Forget about the spirit of giving, pine trees, mistletoe, peace and goodwill to mankind, stuffed poultry, even little baby Jesus. Christmas is about surviving family.

So Brad and Kate just avoid theirs. By taking island vacations under the pretence of feeding orphans in Somalia or somewhere, the couple have always managed to avoid going home for the holidays. In fact so good are they at flying the coop that, even after three years together, neither has met the other's relatives.

But karma's a bastard and a confluence of events (cancelled flights, pesky TV news camera crew) forces them to face the families for some Yuletide revelry. Or at least a parade of embarrassing parents; mortifying stories about childhood; barfing babies; jumping castles, pregnancy tests and TV aerials; boardgame violence; wannabe-WWE action in the lounge, a church nativity nightmare; and other typical festive traditions.

Yet it's not all slapstick and pratfalls provided by some of Hollywood's more respected senior citizens — Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, Sissy Spacek Mary Steenburgen channelling De Niro, Hoffman and Streisand in 'Meet The Fockers'. Along the way, the tortured couple learn a thing or two about loved ones and begin to question their own suddenly-less-than-perfect relationship. But despite the life lessons being handled with a hint of cynicism, the whole escapade has all the sincerity — and ambition — of a sitcom.

It's not helped by the leads. Individually Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn serve up what's expected. She's sassy but sweet. He's a loveable ass. But together they work as well as any of those plastic toys in a cracker: not at all.

Try as they might (not very much, it seems) he and she just don’t connect, wiping out all those denials of off-screen tensions. And as their on-screen bickering intensifies, they inadverently remind us just why so many people are drunk by noon on 25 December.

Bring the booze. 'Anywhere But Home' is a bit of a turkey.