Four ChristmasesMovie Reviews

Poster Art for "Four Christmases."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    Refreshingly tart and lean, forgoing the usual schmaltz and syrup. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Crassly enjoyable. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post |

    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 Sun-Times | Roger 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
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The film has its funny moments, but they are too few to make the holiday excursion worthwhile. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Oddly misanthropic, occasionally amusing but thoroughly cheerless holiday attraction that is in no way a family film. Read full review

  • 38
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie 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

  • 38
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Four Christmases is essentially "Meet the Parents" quadrupled. Read full review

  • 30
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk 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

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe 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

View more reviews for Four Christmases on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says 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 your own? Do you think that's the point?
  • In this movie, why do you think Brad and Kate are estranged from their families? Is it justified, or are they being selfish?
  • What are your own family celebrations like? Why are holiday get-togethers often fraught with tension (both in the media and in reality)?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Fathers belittle their sons; brothers beat on each other; mothers neglect their daughters in pursuit of their next romance; and a father finally confesses to being a horrible role model. Plus, two people discover they have many more differences than they cared to admit. The lead couple live a Yuppie-fied life in which vacationing in exotic resorts seems to be the main engine of their relationship. Still, even the most awkward situation is mined for humor, and in the end, trite as it may sound, they find their way back to each other.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Lots of heavy-duty wrestling that, at first, seems purely funny until you realize there's a bullying element to it. Some yelling and screaming. A man falls off the roof clutching an antenna, starting a chain reaction that has the television smashed to bits and a fire igniting on the carpet.
  • sex false3 Sex: Within the first half hour, a couple indulges in some serious double 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 a relationship 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 at her daughter's boyfriend. Men openly ogle women's cleavage.
  • language false3 Language: Strong language includes "a--hole," "s--tty," and "hell."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Product mentions and placement include Direct TV, Xbox, EPT (pregnancy test), Stanford, jump-jumps, breast pumps, and more.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 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.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

0.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

...comedy-killing heartwarmth Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Four Christmases Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

Go 15,000 fan reviews

Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

Four Christmases Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Watch All Videos

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook