I am a big fan of Vince Vaughn and Four Christmases is a movie that I think is quite underrated. It is no Christmas classic and I do not watch it every year, but it is on my every other Christmas plan when it comes to my annual Christmas movies. If you like Vince Vaughn, you will probably like this if you do not, keep on walking as this is not the Christmas movie for you.
How to Download Four Christmases
Four Christmases was released on November 26, 2008. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. To see more Vince Vaughn, you need to watch The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, or Wedding Crashers.
The Movie Review
Before I get to the movie, I think your enjoyment of this may depend on your views on Christmas. I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of the year, but I am also not immune to family BS that can happen at Christmas. That is kind of what Four Christmases is all about. I wish all my Christmases were drama-free and just super happy, but that is simply not the case.
Family Dynamics
That is why I feel like I got a kick out of Four Christmases. It showcases dysfunctional families and how people want to try and avoid that for their own families if that makes sense. If you have been lucky enough to have just an awesome family Christmas after awesome family Christmas, I can see why you may think this movie is a bit mean-spirited.
Main Characters
Our two main characters are Brad and Kate, played by Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. By the way, I know that Reese Witherspoon is a fantastic actress, but she is also super funny so I wish she did more silly comedic stuff like this. I feel that they have great chemistry and they are a very believable couple.
Plot Development
To say that Brad and Kate come from dysfunctional families is the understatement of the year! As a result of their upbringing and the way that their families are, they have never got married and are not keen on having kids. Also, there are many things about each other’s upbringings and families that they have neglected to tell each other.
Hilarious Moments
They decide to say to hell with seeing their families at Christmas and take a dream vacation to Fiji, lying to their families about why they cannot see them. Well, their vacation gets canceled, their families find out and now they have to see four different parts of the family over one day.
Memorable Characters
Brad and Kate come up with a plan and decide to stick together to get through this as painlessly as possible. My favorite part of the movie has to be when Brad sees his older brother played by John Favreau. I actually like how all the family members are crazy on the surface, but the movie does a very good job of showing why some are the way that they are.
I loved the pairing of John Favreau as Denver and the awesome Katy Mixon as his wife. They play a game against Brad and Kate and it shows that while they may not be what you consider a “normal” family, they know each other very well. It is so easy to just laugh at all the jokes and pass this off as a dumb comedy, but I do think that it has some depth.
Recommendation
There are so many Christmas movies that it is so easy to miss some out, forget about them, or even not know they exist. If you have never seen this or it has been a while since you have, I highly recommend you give it a chance this Christmas. It always manages to make me laugh, but it also manages to make me appreciate my family, even if they do drive me nuts!
