Deck the Halls (2006)

Two neighbors have it out after one of them decorates his house for the holidays so brightly that it can be seen from space.

Director:

John Whitesell

Writers:

Matt Corman, Chris Ord

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito, Kristin Chenoweth

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny DeVito	...	Buddy Hall
Matthew Broderick	...	Steve Finch
Kristin Davis	...	Kelly Finch
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Tia Hall
Alia Shawkat	...	Madison Finch
Dylan Blue	...	Carter Finch
Kelly Aldridge	...	Ashley Hall
Sabrina Aldridge	...	Emily Hall
Jorge Garcia	...	Wallace
Fred Armisen	...	Gustave
Gillian Vigman	...	Gerta
Ryan Devlin	...	Bob Murray
Sean O'Bryan	...	Mayor Young
SuChin Pak	...	Self
Jackie Burroughs	...	Mrs. Ryor

Storyline

Optometrist Steve Finch loves those Christmas traditions he has set up with his family and his town. As such, he has a schedule of activities for his family starting on December 1, and is the unofficial consultant for anything Christmas-related in his town of Cloverdale, Massachusetts. During the Christmas season, the Halls move into the house across the street from the Finches'. The Halls in general are different in outlook and temperament than the Finches. Unlike Steve, Buddy Hall scams his way through life and never follows through with anything he starts. While Kelly Finch and Tia Hall and their children begin friendships based largely on those differences, Steve and Buddy butt heads based on those differences. It begins with Buddy striving to have his house seen from outer space by decorating it as lavishly and brightly as possible. One of the results of Buddy's task is that he becomes the new go-to guy for anything Christmas-related in Cloverdale, usurping Steve's coveted ...

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas lights | christmas display | annoyed neighbor | twin | 

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Taglines:

The brightest holiday comedy of the year! (DVD)

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some crude and suggestive humor, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny DeVito's house used LED lights to provide remarkable displays not possible with traditional Christmas lights. Otherwise, the lighting could only be done by special effect computers. The lights, from Boston-based Color Kinetics, formed a "digital skin" around DeVito's house, acting like pixels on a TV screen. At one point, the roof of DeVito's house turned into a live video display of DeVito's face. At maximum intensity, the 14,300 LED nodes used just 7,150 watts of energy, the equivalent of four average hair dryers. Wrapping the house with conventional exterior string lights would have used approximately 100,100 watts, 14 times more than the LED installation, and without the capability for programmable effects. The entire LED installation used a total of 126 amps, about as much as 1.3 average households. Conventional exterior string lights would have used 812 amps, the equivalent of 8 houses' worth of power.

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Goofs

When the PA announcer calls the speed-skating race for the spectators, he talks into the back of the Astatic D-104 microphone. The round screen facing the camera is only on the front of the microphone, so he is actually talking into the back of the microphone (which is a solid plate) and his voice would not be picked up for the PA system.

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Quotes

Steve Finch: Who moves in the middle of the night, a meth lab?

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Worst of 2006 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer
Written by Randy Brooks
Performed by Dr. Elmo
Courtesy of Laughing Stock Records

User Reviews

Only the worst of Grinch's could dislike this film.

Great storyline, good looking ladies, veteran actors, all add up to an enjoyable movie. The conflict between DeVito's Buddy Hall, and Broderick's Steve Finch is played excellently from two of Hollywood's veteran actors. Buddy Hall is one of those guys who is always looking for special meaning in his life. When he moves next door to Steve Finch, he thinks he's found it when he decides that he would like for his Christmas lighting to be able to be viewed from space. Unfortunately, Steve just happens to be the "chief" of Christmas lights in his little hamlet, and he develops a quick dislike for all things Buddy. The movie is chock full of pranks that they pull on each other, while their beautiful, and understanding wives tolerate them at best. In the end, the challenge for them both is to discover the true meaning of Christmas in time to save their holidays, and maybe even their marriages. If you like a good sentimental Christmas film, then you'll probably like this one. Lots of funny scenes with plenty of drama mixed in. I give it a solid 8 out of 10 for a Christmas themed film.

Details

Official Sites:

Twentieth Century Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

22 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

All Lit Up

Filming Locations:

Holy Trinity Cathedral - 514 Carnarvon Street, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,001,256, 26 November 2006

Gross USA:

$35,093,569

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$47,232,776

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Regency Productions, New Regency Productions, Corduroy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1