Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Director:

Joe Roth

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (novel)
Chris Columbus (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Their Christmas will turn the town upside down!

Plot:

With their daughter away, her parents decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate the holidays at the last minute.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Vacation | Neighbor | Christmas Eve | Chicago Illinois

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Dec. 3	6:00 PM	FX
Fri. Dec. 4	8:00 AM	FX

Cast

Tim Allen	...	Luther Krank
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Nora Krank
Dan Aykroyd	...	Vic Frohmeyer
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Walt Scheel
Elizabeth Franz	...	Bev Scheel
Erik Per Sullivan	...	Spike Frohmeyer
Cheech Marin	...	Officer Salino
Jake Busey	...	Officer Treen
Austin Pendleton	...	Umbrella Santa / Marty
Tom Poston	...	Father Zabriskie
Julie Gonzalo	...	Blair Krank
René Lavan	...	Enrique Decardenal
Caroline Rhea	...	Candi
Felicity Huffman	...	Merry
Patrick Breen	...	Aubie

Also Known As:

John Grisham's Skipping Christmas (USA) (working title)
Skipping the Holidays (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief language and suggestive content.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Italy:T | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

The title of the John Grisham book on which the film is based is "Skipping Christmas". It wasn't used for the film to avoid confusion with another Christmas-themed film, Surviving Christmas (2004).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nora is trying to leave her house and Vic grabs her window she rolls it up to try to get rid of him. His fingers get stuck and Nora does not roll it back down, however in one shot the window is back down then in the next shot it is up again

Quotes:

Luther Krank: Smoked trout?
Nora Krank: It's better than frozen pizza.
Luther Krank: What happened to the hickory honey ham?
Nora Krank: Don't EVER say hickory honey ham again.

Movie Connections:

References Halloween (1978)

Soundtrack:

Blue Christmas

Illogique. (spoilers)

Christmas movies come en mass as though filmmakers are trying to score that one film turned holiday tradition. I don't know that it has successfully been done since the early 90s with the Home Alone movies (although by part 3, everyone pretty much lost interest). 'Christmas with the Kranks' joins a long line of these mediocre over-achievers.

We once again join middle class white suburbanites for their Holiday woes and misadventures as the Krank spouses, played by Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, decide to opt out of Christmas this year. Their daughter heads off to Peru for the Peace Corps. and without her, the holiday just isn't the same. Resisting all holiday traditions from Christmas greetings to charitable donations, the Krank spouses decide they're going to just spend Christmas in the Caribbean on a cruise.

But, in some kind of bizarre neighborhood which cannot seem to fathom someone not celebrating this particular holiday--Christmas--hinting of the absence of any religious or ethnic identities who follow other traditions, they just can't leave the Kranks alone. And the slapstick mayhem ensues as the neighbors, headed by the obnoxious leader (played by Dan Akroyd) taunts them about their decision. This kind of plot is immediately one of forced conflict and for the most part, is unbelievable because, one the one hand, the neighbors won't leave them alone (although this is another satirical poke at the obsessive suburban class), but because the Kranks seem to be very reluctant to stick firmly with their decision. Especially Mrs. Krank, who seems so helpless in the face of all the persistent resistance.

But lo! It all turns around when the Krank daughter decides that she's going to come home for Christmas after-all, and the Krank parents, not wanting to disappoint her, have to ditch their anti-Christmas plans and hurry up and get everything together that they would've done had they not decided to boycott the holiday. And yada...yada...yada...it's chock full of family sentiment and slapstick comedy (although much of Tim Allen's subtleties are mildly amusing in this otherwise bland comedy).

I wonder if this is one of those comedies produced out of the sudden irrational fear that there was an assault on Christmas. It was idiotic hoorah at the time and as a result, spawned a pretty boring movie. Even if influencing it in part. Oddly, this amazingly boring family film was based on a John Grisham novel.

Your best bet for holiday-based humor is to stick with the classics.