Comedy with an alternative Christmas message

4:50pm Friday 28th November 2008

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Four Christmases (12A) Festive comedy about a couple visiting their families, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.

NO ONE enjoys the Christmas holidays more than Brad and Kate.

Every December 25th, the happily unmarried, upscale San Francisco couple embark on a holiday tradition they have shared every year since they met - ditching their crazy families for a relaxing, fun-filled vacation in some sunny exotic locale.

There, sipping margaritas by the pool, they toast the season, knowing they have once again avoided the chaos and emotional fallout of their four respective households: divorced parents, squabbling siblings, out-of-control kids and all the simmering resentments and awkward moments that are the hallmarks of every family Christmas.

But not this year. Shorts and sunglasses packed, Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) are trapped at the San Francisco airport by a fogbank that cancels every outbound flight.

Worse still, they are caught on camera by a local news crew, revealing their whereabouts to the whole city…and to their families. With no escape and no excuses, they are now expected home by all four parents - Four Christmases in one day. As they brace themselves for a marathon of homecomings, Brad and Kate expect the worst - and that’s exactly what they get. But as Brad counts down the minutes to their freedom, Kate surprisingly finds herself tuned to the ticking of a different clock.

At the end of the day, each will gain a new perspective on where they came from - and where they’re going. Getting to know themselves and each other as they really are could finally give them a chance at the kind of love they’ve only been playing at. “This is a movie about the universal theme of the holidays: anxiety,” deadpans director Seth Gordon, observing that “holidays, home and family have a way of bringing us back to our roots and exposing our vulnerabilities like nothing else. Which, of course, is fertile ground for comedy.”

More specifically, he adds, “Four Christmases is about the ongoing struggle we all face, between who we are versus who we were raised to be and, ultimately, who we need to become.

“That’s why going home can be so difficult. The minute you walk in that door you’re confronted by images of who you used to be - or how your parents and siblings still see you - and maybe that’s not who you are anymore. It’s instant discomfort.”

“The truth is, no matter how much you think you know a person, you can always learn more by watching them interact with family and seeing their childhoods revealed. Parents and siblings really know how to push those buttons,” says Vince Vaughn, who stars as Brad.

Reese Witherspoon, who stars as Kate, acknowledges: “The truth is, people tend to evaluate their own relationships in comparison to that of their parents, and that can be a daunting prospect in many ways.”

That is precisely why Brad and Kate have been deftly sidestepping the show-and-tell, notes Vaughn. “They really love each other and don’t want to ruin it. As the story progresses, you realise how they’ve been hurt by their childhoods and the demise of their parents’ marriages.

“They see the stresses and obligations of family life but none of its joy. So they reinvent themselves as independent adults and stay away to avoid making the mistakes their parents made and so have a happier life.”

Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek portray Brad’s long-divorced parents Howard and Paula, while Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight complete the cast as Kate’s equally incompatible parents, Marilyn and Creighton.

Witherspoon adds: “Family is so important. You have to accept them as they are because, honestly, they’re not going to change.”

“Ultimately, this story is about what the holiday season itself is largely about: being thankful for your family - the good, the bad and the ugly of it - and being appreciative for the love you have,” says Vaughn.

“Of course,” he adds with a smile, “none of that has to get in the way of having a lot of fun.”