Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

5/10

Starring

Tim Allen

Jamie Lee Curtis

Dan Aykroyd

Directed by Joe Roth

Well, it’s that time of the year again, where we watch old Christmas movies to see if they can get us into the Christmas cheer early. Christmas with the Kranks is one of those movies I always wanted to see, and now I finally did.

It won’t go down as an old classic, but it did have the regular Christmas cheer to go around. There’s the weird old man nobody knows (who really is Santa), the arguably annoying person who turns out not to be so bad, and, most importantly, a Christmas miracle nobody expects—except you, the viewer.

Tim Allen isn’t new to starring in Christmas movies. His The Santa Clause trilogy is often seen as a must-watch during the holidays, though you’re better off sticking to the first and second parts. The last part wasn’t worth seeing, and even I, who saw it, would like to forget about it.

In this Christmas movie, Allen is joined by Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd. Both, in their own way, made sure this movie had the Christmas spirit. As a Christmas movie, you could say this one passes—after all, all you need for a Christmas movie is a formula, and that’s it. But as a movie, this is a fail. It had its funny moments and highly ridiculous scenes, but those weren’t strong enough to leave a lasting impression that you’ve seen something memorable.

By the end, you won’t be able to hold on to a single standout moment in this film, which I blame the writers for. Every movie or show should have a moment—the kind that jumps right into your mind when someone asks, “Hey! Have you seen Christmas with the Kranks?”

In this adaptation of John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas, Luther Krank has an idea. His only daughter has gone off with the Peace Corps to Peru, and alone this Christmas with his wife, he decides to skip Christmas and go on a cruise instead. To get her on board, he does some calculations. Based on his math, if they skip Christmas and go on the cruise, they can save close to $3,000.

Mrs. Krank buys into the idea, and they start their journey of skipping Christmas. The whole idea doesn’t sit well with their neighbors, who make the last two days before the cruise hell for the Kranks.

They hold up, but hours before they’re set to leave, a phone call comes in that throws a wrench into their plan of skipping Christmas.

It’s a funny, mediocre Christmas movie—not one that’s suited for a rewatch.