Iffy for 13+
Holiday romcom is amiable but centers on family dysfunction.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this romantic comedy is riddled with gags centering on major family dysfunction. And there's real bite underneath the laughs: The central couple (played by teen favorites Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) finds out soon enough that they don't really know enough about each other, and their families beat them up -- both physically and emotionally. It's all played for laughs, of course, which takes some of the edge off, but younger kids may still wind up perturbed by the scenes of familial mayhem. There's also some swearing (including "s--t") and social drinking, as well as some innuendo and implied sex.
- Families can talk about why so many holiday movies focus on dysfunctional family relationships.
- Are real families really as out there as the ones in movies like this?Does watching their antics make you feel better (or worse) about yourown? Do you think that's the point?
- In this movie, why do you thinkBrad and Kate are estranged from their families? Is it justified, orare they being selfish?
- What are your own family celebrations like? Whyare holiday get-togethers often fraught withtension (both in the media and in reality)?
The good stuff
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Messages: Fathers belittle their sons; brothers beat on each other;mothers neglect their daughters in pursuit of their next romance; and afather finally confesses to being a horrible role model. Plus, twopeople discover they have many more differences than they cared toadmit. The lead couple live a Yuppie-fied life in which vacationing inexotic resorts seems to be the main engine of their relationship.Still, even the most awkward situation is mined for humor, and in theend, trite as it may sound, they find their way back to each other.
What to watch for
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Violence: Lots of heavy-duty wrestling that, at first, seems purely funny untilyou realize there's a bullying element to it. Some yelling andscreaming. A man falls off the roof clutching an antenna, starting achain reaction that has the television smashed to bits and a fireigniting on the carpet.
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Sex: Within the first half hour, a couple indulges in some seriousdouble entendre and then makes out heavily in a bathroom stall; later,it's implied that they have sex (audiences just see them leaving a bathroom looking slightly unkempt). An older woman has arelationship with her son's best friend, and he discusses their sex life. Another woman is involved with a"rock star"-like pastor and drops sexual innuendoes, even ones aimed ather daughter's boyfriend. Men openly ogle women's cleavage.
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Language: Strong language includes "a--hole," "s--tty," and "hell."
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Consumerism: Product mentions and placement include Direct TV, Xbox, EPT (pregnancy test), Stanford, jump-jumps, breast pumps, and more.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: There's a fair amount of social drinking; one character seems to spend a lot of time brooding while clutching a beer.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
Dave The Movie Watcher Is An Idiot by bsteineckert
So they should fire Dave the review guys because he is obviously inaccurate on many movies. This movie is a holiday movie made to boost peoples spirits and get people ready for Christmas, and it does just that, reminds us of what is important and and often taken for granted. Now to give this movie a D- and basically destroy every scene in the movie with opinionated idiocy, definitely puts him on grounds to be terminated. I mean he only gave 3:10 to Yuma a B-, and that movie is Amazing..... But Back on subject, Four Christmases is packed with laughs, which is the entire point of the movie. So in that category it succeeds. Is it an original story line... probably not... have we seen it before.. probably so.. but anymore for a movie to be 100% original is nearly impossible... and to do away with Christmas plotted movies like our "reviewer" Dave suggests would be almost as stupid as letting him do reviews for people to read. We might as well do away with the Christmas all together.
5
Great Movie! by kittygimu
I have never laughed so much at a Christmas movie!! It was funny and entertaining.
2
This movie should have been Rated R. This rating was not appropriate. by mccanndddc
I took my 12 and 13 year old thinking this would be a funny movie and AGE APPROPRIATE AS it's rated PG13. The extreme mature nature of the film shocked meh. The opening scene is a pretty graphic sex encounter with a stranger in a public bathroom. The movie moves on to a serious Santa spoiler, discussion of what nipples are like after breastfeeding, men humping each other while wrestling, vulgar language and an elderly lady talking about how she was going to pleasure her husband more with her hand and mouth. We got up and left the theater. At that point, we had had enough. As an adult, I could see the humor in the movie. But, I was VERY uncomfortable and upset that my children where being exposed to this. In summary, I feel duped by the rating. It was not rated properly and definately should have been rated R. If this is what this is what the movie industry feels is appropriate for 13 year olds, no wonder our world is such a mess.
1
Four Christmases by ideallori
The first 5 minutes was great!! Then it went completely down hill. Totally all over the place. It was very annoying. There was no chemistry between the two lead characters and it seemed to ramble. Vince Vaughn was his typical self though, rambling on and on. The whole movie just seemed forced and uncomfortable. It was simply not the kind of movie I would expect to see Reece Witherspoon in whether it be comedy or drama. She is much better than this movie. She gets lost in the shadow of Vince Vaughn's boring, stuffy character. Robert Duvall, Jon Voit and Sissy Spacek are the only bright spots in this dull and boring movie. Complete waste of these fine actors talents.
5
Four Christmases by NAUGHTYDI
This movie was awesome! Never laughed so hard in my life,
Definitely you should see this movie!
5
Haven't laughed that hard in awhile by thaliamac
I was afraid that the best parts of the movie were shown in the trailor, and I was glad that I was disappointed. I haven't laughted that hard in awhile. It was definitely an enjoyable movie that most could get a good laugh from at some point. Definitely a must go, especially with the holiday's soon approaching.
3
Light Menu by ginalombarda
This is a light holiday movie with some dark spots. There are some funny moments, and just
the cast is enough to pull it through. But there are some genuinely disheartening elements as well,
and if you have a child who still believes in Santa, don't take them to this movie, as that secret is revealed rather ungracefully in one scene. It's not a great movie, but it's okay after perhaps a day of
shopping. NOT for children, really.
2
4 Christmases by jbborg
This movie is about 3 Christmases too long. I really wanted to like this film, but it's almost like the actors gave up 30 minutes into the movie.
Save your time - Rent Scrooged if you want a Christmas comedy
3
Not Very Funny, Really... by lindateddy
I was very much looking forward to this movie, partly because of the diverse cast (Reese, Vince, Mary Steenburgen, Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, Tim McGraw, Dwight Yokam) and partly because the premise seemed genuinely funny. (Four Christmases in one day after getting caught trying to go to Figi instead of to the family's houses)
Unfortunately, none of the humor that I expected actually came about in this movie. The funniest parts were the sight gags in the trailers, and the rest of the movie seemed to be "pasted" around those sight gags, hoping to make them long enough to be a funny movie. There was lots of vulgar language, some that added to the humor and some that just felt gratuitous.
This could definitely have been a hilarious movie, and the performances by the main characters were certainly solid enough (although Vince was surprisingly unsympathetic in this one) But the real stories never got off the ground, and the end brought us back full circle. Not very satisfying.
3
Disappointing by staract88
This movie wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. I was disappointed!! I love Vince and Reese, but this movie just tried way to hard to be funny. If you have seen the previews, you've seen the movie.
Just wait til it comes out on DVD..