Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are an unmarried couple who loves Christmas ... they just don't like spending it with family. So for the past three years they have made an excuse to go out of town. This year, however, their trip to Fiji has been cancelled due to fog. Unfortunately for them, a local news crew interviews them live, and their families now know they'll be in town.

Both sets of parents are divorced, meaning they are now expected to "celebrate" four Christmases in one day with four families who possess their own unique brand of dysfunctionality.

Will they cave under the stress, or will the events that transpire serve as a catalyst to reaching a new level in their relationship? After 82 minutes, you most likely won't care. Lame hijinks and shenanigans ensue.

Welp, that was dumb. Stupid, pointless, and forgettable are other words that aptly apply. For the record, I think Vince Vaughn's hilarious, Robert Duvall is one of the all-time greats, and Reese Witherspoon has shown that she can handle cutesy romantic comedies. But somehow, the filmmakers have managed to take some great ingredients and completely mangle the finished product. I'll give 'em some credit - that takes a high level of incompetence.

There are a handful of funny moments, but why do you take Vince Vaughn, and rather than just let him unleash his rapid delivery of sarcastic comments, you force him to participate in a bunch of predictable pratfalls that you'd normally expect from someone like Artie Lange? The families are messed up. We get it. I didn't need to hear 10 minutes of people screaming and a baby crying for the point to sink in. Such scenes will have you longing for a remote with volume control.

You know what? That's it. I simply don't feel like saying anything else. It's been a week since I saw the movie and I can't even remember what the funny parts were. This basically feels like you're watching the outtakes of a Home Improvement Christmas episode and afterwards you think, "Ah, I see why they cut most of that out." It makes me feel sorry for Jesus that this is the kind of movie that is released in the name of His birthday.

• I can only imagine the fat paycheck Robert Duvall received to appear in this.



• Reese Witherspoon was in Best Laid Plans with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.

Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and language, Four Christmases isn't all that profane, but you'll want to leave the little ones at home. It does feature a couple who's been living together for three years with no desire to get married, and a handful of "s" bombs are tossed along the way. Some of the sexual dialogue will make you uncomfortable if you're sitting next to a youngster, especially one particularly disgusting thing an old woman says regarding her husband.

Did you see the trailer where Reese Witherspoon slammed the baby's head against an open pantry door? It gets worse from there.

This will be on TV before you know it. Can't you wait until then?