Reese Witherspoon is the answer to that question. I've always liked her.

This movie is everything I hate about comedy. Projectile vomit from a baby. Twice. Grown brothers performing professional style wrestling moves on their helpless brother to the point of extreme pain. A grown woman pushing and throwing and slamming children, admittedly in a bouncy house. Many other instances of inane physical comedy. And don't forget tasteless innuendo.

Why did I watch it through? I work out while watching TV movies and I was more or less a captive audience. Changing programs in mid-stream is complicated.

Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) are very selfish people. They both hate marriage and kids. They can't stand their family or quite frankly any family. They lie to everybody about their Christmas plans and try to vacation in Fiji. Only they are stranded when weather shuts down all the flights. Their families find out their canceled plans when they are surprised on a live TV report. The couple is then forced to visit 4 sets of family Christmases.

This is not a likable couple, and Vince Vaughn is stuck playing the same annoying character as he also does. He needs to try to stretch his acting skills because this fast talking jerk character is getting old. It's especially bad when the movie sucks as bad as this. For a Christmas movie, it is a joyless experience. At least, Reese Witherspoon tries to tap into her charm. In the end, none of it works. None of it is funny.

Four Christmases does have its good moments, but there are many things wrong with it. It is a rather unmemorable seasonal comedy, but it is compensated by the stellar lead performances of Vince Vaughan and Reece Witherspoon. Vaughan and Witherspoon have surprisingly good chemistry, and they are ably supported by Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Robert Duvall and Jon Favreau. The script does have some very witty and funny moments, and there are some great scenes, such as the nativity scene and the charades scene. Another hilarious moment was when Brad unintentionally destroys his dad's living room, his dad's reactions were priceless. The scenery here was lovely and the photography was above average. Plus I have to say the soundtrack was absolutely awesome, and while admittedly formulaic the story did maintain my attention.

However, what I didn't like about Four Christmases was that I didn't feel as though there was enough of the Christmas spirit to fully make it the heartwarming seasonal comedy it had the potential of being. Also while Vaughan and Witherspoon have the lion share of the best lines and scenes, while the supporting cast did well they aren't given as much to do. The last twenty minutes or so I found rather lacklustre. Maybe because it felt too over sentimental and just wasn't funny. In fact, the last couple of seconds was the funniest part of that particular section. My main gripe was Seth Gordon's unfocused direction. There is a lot of emphasis on slapstick in alternative to comic interaction, making the film rather uneven.

All in all, it is a merely okay seasonal comedy. It could have been better in terms of direction and focus, but it was a decent attempt. And the stellar performances, the soundtrack and some good laughs save it becoming a complete turkey. 6/10 Bethany Cox