Four Holidays
Movie details
When upscale, happily unmarried San Francisco couple Kate and Brad find themselves socked in by fog on Christmas morning, their exotic vacation plans morph into the family-centric holiday they had, until now, gleefully avoided. Out of obligation - and unable to escape - they trudge to not one, not two, but four relative-choked festivities, increasingly mortified to find childhood fears raised, adolescent wounds reopened... and their very future together uncertain.
Director Seth Gordan
Stars Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn
Sexual references
Our review
It's that time of year again - Christmas - when Hollywood likes to remind us all about the importance of family and love.
"Four Holidays" aims to do just that with a touch of humour added to this romantic comedy.
When Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate's (Reese Witherspoon) Christmas holiday plans to Fiji are ruined due to a flight cancellation, they are forced to do the one thing they avoid every year: spending time with each of their families.
Much to their horror, Brad and Kate, whose parents have all divorced and remarried, are expected to attend four different Christmas family celebrations - all on Christmas day.
During the course of the celebrations, the pair (who have vowed never to marry or have kids, opting instead to live a self-indulgent life), each relive memories they would rather forget. In the process, they learn more about each other and the things they value in life.
There are a few scenes that add the "com" to this "rom-com", such as Witherspoon overcoming her fear of the jumping castle and Vaughn acting as Joseph in the nativity scene of a Christian play.
However, the humour in this film is overshadowed by the lack of chemistry between the two lead actors. The sound of Vaughn's voice, heard more times in the film than the rest of the cast combined, also adds a sense of tediousness to "Four Holidays".
If it's a fresh story and a barrel of laughs you're after, this may not be the film for you. But if you're a fan of Witherspoon or Vaughn, and don't mind the predictability of a cheesy Christmas rom-com, then you might enjoy this film.
5/10
Val Roman
In compiling yourTime content, HWW relies upon information supplied by a number of sources. yourTime content is supplied on the basis that while HWW believes that all the information in it will be correct at time of publishing, it does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.
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