'Cause the "Four Christmases" I saw was two hours of painfully contrived suck. I had not seen anything this stiff and humorless since Steve Martin's "Pink Panther."

Would you believe it?

You don't (thank god)

Have to marry he she or it...

While struggling to find the time to mount a giant puppet head parade protest during the 'white mans' Thankgiving parade...and the whole movie was in Bulgarian...

The orgasmic screams of delight from Salon would reach heaven, which does not exist.

Despite Zacharek's warm review, the fact remains that the clear majority of reviews of Four Christmases are negative. I even read one review that called it a blight. My experience with Zacharek's reviews is that they tend to go contrary to my own watching experiences, so I'll likely be waiting for this one to hit the movie channels.

Here is part of the review in the Baltimore Sun today:

"The films centers on Brad and Kate ( Vince Vaughn and Witherspoon), a couple of narcissistic yuppie-types determined to maintain a relationship as void of responsibility as possible. There's no commitment, no sense of loyalty, no bond that stretches beyond the here-and-now. Every Christmas, they make up some story about flying off to a third-world country to save the children, just so they won't have to spend time with their respective parents."

Different reviwers, different perspectives...

Thanks you, Stephanie. I prefer yours!

...for the (unintentional?) gay-marriage plug at the end. All that stuff about making it up as you go along, etc. etc. - the story of our relationship! And perhaps, as you suggest, its greatest strength.