Genre: Comedy, Family, Christmas, Slapstick, Law, Marriage, Police, Farce
Tagline: No! Ho! Ho!
Plot: After faithfully and happily celebrating Christmas their entire lives, and with their daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) in Peru to serve a stint in the Peace Corps, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) Krank are facing the prospect of a very lonely holiday.One blustery Chicago night, Luther glances longingly at an alluring poster in a travel agency window and pictures himself and Nora basking in the glow of the sun on a Caribbean cruise. What if this Christmas there was no tree, no holiday lights, no fruitcakes, no parties, no decorating, no Christmas? Though Nora is at first reluctant about going away for the holidays, she soon warms to the idea. But when their neighbors up and down Hemlock Streek find out, they are aghast, especially local busybody Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd). Among the other injured parties are local police officers Salino (Cheech Marin) and Treen (Jake Busey), as well as Luther's neighborhood sparring partner Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh). The Kranks are skipping Christmas? Unimaginable. Unthinkable. Unbearable. To make matters worse, Luther refuses to put his illuminated Frosty the Snowman on his rooftop. Every house has a Frosty on its rooftop at Christmas. Hemlock Street is famous for it and has won numerous contests sponsored by the local
More Plot Descriptions
 |
Behind the Scenes:
Read more about the production
| |
 Discussion forum for this movie
|
| |
 Christmas with the Kranks is destined for endless seasonal reruns on some cable channel, where it will be bookended by titles like the remake of A Miracle on 34th Street and The Santa Clause 2. The placement is appropriate. Christmas with the Kranks is not an abomination, although it is uninspired and insipid.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS is a lump of coal for the movie-going audience. No matter how naughty any of them have been, they deserve better than this.  --Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
"Heartwarming" fare in which a family that tries to bail out of the holidays learns that Christmas happiness must be purchased.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
Christmas with the Kranks might appeal to undiscriminating viewers looking for a holiday-themed flick, but really, it'd make a lot more sense to just stick with the acknowledged classics of this genre (ie A Christmas Story).  --David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
Pleasant family comedy with enough moments to sustain 90 minutes.  --Fred Topel (MovieWeb)
The problem overall is the feeling of superiority the filmmakers cast over the characters in their movie. They are not laughing with the Kranks, they are laughing at them.  --Blake Snyder (MovieWeb)
Never mind adherence to intelligence or reason; forget about delivering some kind of Christmas package of themes about good will to men –KRANKS didn’t even bother to be funny. --Laura Kyle (eFilmCritic.com)
The film isn't as aggressively annoying as some are; it's more pitiful. I feel sorry for this movie. F--Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
|
| Directed by |
Joe Roth
America's Sweethearts, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Freedomland |
 |
|
| Cast |
Tim Allen
Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Galaxy Quest |
 | |
 | Dan Aykroyd
Pearl Harbor, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghost Busters |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | Jake Busey
Starship Troopers, Identity, Enemy of the State |
 | |
[more] |
|
| Music By |
John Debney
Sin City, The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty |
 | |
|
| Below average comedy that remains watchable thanks to a likeable cast but is very low on laughs. --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
The comedy's mostly slapstick, but it's a style that only works if the performers' hearts are in it, and here that's definitely not the case. 3/10--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
Christmas with the Kranks could undoubtedly stand out as the most misunderstood movie of the season and worthy of going up against Polar Express... B+--Daniela Chunga (TheCinemaSource)
|
|
Movie Database
In Theaters
