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Movies / On DVD / Christmas with the Kranks
Christmas with the Kranks

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Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

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Reviews Counted:129

Fresh:6

Rotten:123

Average Rating:2.8/10

Consensus: A mirthless movie as fresh as last year's fruit cake, Christmas with the Kranks is a course, garish comedy that promotes conformity.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for brief language and suggestive content.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Nov 24, 2004 Wide

Box Office: $73,701,902

Synopsis: The Kranks have always celebrated a picture-perfect Christmas. But with their only daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo), away from home on her Peace Corps assignment, Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther... The Kranks have always celebrated a picture-perfect Christmas. But with their only daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo), away from home on her Peace Corps assignment, Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther (Tim Allen) are suffering from empty nest syndrome and decide to skip Christmas in favor of a Caribbean cruise. But their neighbors, led by Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Akroyd), take Christmas very seriously and are none too happy about the Kranks' boycott. In this neighborhood where every house is decorated to the hilt and has a Frosty on the roof, skipping Christmas is virtually a crime. And just as the Kranks are preparing for their Christmas Day departure, they get a call from their daughter who announces that she is coming home for Christmas after all. Suddenly, all systems are go for their annual Christmas Eve party and a normal--highly festive--holiday. Will the Kranks be able to pull together a perfect Christmas for Blair in just a few hours, or will she discover their plan to skip Christmas? Directed by Joe Roth (AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS) and based on a John Grisham novel, this film also features appearances by Cheech Marin, Caroline Rhea, and Felicity Huffman. [More]

Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Erik Per Sullivan

Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Erik Per Sullivan, Cheech Marin, Jake Busey, M. Emmet Walsh

Director: Joe Roth

Director: Joe Roth
Screenwriter: Chris Columbus
Producer: Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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Release:

Nov 8, 2005

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Reviews for Christmas with the Kranks

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Christmas With The Kranks is the sort of film that leaves you thinking Ebenezer Scrooge might have had the right idea about the festive season.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
07/20/09
Richard Luck
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film

A grueling experience.

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

The notion of bullying people into succumbing into the trappings of Christmas does not necessarily represent goodwill to all, and while the situations present good comic opportunities, the film ends up feeling rather manipulative and sugary.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Some pathetically predictable plot twists and syrupy sentimentality, which could only amuse a five year-old, lead the Kranks back to their materialistic senses in time for a Kodak moment which shouts a rather shallow Merry Capitalism to all!

Full Review Source: Ellsworth American | comment Comment
06/01/07
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
Ellsworth American

A more sweet than sour satire that sets its sight on nasty but lavishly honey coated underpinnings of the holiday season.

Full Review Source: WBAI Web Radio | comment Comment
02/08/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio

In any normal year this dire comedy would be the undisputed lump of coal in our psychic stocking, but coming on the heels of Surviving Christmas, it's a close second.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/06/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With clumsy sight gags the only humour on offer, the temptation to mutter 'Bah humbug' is overwhelming.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Time Out

There is not a single lifelike character in the entire picture.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

[A] comedy so broad it barely dents its targets and a patronising moral conclusion that goes against everything its protagonists originally stood for.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine

This isn't a wonderful life: It looks pretty hellish.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

It is a perfectly fine, inoffensive family comedy.

Full Review Source: MovieWeb | comment Comment
05/16/05
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
MovieWeb

What better way is there to get into a festive spirit than having it crammed down your throat?

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
04/13/05
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

...almost had me convinced to convert to Judaism to avoid having to go through anything ever again that even remotely resembles this movie.

Full Review Source: Freeze Dried Movies | comment Comment
04/01/05
Brian Juergens
Brian Juergens
Freeze Dried Movies

Rotten Eggnog

Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
12/17/04
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Talking Pictures (U.S.)

Humbug. American families deserve a better effort than this.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
12/15/04
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Oh boy. This was a painful experience. Very painful.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
12/12/04
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

This holiday comedy depicts suburbia as a place where all true individualists are treated with a nastiness not in tune with the Christmas spirit.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
12/10/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Makes the colossal mistake of making Luther's obsession seem almost a valid protest against conformity -- then lets the neighbors not only win but claim the moral high ground.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
12/08/04
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

See Joe Roth's movie and you'll understand the true demeaning of Christmas.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/07/04
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC

Contains momentum-halting continuity errors and clownish antics from hammy performers that will have Santa scribbling furiously on next year’s “Naughty” list.

Full Review Source: Eclipse Magazine | comment Comment
12/07/04
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Eclipse Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Christmas with the Kranks

December 20, 2007: Vatican Gloats Over Weak Performance of The Golden Compass
Attention, filmgoers who have seen and enjoyed The Golden Compass: According to The Vatican, you're either "dishonest" or you haven't been "gifted with a critical spirit." More...

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This week at the movies brings us the profound discoveries of a great Kazak journalist ("Borat," starring Sacha Baron Cohen), a battle between Santa and Jack Frost... More...

December 15, 2005: Critical Consensus: A Sly "Family Stone," A Towering "Kong"
This week at the movies, we have a giant ape {"King Kong"} and some yuletide dramedy ("The Family Stone"). Will the critics go bananas for these flicks? More...

October 20, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: Freedomland
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