Filled with 'hilarious' scenes of people being vomited on and falling off roofs, Four Holidays tries to meld nasty, black-hued comedy with warm sentiment, resulting in a sick melange of treacle and malice.
1 Comment
12/04/08
Four Christmases (2008)
25
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:140
Fresh:35
Rotten:105
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Despite a strong cast, this sour holiday comedy suffers from a hackneyed script.
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $120,136,047
Synopsis: Documentarian Seth Gordon (THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS) makes his feature film directorial debut with FOUR CHRISTMASES. Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vince Vaughn) are a happily... [More]
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau
Director: Seth Gordon
Reviews for Four Christmases
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticProjectile baby vomiting is a recurring gag. I cried mistletoe well before the film was halfway through.
12/12/08
Top CriticAn imperfect storm of horrible writing, awkward casting and questionable taste gathers soon after the opening credits and dumps downpours of buzz-killing humour at depressingly regular intervals.
12/04/08
Top CriticA top cast just manages to keep Four Holidays afloat but the script offers too few laughs, and slapstick turns to schmaltz before we've had enough Christmas Cheer.
12/01/08
Top CriticYou can see most of the big slapstick set-pieces looming long before they hit but there are a few smaller routines that pack a punch just because they have an unexpectedly manic tilt to them.
12/08/08
Top Critic[A] noxious, nearly laughless Christmas comedy.
11/26/08
Vaughn overcompensates with wild expressions as the film shifts from occasionally funny to smutty to sentimental.
11/28/08
Although the list is rather short, maybe Vince Vaughn should think about throwing in the towel when it comes to starring in movies that deal with some aspect of Christmas.
11/28/08
By the time Jon Voight actually utters the line, 'There's nothing more important than family,' whatever subversive spark Four Christmases ever had has gone out the window, replaced by Hallmark Channel schmaltz.
11/25/08
There is no spark to the humor, there is no warmth to the drama. There is a tired plot that whips the essence of every Christmas movie ever made into a dreary slog
12/24/08
Vince Vaughn tries his best at ab-libbing his way through the film, but Witherspoon seems to have no clue what she's doing. If you're desperate for a Christmas comedy, rent SURVIVING CHRISTMAS instead.
11/28/08
Oh, the hilarity of hating your family at the holidays.
12/02/08
Didn’t quite get over the hump.
12/02/08
Four Christmases is simply all-too-familiar and exceedingly mediocre - and will likely be forgotten by the time we take down our Christmas trees.
11/25/08
Flailing like a dying fish out of water and eventually smelling just as fetid, Four Christmases is stiflingly unfunny.
11/26/08
Gordon's stars are charmless, his script cheerless, and his sterling supporting cast can't seem to figure out what they've been brought on board to do.
12/02/08
If Vince Vaughn wants to ruin Christmas, he's going about it the right way. Another year of this coal-in-stocking cinema and the holiday spirit will be beaten out of me for good.
11/25/08
Delightful apart but deadly together, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn look, throughout Four Christmases, as if they just want to get this thing over with.
11/26/08
An embarassment for all involved.
12/06/08
Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play the leads. Do they convince as lawyers or lovers? No. Do they convince as space aliens trying to infiltrate the human race? Yes.
11/28/08
Latest News for Four Christmases
November 30, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Four Christmases has a lot to be thankful for this weekend
Four Christmases had a sensational Thanksgiving weekend in the number one spot. Bolt picked up the pace while the sun started to set on Twilight. More...
November 28, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Local Critics Warm To Changeling; De Niro Delights But What Just Happened Doesn't
It's Friday, there's a new raft of movies in the UK cinemas this week, but are any of them any good? This week the UK film hacks give us their opinions on Clint Eastwood's... More...
November 26, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Vince & Reese Offer Holiday Cheer
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend sees a wide variety of films in the multiplexes giving all kinds of moviegoers something to see over the extended five-day session. Leading the... More...
November 25, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Four Christmases Gets Coal
This week at the movies, we've got yuletide yucks (Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), an epic from Down Under (Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and... More...
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