Four Stars for Four Christmases

November 27, 9:03 PMSan Diego Parenting ExaminerSondra Santos LaBrie

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Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn pull off a stressful Christmas celebration with four dysfunctional (in their own way) families in this year's holiday comedy, Four Christmases. Their characters, Brad and Kate, somehow manage to stay together after a cancelled flight leaves them stranded in San Francisco on Christmas and random circumstances force them to visit with their family members.

Brad and Kate are both children of divorced parents who are determined to never get married or have children of their own. Emotions from past issues  quickly arise when visiting the homes of each of their parents and it's clear why the two of them have managed to avoid introducing their partners to their families after confessions and embarrassing stories are revealed.

The film is about their relationship and what it means to be a couple. Marketed as a comedy, this story does produce many laughs as Brad and Kate spend time with Brad's father and wrestling-fanatic brothers. This is followed by a trip to see Kate's Mom, who insists that Brad and Kate play the roles of Joseph and Mary at her new boyfriend's church. Next up is a trip to Brad's mother's home, which she now shares with her boyfriend, a childhood friend that Brad just cannot forgive.

By the end of the film, Brad and Kate have determined that they don't know nearly as much about each other as they had thought. This leaves them both wondering where their future could lead as Brad leaves Kate to visit her father's home on her own.

Blended families can certainly create challenges when it comes to scheduling everyone in on holidays, but this movie portrays each family as unique, from the parent that is bitter and angry, to those that spend holidays together with their ex-spouse and their current partners, children and grandchildren.

Four Christmases will encourage young couples to share their own childhood secrets and remind mature couples what it means to build a family.

As Brad learned from his father growing up, "You can't spell families without lies," but it is with honesty and insight that the relationship comes full circle and both Kate and Brad are determined to create a new family history by learning from their parents' mistakes, and their own.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who's ever had to share their holidays with more than one family and those who enjoy romantic comedies that will have you and your partner thinking and discussing the past and future, while living in the moment.

Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakum, and Tim McGraw co-star.