Deck The Halls

Starring: Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenoweth, Kristin Davis, Alia Shawkat

Synopsis: This holiday comedy is centered around two neighbors in a small New England town who go to war when one of them decides to decorate his house with a so many Christmas lights that they are visible from space. The neighborhood is turned upside down as the families try to discover the true meaning of Christmas.

Review: Nearly every year about this time we get a holiday comedy in which characters celebrate the season as poorly as possible for 95% of the movie. Then an epiphany arrives in a nick of time to remind everyone how to correctly celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Let's call this the Dysfunctional Christmas Comedy.

"Deck the Halls" manages to cross the Dysfunctional Christmas Comedy with the Bad Neighbor Movie: Two alpha males (Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito) living across the street from each other turn Christmas into a contest that trashes any and all yuletide traditions.

This high-concept/scant-laughs comedy, directed with slapdash energy by John Whitesell ("Big Momma's House 2"), should enjoy very modest good cheer in its theatrical release. Not nearly naughty enough to compare to the hilariously dark "Bad Santa" yet lacking the warmth and sentiment of the Christmas classics that jam the airwaves these days, "Deck the Halls" muddles along with rote characters and unimaginative gags that will amuse very few.

--more--

*Review by Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter