Deck the Halls (film)

For 2005 made-for-television Christmas film, see Deck the Halls (2005 film).

Deck the Halls (film)
Promotional poster for the film
Directed by	John Whitesell
Produced by	Arnon Milchan Michael Costigan John Whitesell
Written by	Matt Corman Chris Ord Don Rhymer
Starring	Danny DeVito Matthew Broderick Kristin Davis Kristin Chenoweth Mac Davis Alex Hirsch
Music by	George S. Clinton
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Editing by	Paul Hirsch
Studio	Regency Enterprises
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 22, 2006 (2006-11-22)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$51 million
Box office	$47,231,070

Deck the Halls is a 2006 family comedy film set during the Christmas season in Massachusetts. It stars Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis, and Kristin Chenoweth and is directed by John Whitesell.

Plot

In Cloverdale, Massachusetts, local eye doctor and Christmas expert Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) wants his kids to have a great Christmas, packed with his tried and true traditions, such as using an advent calendar, taking Christmas card pictures in matching sweaters, and getting a large tree. At night, he hears noises. He looks out his window and sees a moving truck. He and his wife Kelly (Kristin Davis) immediately know that "the new neighbors are moving in." In the morning, when he goes to get his paper, he is startled to see someone on his doorstep, stealing it, which causes him to spill coffee on himself. The stranger is his new neighbor Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito), a car salesman. He and Kelly also meet Buddy's wife Tia (Kristin Chenoweth).

Later that day, Kelly, her daughter Madison (Alia Shawkat) and son Carter (Dylan Blue) go to the Halls' house, where they meet Tia and Buddy's teenage twin daughters, Ashley (Sabrina Aldridge) and Emily (Kelly Aldridge). Tia and Kelly immediately become friends, as do Ashley, Emily, and Madison. That night, the Hall twins discover a website called MyEarth, which shows satellite images of any place from space (seemingly a parody of Google Earth). Their house is not visible, so Buddy decides to make it so using Christmas lights. Due to this, he becomes known around the town. Steve is not happy about this as he is considered "the Christmas guy" and is chairman of the town's WinterFest. Buddy also purchases a large sleigh, and finds horses to pull it.

The Finches come to see the sleigh, and are invited to take their Christmas pictures in it. Steve declines, but Carter enters it anyway. In attempt to get him "out of that death trap" he frightens the horses, who pull him around town, finally plunging into a frozen river. He wakes up to find himself naked, zipped into a sleeping bag with Buddy, who is too. Buddy explains that he is giving him body heat in order to keep him from dying. He then starts screaming. The Hall house is eventually completely lit and synchronized to music. Steve has had enough with being kept awake each night, and finally fills their fuse box with snow. His plan is foiled, due to a backup generator.

Buddy and Steve make a bet: if Steve beats Buddy in the WinterFest speedskating race, then he removes the lights, and if he beats Steve, he buys a car from him. He wins, and Steve yells at him for being a nobody, since the Hall house is still not visible from Space. Steve finally buys a large amount of fireworks and a large illegal military grade firework from a gangster and tries to blow it up. The rocket misfires, and sets the Finch house on fire. Kelly, Madison, Carter, Tia, Ashley, and Emily all decide to stay at a motel to salvage Christmas. Buddy and Steve forget their rivalry, and build a winter wonderland with all of Buddy's lights and lure Tia, Kelly, and the kids home. They all sit down to a nice meal.

Soon, the whole town helps put Buddy's lights back up in time for a story about them on MTV. They don't work, and everyone sings carols and uses their cell phones as flashlights. As they sings, Carter notices that one of the cords is not plugged in, and that is why the lights do not work. He plugs it in, causing them to shine brightly through the night. SuChin Pak (played by herself), who is doing the MTV report, gets confirmation that the house is indeed visible from space. The crowd celebrates as the movie ends.

Cast

• Danny DeVito as Buddy Hall
• Matthew Broderick as Steve Finch
• Kristin Chenoweth as Tia Hall
• Kristin Davis as Kelly Finch
• Alia Shawkat as Madison Finch
• Dylan Blue as Carter Finch
• Sabrina Aldridge as Ashley Hall
• Kelly Aldridge as Emily Hall
• Josh Hayden as Ben Hall
• Jorge Garcia as Wallace
• Jackie Burroughs as Mrs. Ryor
• Fred Armisen as Gustave
• Gillian Vigman as Gerta
• Jill Krop as Herself
• SuChin Pak as Herself
• Shannon Ostrom as Bystander
• Vu Huynh as Kid Next Door
• Kal Penn as MyEarth Specialist (cameo appearance)
• Sean O'Bryan as Mayor Young
• Gary Chalk as Sheriff Dave
• Nicola Peltz as Mackenzie
• Cory Monteith as Madison's pretender

Production notes

The movie was originally entitled Wreck the Halls, and while it was set in the United States, it was shot in Cloverdale, British Columbia and other locations throughout Metro Vancouver.

In the scene in which Steve and Buddy are in a speedskating race, Matthew Broderick (Steve) had to train with a real speedskater for a few months before he could film that scene. He trained at Chelsea Piers in New York (they rented out an entire rink).^{[verification needed]}

Critical reception

Critics across the board have widely panned the movie. It received a 6% rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel named it "A leaden slice of fruitcake, with about as much nutritional value," and concluding that "it's not worth working up a good hate over". Stephen Hunter remarked "I literally didn't count a single laugh in the whole aimless schlep," and suggested that the movie should've been named Dreck the Halls instead. Michael Medved named it the "Worst Movie of 2006." Finally, Richard Roeper, co-host of the television show Ebert & Roeper, wrote:

"You cannot believe how excruciatingly awful this movie is. It is bad in a way that will cause unfortunate viewers to huddle in the lobby afterward, hugging in small groups, consoling one another with the knowledge that it's over, it's over -- thank God, it's over. [...] Compared to the honest hard labor performed by tens of millions of Americans every day, a film critic's job is like a winning lottery ticket. But there IS work involved, and it can be painful -- and the next time someone tells me I have the best job in the world, I'm going to grab them by the ear, fourth-grade-teacher-in-1966-style, and drag them to see Deck the Halls."

The film was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards:

• Worst Excuse For Family Entertainment
• Worst Supporting Actor (Danny DeVito)
• Worst Supporting Actress (Kristin Chenoweth).

Box office

The movie has earned $35,093,569 domestically, and $47,231,070 worldwide.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Deck the Halls". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deckthehalls.htm. Retrieved March 7, 2009. 

External links

• Official website
• Deck the Halls at the Internet Movie Database
• Deck the Halls at AllRovi
• Deck the Halls at Rotten Tomatoes