If it weren’t for “The Hangover” and “I Love You, Man”… this would have been the funniest movie of the first half of the year.

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are great, but their supporting cast really makes this movie one of the best date movies of the year.

 ( My spoiler-free review )

Bullock has built her career on rom-coms… and this is another one to add to the collection… but she doesn’y play the same type of character she plays in so many other movies… this time she’s more of an agressive businesswoman with a very cold shoulder.

Reynolds is a great compliment as his career is exploding this year, but we’ve been watching him get better and better in bigger and bigger roles … he’s a draw for both male and female audiences with his comedic timing and facial expressions that nail the jokes all by themselves.

But you can have too much of a good thin.. and the filmmakers were wise to see that they had a great, but small supporting cast like Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson to give some funny lines and moments to.  But the real scene stealers were TV Legend Betty White amd “The Office”’s Oscar Nuñez.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

 Four Christmases is a fun holiday comedy that will have you laughing throughout.

While this Christmas Comedy is a good comedic break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it won’t make my top 10 favorite Christmas Movies.

The movie is carried by the relationship concept between the main characters of Brad and Kate and their families that most audiences will find relevant and easy to relate to…

 “Four Christmases”

(2008) (rated: PG-13 for some sexual humor and language) (1 hr, 22 min)

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Billingsley, Carol Kane, Colleen Camp

Director: Seth Gordon

Genre: Comedy/Christmas

The Plot: A couple struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

MY TAKE:

Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) have a mission to avoid their dysfunctional families on Christmas and they nearly pull it off again this time, until fog grounds their flight to Fiji.   As you’ve probably seen in the trailer – they are then forced to spend Christmas with each of their divorced parents and siblings, making four stops in one day, hence the title of the movie.

While this has all the makings of becoming a holiday classic: a couple, holiday travel, dysfunctional families, comedy, a good cast, a fresh concept, it falls a little short along the way.

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