Four Christmases (2008)

Director:

Seth Gordon

Writers (WGA):

Matt Allen (screenplay) &
Caleb Wilson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

His father, her mother, his mother and her father all in one day.

Plot:

A couple struggles to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Airport | Satellite Dish | Satellite Television | Elvis Presley

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	Brad
Reese Witherspoon	...	Kate
Robert Duvall	...	Howard
Sissy Spacek	...	Paula
Jon Voight	...	Creighton
Jon Favreau	...	Denver
Mary Steenburgen	...	Marilyn
Dwight Yoakam	...	Pastor Phil
Tim McGraw	...	Dallas
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Courtney
Katy Mixon	...	Susan
Colleen Camp	...	Aunt Donna
Jeanette Miller	...	Gram-Gram
Jack Donner	...	Grandpa
Steve Wiebe	...	Jim

Also Known As:

Four Holidays (Australia) (New Zealand: English title)
Mein Schatz, unsere Familie und ich (Germany)
Четыре Рождества (Russia) [ru]
Anywhere But Home (Netherlands) [nl]
Anywhere But Home (Asia: English title) (new title) [en]
Borta bäst, hemma värst (Sweden) [sv]
Cetiri bozica (Croatia) [hr]
Como en casa en ningún sitio (Spain) [es]
Ctvery vánoce (Czech Republic) [cs]
Cztery gwiazdki (Poland) [pl]
Hristougenna sta tessera (Greece) [el]
Négy karácsony (Hungary) [hu]
Navidad sin los suegros (Argentina) [es]
Neljad jõulud (Estonia) [et]
Ni en tu casa ni en la mía (Mexico) [es]
Surpresas do Amor (Brazil) [pt]
Tout... sauf en famille (France) [fr]
Tutti insieme inevitabilmente (Italy) [it]
Una Navidad sin suegros (Peru) [es]
Uns Sogros de Fugir (Portugal) [pt]
Zoraki tatil (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44549) | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Norway:7 | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Sweden:Btl | France:U | Mexico:B | Germany:6 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Birnbaum/Barber

Trivia:

In order to develop the characters and give each of them an identity, director Seth Gordon drew up detailed timelines of their lives.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene in the car while Kate and Brad are going to their final Christmas at her fathers, they are arguing. This is an obvious re-shoot because at some points she is wearing a wig and then in the next shot it is back to her normal hair. It goes back and forth this way throughout the scene.

Quotes:

Darryl: Look, Brad. I'm not trying to be your father, you already got one of those. I'm just hoping for a chance to be your friend.
Brad: You were my friend, Darryl. You were my best friend. We grew up together, we rode bikes together, we used to smell each others hands. But now you're sleeping with my mom and it's a little bit weird for me. Can you appreciate that?
Darryl: I never had a sexual thought about your mom until I was 30.
Brad: Can you leave it alone? You can't be my friend anymore. You can't be sleeping with my mom and still be my friend, ok?

Movie Connections:

Features Donkey Kong (1981) (VG)

Utterly predictable but there are some good laughs

Couple Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) have been dating for three years but have no interest in getting married or having babies. They avoid their families (4 of them--both of their parents are divorced) by saying they have some charity mission to do. However they're caught on camera one Christmas and have to promise to visit all their 4 families that one day. Naturally all their families are somewhat strange and familiar (but funny) complications ensure.

I saw this for a few reasons--it got good reviews from critics; it's been an OK hit (so far); I like Vaughn and Witherspoon and it's hard to resist a movie with FOUR Academy Award winning actors in supporting roles--Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight. It's not a great movie at all but it had a few good laughs and--at 88 minutes--it doesn't wear out its welcome. Supposedly Vaughn and Witherspoon didn't get along at all while working on this but you'd never know it from the film. They have some great chemistry and their comedic timing is right on target. The rest of the cast is as good as anyone could be and they all act well enough to make the entirely predictable story go down smoothly. It's not perfect. I could have lived without the TWO instances of projectile vomiting and Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw were too vicious and unfunny as Vaughn's brothers. Some people find seeing other people beaten up hysterically funny but I'm not one of them. Still these are small parts of the movie. All in all a good enjoyable holiday film.