Four Christmases does a nice job of balancing the line between dark comedy and romantic comedy. It does not fit the genre of typical holiday fare, in spite of its Christmas title. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play Brad and Kate, an unconventional couple who happily proclaim their independence from societal norms: no marriage or kids for them. They have a fun, carefree life driven by their genuine desire to be together, not cultural expectations on starting a family. When their annual Christmas getaway to avoid dealing with their families falls through the cracks, they are stuck making Christmas day visits to each of their parents’ houses and respective extended families. Since both pairs of parents are divorced, that leads to the four Christmases of the title in one generally miserable day.

Robert Duvall plays Brad’s father who lives with two brutish brothers. To describe the particular hell represented by each parent, though, would not do justice to the movie. This is largely because they succeed to the extent that they do on the strength of strong performances by an impressive supporting cast (in addition to Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Jon Favreau, and Kristen Chenoweth have supporting roles as Brad and Kate’s tormentors). In some scenes it is hard not to notice the odd couple nature of their sizes: Vaughn is 16 inches taller than Witherspoon, who is stuck wearing stiletto heels throughout, and must be well over twice her weight. It is clear in their closeups that she is standing on a platform. Occasionally the family hell is cartoonish, like when Kate is tormented by her nieces and nephews in an unbelievably malevolent fashion. But for the most part they hit the mark. Vaughn in particular sells the part of Homo Sapiens Normalis plunged unwilling into the clutches of Homo Insaniens, with panicked expressions and pleas for mercy. Witherspoon’s role is more that of the straight man. The movie does not wallow in the problems of the families, though, and thus steers clear of being a cynical dark comedy while also, in its final scene, giving a nod to the mess that goes with family.