The Film
Some holiday movies provide such joy, warmth and laughter, we look forward to annual viewings -- and in cases such as A Christmas Story, the 24-hour marathons. Four Christmases will not be one of those movies.
The premise starts out well enough. A completely selfish couple (Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon) ignore their families every Christmas in favor of celebrating the season with sandy beaches. However, when a storm hits, they are stranded, and caught being interviewed on the evening news.
So they hit the trail to visit relatives at four different households. Four? No wonder they go into hiding each year. Aside from the trek, the duo ruin Santa for the kids, as well as endure injuries from a roof fall, painful childhood memories that involve a bouncy house, and hang out with a crew that looks like something straight out of Cougar Town -- except they're not as funny.
We like our holiday movies with a ton of Christmas-y colors, and Four Christmases doesn't disappoint on that level. Many of those colors pop well in this 1.85:1 transfer. There's also some good detail. Check out those bathroom walls, as well as the facial details on the two main characters.
The Sound
Like most comedies, Four Christmases is heavy on the dialogue, which the Dolby TrueHD track delivers well. However, with all of the pratfalls and other incidents in the movie, there are plenty of moments for your surrounds as well. We found the bass to be bumping in the nightclub scene. Also, the rock-and-roll church provided some nice background sounds (as well as an appearance by Dwight Yoakam). Sadly, the sound doesn't make the movie any better, but it is one of the more active tracks we've heard from a recent comedy.
The Extras
We give this section a lump of coal. Aside from obligatory deleted and gag scenes, there is little left except an HBO special and a very fluffy 10-minute making-of feature, which recaps various scenes in the movie. There's also a completely bizarre, out-of-place 10-minute cooking segment with Paula Deen and Katy Mixon. Mixon was actually in the movie. The rest really has no connection or point. At least if Vaughn was the one wearing the apron, we might have been treated to a few laughs.
Final Thoughts
Mean characters and lame jokes do not make for good holiday fare. Despite a decent Blu-ray transfer and an all-star cast, we couldn't get one decent holiday movie out of Four Christmases. What a complete waste.
Product Details
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