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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 1359
Released: November 6, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.04 |
| Used Price: $2.12 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito are hilarious as two neighbors trying to put the "win" in "winter" in one of the year's funniest comedies! Determined to unseat Steve Finch's (Broderick) reign as the town's holiday season king, Buddy Hall (DeVito) plasters his house with so many decorative lights that it'll be visible from space! When their wives (Kristin Davis and Kristin Chenoweth) bond, and their kids follow suit, the two men only escalate their rivalry  and their decorating. It's anybody's guess whether the holidays will wind up jolly or jostled in this wild and woolly laugh-fest that the whole family will love!
Description of Deck the Halls:
Good neighbors can be hard to come by and when the flighty Buddy Hall (Danny Devito) moves in across the street from the conservative Dr. Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick), it quickly becomes apparent that the two men are complete opposites. While Finch methodically plans out every minute of the coming Christmas season for his family, Buddy craves freshness and excitement and is seized by an impulsive desire to decorate his house so brightly that it can be seen from space. While the men's wives Kelly (Kristin Davis) and Tia (Kristin Chenoweth) and their children revel in one another's differences and form solid friendships, a rivalry of personalities and Christmas spirit ensues between the two men that will wind up testing the patience and love of every member of both families. This is fun, comical holiday entertainment for the entire family ages 9 and older. --Tami Horiuchi
Beyond Deck the Halls
The Holidays on DVD | 
Matthew Broderick Films | 
Danny DeVito Films |
Stills from Deck the Halls Deck the Halls Reviews:
reasonably entertaining 
2009-11-30 - This is a brief diversion with many physical hijinks involving a new neighbor obsessed with having a ton of Christmas lights on his house, much to the dismay of the fellow across the street. Standard holiday fare, worth renting if you are in the mood for a lighthearted comedy and not much more.
Cute for Adults 
2009-05-14 - I assumed I'd find whacky humor and I wasn't disappointed. This movie is a comedy created by writers that weren't chasing Hollywood's highest honors, but instead seemed inspired by old slapstick faves. The writers didn't spend a lot of time developing plausible plotting devices, nor did they worry that cleavage was as well-rounded as the characters got. But, stereotyped characters make for the best comedy, and the writers/director sure found plenty of funny situations to pit Broderick and DeVito against each other. I don't predict this movie will endure among the ranks of generation-spanning family favorites, but it is silly.
A New Christmas Favorite!!!
2008-12-05 - This is a really good Christmas movie! Screw the critics, they don't know anything! It has a really good storyline about two dads who are competing throughout the entire movie. Steve is the 'Christmas Guy' in his town, but when Buddy puts up a billion lights on his house because he wants his house to be seen from space satellites, Steve gets mad. There is a lot of beautiful Christmas scenery, including Christmas lights. Soon, their wives and kids get tired of their behavior and go stay at a hotel. They are alone on Christmas and realize the error of their ways. They decide to work together to get their families back. If you love Christmas, and family, and comedy you'll love DECK THE HALLS!!!!
Another miss 
2008-11-25 - Again, I'm constantly searching for Christmas movies because I can watch them from November through December. I love them. However, this is one that I did not love. There is no real plot. It's just something about how one neighbor can get so jealous over another and Danny Devito is his usual hateful self. There was plenty of cleavage but not much movie. Who would believe that a man has his Christmas trees planted for the next five years and who didn't see that something awful was going to happen to them? Don't waste your money.
clipped together from other movies 
2008-11-25 - Haven't I seen this movie before? The obnoxious new neighbor, the feud between neighbors, the neighbor with so many Christmas lights you can't sleep, the guy who ends up destroying his own house in his fight against someone else, etc., etc.
Deck the Halls takes a tried-and-true plot (or rather, a combination of elements from tried-and-true plots) and adds absolutely nothing new. The performances were fine, and it had funny moments, but it was also absolutely predictable, which was a huge distraction from the comedy. It's hard to be amused when you know exactly what's coming next.
There's a bit of an attempt to make the movie about both men trying to find meaning in their lives, but there's nothing really character-specific in it, and it gets lost among the cliches.
I love holiday movies, but this one won't make it into my collection.
