Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vaughn) are a sophisticated couple who live an exciting life in the city. They avoid their families around the holidays because of the lack of a connection with them and some distant traumas. Neither parental unit remained together, making four sets of households to visit. Every year, Kate and Brad lie to their families and go away on vacation for Christmas. This year, when their flight is cancelled because of bad weather they are caught on TV by a local reporter. The calls come quickly and soon the couple have committed to four separate Christmases. Will their relationship survive this type of stress?
Witherspoon's infinite likeability in all her previous films manages to be inexplicably diluted here. Her romantic connection to Vaughn appears forced throughout much of the story. The first appearance of the couple on the screen leads to some slightly off putting behaviors. My impression of the couple never rebounds from judgments made during this initial meeting. Not that their families are charming and they are the problematic ones. That would have been an interesting film. Each set of familial units have their own set of problems, from being too rough to more sexually-oriented problems. There are moments in the movie that are very adult natured for a seemingly family-oriented Christmas movie. Most of these go over with a thud, eliciting an awkward guffaw at best.
A supporting cast of respectable actors including Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Jon Voight do little to elevate the quality of this movie. Duvall plays another rude and distant curmudgeon - which seems to be the only parts he's getting lately. Vaughn manages to land a few good one-liners but his one-dimensional characters are wearing thin. In the scenes with Kate's family, Brad is especially insensitive to his girlfriend's feelings and oblivious to the plight she is facing. Having Brad cover for his girlfriend instead of constantly trying to overshadow her would have been a refreshing change of pace. Most of the movie, Vaughn appears to be in his own comedic world - desperately mugging for the camera.
I like both Vaughn and Witherspoon in other roles but they just don't work well together here. Sadly, a moral doesn't appear at the end to justify the rest of the film. "Four Christmases" ultimately misses the point that audiences want to feel better about the holidays not more stressed.
Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and language.
