Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) has always been the go-to guy for Christmas celebrations in his small town, but that changes when Buddy Hall (Danny Devito) and his family move in to the house across the street. Buddy, tired of being invisible, discovers that even his house pales next to the neighbor’s on cameras in space. His plan is to cover it with as many lights as possible to remedy that, prompting the citizens of the town to begin coming to him for their Christmas advice. This sparks the competitive nature in the two men, and their families quickly grow sick of it, putting all of their holiday festivities in jeopardy.

The comedy in the film can be a little forced at times, and I found myself cringing at a few moments here and there, but overall, it does have all the fun you would expect from a movie about a dysfunctional pair of neighbors at Christmas. Devito and Broderick do a great job at attempting to one up each other, even in casual conversation, and the wives (Kristin Davis and Kristen Chenoweth) are brilliant. While Davis’s role is understated and more controlled, Chenoweth’s is completely over the top, but the two characters strike up an unlikely friendship, making the competition between the husbands all the more funny. While the film as a whole is a fun ride, the best part really is the ending sequence of the entire story. Kristen Chenoweth even gets to do her own rendition of “O, Holy Night” for the end, which is reason enough to watch the film. It’s a sweet tale of what it takes to realize what the holidays are all about, and one that will probably become a classic in the vein of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.