Deck the Halls

Directed by John Whitesell, Deck the Halls details the chaos that ensues between neighbors Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) and Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) after they go to war over Christmas decorations. There’s ultimately not a whole lot contained within Deck the Halls worth getting interest in or excited about, as filmmaker Whitesell, working from Matt Corman, Chris Ord, and Don Rhymer, delivers a bland, middle-of-the-road comedy that suffers from an ongoing (and curious) absence of genuine laughs – with the less-than-captivating atmosphere compounded by a continuing emphasis on larger-than-life set pieces of a decidedly questionable nature. (It’s difficult, for example, to see the value in Steve and Buddy’s tedious speedskating race.) And although both Broderick and DeVito are relatively good here, as are their assortment of talented costars (including Kristin Davis, Alia Shawkat, and Kristin Chenoweth), Deck the Halls forces the performers into the shoes of one-dimensional, mostly unpleasant figures that become harder and harder to sympathize with and root for – which ensures, certainly, that the incongruous (and painfully unsubtle) sentimentality of the picture’s final stretch is hardly as affecting and heartwarming as Whitesell has intended. The end result is an almost watchable Christmas comedy that generally squanders the good will established by the premise and cast, which is a shame, undoubtedly, given the potential afforded by the talent assembled on both sides of the camera.

** out of ****