With the limited shelf space for holiday movies, the consensus in Hollywood is that one Christmas-themed pic per year is more than enough. However, 2008 brings you an embarrassment of Christmas riches in the form of two craptacular holiday movies that are rehashed, unfunny, and not exactly filled with holiday spirit.

The biggest culprit is inexplicable box office smash Four Christmases. Vince Vaughn and John Favreau play basically the same characters they’ve been playing since Made in 2001. You get the feeling Vaughn and Favreau just made the flick so they could hang out together. After directing Elf in 2003, Favreau must have decided Christmas movies were easy money, and convinced Vaughn to take part in this holiday tradition: Vaughn—who went on to make Fred Claus, 2007’s holiday non-classic—has now starred in two godawful pics two years in a row.

The oddest aspect of Four Christmases is the casting of Reese Witherspoon—she’s supposed to be Vaughn’s long-time girlfriend, but their chemistry is nonexistent. It is difficult to believe a character with type-A personality tics, would be in love with the bullshit-talking Vaughn character.

The film has less to do with Christmas and more to do with being a rip-off of Meet the Parents. Simply substitute some casting choices, subtract a few sight gags, and rotate in a Christmas background, and they’re the same movie. As such, the movie doesn’t hold a sprig of mistletoe, even compared with Favreau’s Elf, and certainly not against any actual holiday classics.

2008’s second place holiday movie, in every respect, is Nothing Like the Holidays, which is like a Puerto Rican take on The Family Stone. If you don’t get enough family fighting, fatal diseases, and special Iraq war moments in your real life, why not watch a Christmas movie about it?

As a movie Nothing Like the Holidays is more interesting than Four Christmases because of the interesting cultural touches, and the actual family moments, like the three siblings ending up in the attic together talking shit about each other— which are genuinely moving and intimate. On the whole, though, Nothing Like the Holidays is too heavy-handed. Nothing will stop a movie from entering the classic holiday cannon like being inescapably depressing.

Don’t go see these movies. TBS will play 24 hours of A Christmas Story. Admit it: it’s the Christmas movie you really want. Pole licking, B.B. guns and angry parents: what’s not to love?

Obama’s stimulus plan has creeped its way to almost $800 billion. The President-elect is reacting to news of an ever-worsening economy and projections that 3.5 million people could lose their jobs in the next year. Some are fearing the stimulus plan could open the door to Congressional pet projects rather than programs that will really drive economic recovery. Vice President-elect Joe Biden defended the plan with a staid response: only bold moves will rescue the economy.

For what it’s worth, Washington hospitality workers will have jobs. With numerous inauguration events planned, the need for waiters and bartenders is up. Probably no consolation for the actors and artists in Los Angeles who make their living the same way.

Biden and Cheney aren’t getting along as well as Bush and Obama. In a bout of back-and-forth criticism, Biden has called Cheney the most dangerous Vice President in history, and in a Fox News interview (below, about halfway through), Cheney responded by criticizing Biden’s knowledge of the Constitution. Christmas cheer, anyone?

Blago’s “Individual D” revealed, and seeks immunity. There have been no accusations of wrongdoing from the authorities, but businessman Raghuveer P. Nayak has apparently sought legal protection in exchange for cooperating in the ongoing investigation into Governor Rod Blagojevich’s alleged scheme to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s now-vacant Senate seat. Blago apparently wanted to appoint Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and pressured Nayak to pony up campaign money. The Chicago drama is getting more interesting by the day.

VHS: An Obituary. Before the entertainment industry was panicking over competition from DVD sales, there was the videocassette. It revolutionized the entertainment industry, and this Christmas will likely be the last one you’ll be able to find one anywhere other than a 99-cent store, as the L.A. Times reports. So, a big THANK YOU to VHS for ushering in the era of movies-on-demand and personal movie libraries. I wonder how long Blu-ray will last.

In preparation for Christmas, an homage to the Man Behind the Story. If you haven’t seen A Christmas Story, you can catch it during the annual marathon on Dec. 25. For now, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Jean Shepherd, the writer, radio personality and narrator from the movie who wrote the stories on which the film was based.

Is “Palin-ized” the hot political put-down? Politicians have said New York Senate candidate Caroline Kennedy is “Sarah Palin-ized” because of the way she and her team are handling the media, including asking reporters to submit questions in writing first. Somehow Palin has managed to leave a permanent mark on American politics.