A Timely Review

I know, it's not exactly the newest or most seasonally appropriate film to be launching a review section.

The good news is that Four Christmases, aka 4XC, as it will now be known, has little if anything to do with Christmas. It is probably the best Christmas movie to watch four months after the holidays as you get absolutely no feelings of longing or nostalgia from this very straight forward story about an unmarried couple.

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are perfectly happy as an unmarried, childless couple who keep the flames of romance alive by roll playing in night clubs and taking exotic vacations to tropical locales.

They usually skip out on the family Christmas gatherings as they both have rather odd parents who they'd rather not get stuck with for extended periods.

Needless to say, in true romantic comedy formula, they get stuck having to go to the gatherings anyway. Along the way they learn a lot of not so great thing, not only about their pasts before they knew each other, but also about where they both see their lives heading together.

There are some generally good chuckles to be found throughout the movie and I really enjoyed that three of the four actors from the movie Swingers make an appearance.

Vince Vaughn is especially good at fake vomiting and he makes a great Joseph when he's forced into a church nativity play.

I've seen my fair share of romantic comedies over the course of six plus years of marriage and this one is more than tolerable and I'd even say enjoyable.

Is it just me or have romantic comedies become more and more serious over the years? If it's not hard to watch fights on screen, it's kids dying of cancer or marriages deteriorating over infidelity. Four Christmases was a nice reminder that these movies don't have to be such downers and can actually be a good time.