Four Christmases
New Line Cinema | Release Date: November 26, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
11
Negative:
10
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Four Christmases works because of some genuinely funny setups, a pace that never dwells on one gag (or even one family) too long and a careful mix of slapstick and bawdy humor. But mostly, the film works because of the astonishing acting talent the filmmakers brought together to make it. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Vaughn delivers every line with his usual deadpan glibness, which suits the part. But I smiled as I watched the big-bellied, multi-chinned actor connecting with the porcelain, model-thin Witherspoon. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Refreshingly tart and lean, forgoing the usual schmaltz and syrup. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Gordon's best not-so-secret weapons, though, are his two stars: Vaughn and Witherspoon are an inspired pairing, not least because they're such a mismatched set of salt-and-pepper shakers. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Crassly enjoyable. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
It's pleasantly funny, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, from start to finish, even when it's staging broad, easy gags about baby barf and fat kids. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Four Christmases is waste of time and a disappointment, but it's also relatively painless. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The film has its funny moments, but they are too few to make the holiday excursion worthwhile. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineCammila Albertson
It's well acted and it's entertaining -- and who can resist a movie where Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are brothers, and Robert Duvall is their dad? Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
We got two gold-record singers and they don't sing? So? We got five Oscar-winning actors, and they don't need to act much. Read full review
50
Washington PostDan Zak
The only laughs come from Vaughn, a master of ingratiation. Witherspoon is no Roz Russell or Lucille Ball. But she fills space nicely. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This is marginally better than most, with a few offbeat comic ideas, a reliably droll performance from Vaughn, and, as the parents, four watchable old troupers in search of a fat paycheck. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Neither clever nor heartwarming, Four Christmases is the coal in the stocking of holiday movies. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The result is two bad movies in one: a gimmicky romantic comedy, and one of those seasonal headaches that submits loud family dysfunction as a vehicle for Christmas cheer. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Oddly misanthropic, occasionally amusing but thoroughly cheerless holiday attraction that is in no way a family film. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Like the last gift buried under singing Billy Bass fish, dancing Coke cans, joke books and mounds of wrapping paper, there's a glimmer of fun in Four Christmases that almost gets vacuumed up with the tinsel. Read full review
40
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
To put it in the best light possible, I recommend thinking of Four Christmases not so much as a really short movie but as a very special holiday episode of a sitcom. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Four Christmases is essentially "Meet the Parents" quadrupled. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A generic oven-stuffer that wants to be a stocking-stuffer, is a turkey, despite the foil wrapping and some artfully deployed tinsel. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Bad enough to create one of the most joyless Christmas movies ever, but then to go for an unearned feel-good ending adds insult to injury. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
This year's entry in this lowly subgenre is Four Christmases, a D-list comedy with A-list actors. Read full review
30
NPRBob Mondello
Alas, there's scarcely a moment of ingenuity or surprise in this tale of the supremely smug, unmarried-but-made-for-each-other Brad and Kate. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
As Vaughn's therapist mother, Sissy Spacek comes off best. But she's a rare bird of whom it truly can be said: She's always good. No matter how grim the material. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Four Christmases is sour to the point of curdling, a satirical look at the holidays a la "Bad Santa" that does exactly what that film avoided: come off as both off-puttingly misanthropic and gloppily sentimental. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
This is a movie of excesses that doesn't know when to settle down. It aims to be a slapstick comedy, a romantic comedy and a plain old romance but falls short of each goal. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle Smith
The movie boasts five Oscar winners. That figure exceeds by five the number of times I laughed at this cheap collection of icky jokes. Read full review
10
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
The movie doesn't offer a single surprise within its scant 82 minutes, which feel like at least twice that. Read full review
More From This Movie

41 Critic Reviews

7.3 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL