Four Christmases ***

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Tim McGraw, Mary Steenburgen, Kristen Chenoweth, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight
Director: Seth Gordon
Running Length: 1:22
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) are heading to Figi for Christmas so they do not have to spend time with their family. A dense fogbank grounds all flights out of San Francisco and destroys their plans. A local television report from the airport seals their fate, and soon they are off to see their families – Brad’s divorced mom and dad and Kate’s divorced mom and dad. Brad’s dad (Duvall) and brothers (Favreau and McGraw) are hell on Brad, but Kate finds amusement in his discomfort. Kate’s mom (Steenburgen) is a bit of a cougar, making things uncomfortable for everyone. By the time they have survived Brad’s mom (Spacek), their relationship is hanging by a thread. Kate’s dad is not so bad, but by then it may just be too late.

“Four Christmases” is a pretty funny holiday film. Vaughn and Witherspoon are two likeable, funny leads. A star-studded supporting cast keeps the humor coming as well. The humor is of the squirmy, uncomfortable kind. You feel bad for these two as they are forced to deal with their families. This is an entertaining film for fans of holiday movies. If you are in the mood for something Christmassy, check it out.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets **
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Ed Harris, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel, Bruce Greenwood
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Running Length: 2:10
MPAA Classification: PG

When treasure hunter Ben Gates (Cage) has his great-great grandfather accused of participating in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he sets out to prove the man’s innocence. That innocence lies in finding the lost City of Gold, located somewhere in the United States. On the way, he will have to get at the Queen’s desk in Buckingham Palace as well as its twin in the Oval Office, and kidnap the President of the United States (Greenwood). Fortunately, he has the help of his father (Voight), his mother (Mirren), his former girlfriend (Kruger) and his sidekick (Bartha). Meanwhile, Mitch Wilkinson (Harris) is looking to find the city first and make a name for himself.

The first “National Treasure” was enjoyable, even though it was a bit of a rip off of “The DaVinci Code”. The plot was a bit far-fetched, but one could mostly suspend disbelief. “Book of Secrets” on the other hand is over-the-top ridiculous. It asks the viewer to believe an awful lot of implausible things, and that is its downfall. Its almost as if the screenwriters decided to see how unbelievable of a story they could craft. Sure, its nice to see the characters we met in the first one back in action, but that’s not enough to make this movie work. If you must see this, wait until it is out on DVD.