Deck the hall

Nearly every year about this time we get a holiday comedy in which characters celebrate the season as poorly as possible for 95 percent 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.

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The crucial problem here is the thoroughly unlikable nature of its two central characters. In fact, these two guys should really get along since they share so many bad qualities.

Broderick's optometrist Steve Finch is a prissy, self-absorbed man, entirely too caught up in his role of a small Massachusetts town's "Christmas guy" because of his volunteer job as chair of its Winterfest carnival. He schedules the family's holiday calendar with such military precision that fun has long gone out of their December.

DeVito's Buddy Hall is a car salesman with all the slime and sleaze that implies. Stealing electricity from his neighbor, he adds lavish lights, decorations and sound effects to his house to attract attention. Indeed his dream is for his home to be visible from outer space.

Oddly, when Buddy and family move into the neighborhood, the film starts off in an entirely different direction. Mrs. Hall (Kristin Chenoweth) is a bit of a sex kitten who doesn't mind making suggestive remarks to Steve. Their dim-wattage twin daughters (Sabrina and Kelly Aldridge) are skinny, blond and even in winter don't wear too many clothes. Think twin Paris Hiltons. Steve's young son (Dylan Blue) can't stop staring at his new female neighbors, while Steve's teen daughter (Alia Shawkat) now has someone to show her the ropes in cruising for hot boys.

Yet this sexual undercurrent gets dropped in favor of the increasingly frantic battle between the two overgrown boys masquerading as heads of household. A few laughs emerge. Buddy's front-lawn manger with live donkeys, sheep and a camel is pretty funny. The runaway sleigh with horses dressed as reindeer is a good joke at Steve's expense. And the sound and light show emanating from Buddy's domain does remind of the Christmas overkill you can experience on certain urban streets. Credit production designer Bill Brzeski with a good visual gag.

But the sheer nastiness of the jealous one-upmanship and angry sabotage puts a damper on the yuletide comedy. You're much better off watching a DVD of "Bad Santa."

Cast:

Buddy Hall: Danny DeVito

Steve Finch: Matthew Broderick

Kelly: Kristin Davis

Tia: Kristin Chenoweth

Madison: Alia Shawkat

Carter: Dylan Blue

Ashley: Kelly Aldridge

Emily: Sabrina Aldridge

Director: John Whitesell; Screenwriters: Matt Corman, Chris Ord, Dan Rhymer; Producers: Arnon Milchan, Michael Costigan, John Whitesell; Executive producer: Jeremiah Samuels; Director of photography: Mark Irwin; Production designer: Bill Brzeski; Music: George S. Clinton; Costume designer: Carol Ramsey; Editor: Paul Hirsch.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter