Review of Deck the Halls (2006) by Darrin C — 21 Feb 2015

It's old, simple traditions vs. new, elaborated, mostly lighted traditions.

This targeted holiday tradition of this film, titled after a direct lyric from a classic song, is on the displays of Christmas lights. The tradition of Christmas lights is to give a beautiful glow on wreaths, garlands, trees and outside of the houses. But in this film, it was only used for a desire that went on without the spirit and joy nor the Christmassy meaning except when following the final piece of the holiday formula.

Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) is the Christmas expert of the locals and his family with traditions that are defined as simple and aged - with some immortality to those. But the way his traditions worked went on another, connected route when Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) came to town as his new neighbor. Both of their household families met on good and friendly terms.

Buddy went for a car salesman job, but seemingly lost interest as a portion of his lifestyle didn't satisfies him as he want something more. He then came across a Google Earth-type app and couldn't see his house during the nighttime. So he came up with a desire to make his house shine and bright with lots of lights so his new home can be seen from space. His ambitious, yet preposterous, desire attracted the wows of the town locals by the overloaded display of pretty lights.

Steve, on the other hand, is the only one who finds it a bothersome, especially feeling threatened that the new-in-town Buddy could steal his role as the town's Christmas expert. His attempts of sabotaging Buddy's desire puts the two men in unfriendly terms. They'll soon get Christmas karma if their mean-spirited during the holidays. But they about got almost the same consequences, with Steve's Christmas traditions gotten a little more complicated.

The two actors are good and likable as ever with their moments of charismatic and comic and following that aforementioned last piece of the holiday formula. Their best scene of the whole movie is during the Santa Baby minute, which is also the only laughable moment that's at a LOL level.

But for the film however when it gets unwrapped before it was unfold, you'll probably find this the saddest holiday flick by the characters' desperations to their desires that are in the together form of feuding and competing. The Christmas lights were like drugs in this film being abused by DeVito in character not paying enough attention to the meaning. The locals that were wowed just like the visuals and the attractiveness of a new tradition. Broderick's character probably represent how the meaning needed to be pointed out, which hence the characteristic of being a Christmas expert but didn't state the true meaning of the lights specifically when busy being bothered.

"Deck the Halls" provides a likable duo of the cast and being a little funny with that mentioned funny moment you'll like to watch it over and over for a few times maybe, but it'd ignored the meaning on the concept of Christmas lights and a little on the holiday in general. If you ever watch this film, just watch:

- the exposition and know the basic of the plot;.

- skip Buddy's multiple moments of overload desperation;.

- and watch the Santa Baby scene and the point where the story unfolds when it was time for the film to follow the last piece of the holiday formula.

No traditions have won in this feuding competition. (B-).