Deck the Halls

An uptight optometrist (Matthew Broderick) normally leads his family through a strictly regimented list of Christmas “traditions,” but this year his careful plans are undone by the new neighbor (Danny DeVito), who’s determined to install a world-record display of outdoor lights. This latest movie in the obnoxious I-hate-Christmas genre wallows in the customary mix of crass bonehead comedy and mean-spirited nastiness before making the usual last-minute swerve into sniveling sentimentality. Here, as written by Matt Corman, Chris Ord, and Don Rhymer and directed by John Whitesell, the distasteful formula is even more sour and ham-handed than usual; Broderick’s and DeVito’s natural likeability never stands a chance. Kristin Davis and Broadway diva Kristin Chenoweth are wasted as the two men’s wives.