Deck the Halls film review

certificate_PG

DECK THE HALLS

Dear Santa, what we would really like for Christmas is our dysfunctional family reunited. This is apparently the essential message behind every Christmas film. Coming up with an original story to convey that message is the challenge faced by every writer set the unenviable task. For the three credited screenwriters of Deck The Halls, it was a challenge they weren't quite up to, with the result this uninspired but adequate comedy is all too familiar. If not for the spirited efforts of the cast, in particular the irrepressible Danny DeVito and the plucky Matthew Broderick, Deck The Halls would have been a bit of a turkey.

Competitive neighbours fighting over Christmas decorations hardly represents a startlingly novel premise. The only fresh twist is that the unfulfilled Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) is hoping his festive illuminations will give his life a much-needed sense of accomplishment. 'I really want my house to be seen from space,' he declares. If it's bright enough to be seen from a satellite, it's blinding for his unimpressed neighbour Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) who, until Buddy's recent arrival, had been considered the town's most ardent Xmas enthusiast. 'Round here I'm the Christmas guy,' he explains to an unsympathetic Buddy, 'It's my thing.'

There's an irony in making Christmas movies about people rediscovering the joy of having a family when the films are dependent on exploiting every opportunity to milk that same family's problems for humour. Deck The Halls is no different. Steve and his wife Kelly (Kristin Davis) have two kids, the 15 year-old sulky Madison (Alia Shawkat) and her young brother Carter, who Steve describes as 'a 10 year-old with a mid-life crisis.' Let's face it,' Kelly says, 'our kids are a little weird.' While Buddy and his bubbly busty wife Tia (Kristin Chenoweth) have twin teenage blonde beauties with nary a brain-cell between them. With such impressive progeny, who wouldn't think families are wonderful?

Director John Whitesell does a serviceable job, but things follow an all too predictable path. There are hints at a slightly more subversive tone, one that were it developed more would have served the film well. We're not talking about entering the realms of the brilliant Bad Santa, but just a little edge that would have separated it from all the other insipid holiday fare.