Four Christmases

New review from The Movie Snob

Four Christmases (D). I cannot say I wasn't warned. The previews did not look good. The Dallas Morning News gave it a C or a C-. But I was still a little surprised at how bad this holiday romantic comedy was. Vince Vaughn (Old School) and Reese Witherspoon (Cruel Intentions) star as Brad and Kate a yuppie couple that is living the life in San Francisco--no marriage, no kids, just fun all the time. And to keep the fun alive, they leave the country every Christmas to avoid their parents (all divorced) and siblings. But when all outgoing flights are canceled, they suck it up and dutifully make the rounds. Their "eccentric" families are painfully unfunny, from Brad's "ultimate fighter" brothers, to Kate's newly religious mother, to Brad's mother who has now taken up with Brad's childhood best friend. How did they get this line-up of co-stars to be in this terrible movie? The film has Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now), Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter), Jon Voighyt (Angelina Jolie's Dad), Mary Steenburgen (Philadelphia), Dwight Yoakam (Sling Blade), and others, for crying out loud. The scene in the tacky Christian church with the lame preacher (Yoakam) is among the worst. Still, I'd rather see this than The Family Stone again.