FOUR CHRISTMASES (2008)

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"Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon deliver their take on the holidays"

My personal opinion is that Vince Vaughn gave a better performance in "Wedding Crashers", and that Reese Witherspoon should have stopped making appearances in movies after her "Cruel Intentions". This movie was a seriously lack-luster attempt to give us the tormented feel of the holiday season as viewed by two young urban professionals who have purposefully avoided things like marriage and raising a family due to their desire to avoid becoming stereotyped into classical roles. It begins with them in Yoga class; their attitude toward each other drawn in stark contrast to those around them, who were soon to be married. Although they have a decent relationship, the movie showcases how little they actually know about the other; and proved even less about each other's family. This happens by virtue of them being caught in a lie, when instead of going on a trip to Fiji to SCUBA dive, they instead have to face their divided families; they are sent on a road-trip to four homes, seeing their mother and father of each, of which all are divorced. There were several fleeting moments being truly hilarious slapstick cinema. (They seemed short-lived however, and left me somewhat dissappointed). During the course of the movie there are quite a few chuckles to be had, due to typical Vince Vaughn dry-wit bantor, and Reese Witherspoon's comical outlook on the dynamics within dysfuctional family ties. I disliked the thesis to the movie, being based somewhat on the fact that "you can't spell families without the lies" commentary, a precept that missed the mark of true satire and the fact that there were many opprotunities where the movie could've made better statement without the crude, sometimes horribly deficient attempts to make a punchline to a joke. At times it was more like a stand-up comedy routine, than that of a movie. Across the board the performance was mediocre at best, and at times revealed only what could have been done, to make the film more entertaining. There will be many holiday movies this season, and I suggest skipping this one to wait for it to come out as a rental.