationship is hanging by a thread. Kate's dad is not so bad, but by then it may just be too late.

"Four Christmases" is a pretty funny holiday film. Vaughn and Witherspoon are two likeable, funny leads. A star-studded supporting cast keeps the humor coming as well. The humor is of the squirmy, uncomfortable kind. You feel bad for these two as they are forced to deal with their families. This is an entertaining film for fans of holiday movies. If you are in the mood for something Christmassy, check it out.

Veteran cast shoulders holiday film
Resulting from a Fiji flight cancellation, Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) are forced to act out a Christmas tradition: visiting their families. Although Brad and Kate have been dating for three years (and are currently living together), neither one of them has met the other's parents. And for good reason.

Including Brad's mishap with a satellite dish, Kate's upsetting several babies and even an overly evangelical performance of the nativity, the four-stop tour to each of their divorced parents' houses is exaggerated to say the least.

In typical fashion, the parents are eager to share baby and childhood pictures with their child's significant other. This causes some complications for Brad and Kate when they each discover that neither one of them has been completely honest about their childhoods. Some of the epiphanies are more or less embarrassing than others, but ultimately the arguments drive away Brad and Kate's perfectly pre-rehearsed happiness during the first scene of "Four Christmases."

There is little chemistry between Vaughn and Witherspoon. This may have been intentional, to show the deterioration of their relationship. Nonetheless, Vaughn is guilty of his trademark outbursts of hilarity. Vaughn is the master of unknowing misunderstanding and resulting miscommunication. As in "The Break Up," his and his cohabitating co-star's connection breaks down in the face of his never-ending, albeit hilarious, soliloquies.

Witherspoon plays a fairly comedic role as well, although Vaughn overshadows her (literally). Kate does, however, offer most of the substance of the movie, ruing past Christmases spent away from family and contemplating the future of Brad's and her relationship.

The all-star cast holds the film together. Brad's parents are played by Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek, while Kate's parents are played by Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen. In a way, both fathers and both mothers play the same role. The mothers are very welcoming to their child's better half, while also being overtly sexually open and thus entertaining for audiences. The fathers, on the other hand, offer the most advice and life lessons, causing Brad and Kate to realize the importance of family.

The siblings are also worthy of mention. Brad's brothers, played by Tim McGraw and Jon Favreau, execute their cage fighting routine on Brad when he arrives to exchange gifts. Kate's sister, Kristin Chenoweth, brings out Kate's motherly tendencies while simultaneously embarrassing her with sisterly teasing. In his role as Pastor Phil (Dwight Yoakam), Kate's mother's boyfriend, is undoubtedly an amusement.

The couple's four Christmases are a lesson in the reality and difficulty of relationships. However, with a year-later scene tacked on the end, the viewer questions how much Brad and Kate actually learned from their previous holiday.

I Felt Like the Kid Who Got the Flashlight For Christmas
Five Oscar winning actors in the cast and nothing to show for it. I was hoping for a flick that evoked the spirit of Christmas and received the proverbial lump of coal in the stocking. The humor is mostly derivative and unfunny. The best gag involves Robert Duvall's green shag carpetting in his living room. Shockingly Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn are totally unappealing playing the worst kind of narcissistic yuppies imaginable. Vaughn should avoid holiday fare after this dreck and "Fred Claus". What saves this flick from the absolute nadir is the all-too-brief appearances of the aforementioned Duvall and Jon Voight. Do yourself a favor if you want a flick that better captures the spirit of the season is to check out "The Holiday"...or "Bad Santa".