Deck the Halls
Plot
In a small town in Massachusetts, the local optometrist, Dr Steve Finch is the “Christmas” guy of the town. He is struggling to impart his traditions on his 10 year old son Carter, and 15 year old daughter Madison, as well as wife Kelly.
On the first of December he gets some new neighbours; in the form of car salesman Buddy Hall and his wife Tia (along with their teenage twin daughters).
The families bond quickly, except for Steve – who takes a dislike to Buddy’s need to have his house ‘seen from space’ on a new satellite website. Soon the two men compete at Christmas, but at the sake of their families.
Cast/Characters
Starring Danny DeVito (as Buddy), Matthew Broderick (as Steve), Kristin Davis (as Kelly), Kristin Chenoweth (as Tia).
Breakdown
At a modest 93m, this really ticks all the boxes it needs to in a narrative aspect. We get the dual leads in DeVito and Broderick, who are both ‘family men’ who are lost.
Buddy is struggling to find himself in his career and wanting to be known for something, and Steve can’t see that his family need him to be more focused on them instead on his obsessions (first Christmas, then besting Buddy.
The supporting cast in both Kristin’s is sound (with Chenoweth even getting to show off her vocal talents later in the film. Even Steve’s kids get ample screen time with their problems with dad.
The rivalry between Steve and Buddy is fun, especially with some of the silly hijinks they get up to (the sled incident, and the fireworks sequence are both fun).
There is also the right amount of heart, and the pacing where both families seemingly break down is written well, and it utilises earlier established moments (Tia’s vase) to show how far the men will go.
Overall
A good enough Christmas film, with the usual cliche moments (parenting and relationship issues), but it’s complemented by the performances of DeVito and Broderick, along with their on screen wives Davis and Chenoweth.
A recommend for your Christmas week movie binge watch.
3.5/5
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