THE PLOT: A romantic comedy with a top-rate cast.Happily unmarried couple Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) have been together for years but have no plans to walk down the aisle. They don’t “do” family – every year they jet off to sunnier climes to soak up the sun on Christmas Day.

But when Mother Nature scuppers their latest plans to fly to Fiji by submerging the local airport in fog, the couple must reluctantly visit four different family households in one day, with each reunion proving to be more deranged and painful than the last.

First up is Brad’s father (Robert Duvall) and his Ultimate Fighting Championship-obsessed brothers (Jon Favreau, Tim McGraw), then there’s Kate’s New Age convert mother (Mary Steenburgen), followed by trips to see Brad’s mum (Sissy  Spacek) and Kate’s dad (Jon Voight).

THE VERDICT: Four Christmases is little more than a run-of-the-mill rehash of Meet The Parents.

Rumours of an on-set feud between lead stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn aren’t dispelled here – their fake smiles certainly don’t paint them as a couple content in their relationship.

The series of outrageous mishaps which test their relationship to breaking point, including a trawl through the childhood photograph albums, a bruising tug of war with a satellite dish and a rumble in a bouncy castle, don’t do much for the audience’s patience levels either.

The stars gamely fling themselves into the misguided comic set pieces, but by the time the festive roadshow arrives at Kate’s mother’s door, good will is running rather thin.

Carl Jones’ rating: 4/10

• Release Date: Wednesday 26 November 2008
• Certificate: 12A
• Runtime: 88mins

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