DECK THE HALLS

"They're going to see it from Space!"

Steve Finch (Broderick) believes in a traditional Christmas. Every year he organises his version of an ideal festive holiday but this year is going to be very different. Buddy Hall (DeVito) and his family have just moved into the neighbourhood and he has a completely different approach. After moving his family around the country for year, Buddy decides to make this Christmas extremely special by making their new house the most festive on the block but when his daughters access a satellite image website, Buddy sets himself a new goal. He wants to make his house visible from space, much to the annoyance of Steve.

Christmas movies have always been very hit and miss but can 'Deck the Halls' become a firm holiday season favourite?

Every year Hollywood releases a movie to try and cash in on the festive season but none of them have become a part of the Christmas tradition. Most of them have been forgettable, overly sentimental and filled with so much sugary sweet goodness that even the most festive of people will have trouble not feeling sick. 'Deck the Halls' tries to be different but just ends up been a wet stocking.

The main problem is the commercialisation of Christmas and the generic view of what the festive period actually is. Every single family oriented movie that Hollywood releases during the most wonderful time of the year is essentially the same. You have a middle class family, living in an idyllic all-American town that enjoy a traditional Christmas every year. This all changes when a new family moves into the area, with their own idea of how to celebrate the holidays. This of course leads to a conflict of ideas and supposedly hilarity will ensue. Sound familiar?

This film is so stereotypically Christmassy that you know exactly what is going to happen and how it is going to end about five minutes into the film. 'Deck the Halls' also suffers from one of the major problems with any comedy; if you have seen the trailer then you have seen most of the best gags. The slapstick comedy is fine for the younger viewer but the adults will struggle get much out of this festive frolic.

The cast are fine but you have to wonder what some of them are doing in a movie like this. In the 80s Matthew Broderick was the coolest kid on the planet. When he played Ferris Bueller, he defined the teen comedy for a generation but his movie choices as of late haven't really set the silver screen ablaze. As local optician Steve Finch, he stands for the traditional family Christmas who doesn't take kindly to change. This role is hardly a challenge for Broderick and one that he is slightly over the top in. Danny DeVito can play Buddy Hall in his sleep and he looks like he is doing so. The rest of the supporting cast are fine, with Kristin Davis and Kristin Chenoweth standing out.

'Deck the Halls' is a stereotypical Christmas movie that might add a dash of festive spirit to your holiday but it is not one that will become a firm family favourite. Sugary sweet and extremely generic, this is a commercial Christmas movie that you will quickly forget like the wrapping paper you through away on the big day.

Jingle all the Way

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2006