It’s rare to get a truly bad Christmas movie, but they have happened many, many times in the history of film. A great example of a bad Christmas movie is Deck The Halls, which essentially pits a well-meaning father against a law-breaking jerk and in the end, it’s the well-meaning dad that must learn a Yuletide lesson or two.

Surprisingly, that sentence almost makes a sufficient plot description in and of itself, but I’ll go a little more in detail. Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) loves Christmas and always makes sure to make it as organized as possible for he and his family (which includes Maeby from Arrested Development for no reason). Across the street, Buddy Hall (Danny DeVitto) decides to usurp Steve’s position of Christmas superiority by putting together a major lights display.

That’s a pretty flimsy premise to build an entire film around, and the episodic nature of the affair radiates this thought. It doesn’t help that everybody in this film is cartoonish and unlikable, that none of the films sappy emotional moments work, especially an ending sequence with an (admittedly well sung) rendition of “Silent Night”. That’s a real pity, as tons of famous faces, like the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth, are wasted here on a lazy script.

Ah, but maybe some laughs will salvage this film right? Not a chance. In fact, the film’s various attempts to get chuckles fail epically, such as a hectic sleigh ride with Broderick’s character that’s hindered by atrocious CGI. Really, Deck The Hall is the rare flick to have no redeemable aspects, save for perhaps some pretty lights. But then, you can see those in any local neighborhood for free and won’t have to withstand a sequence where a camel spits on Ferris Bueller.