Christmas with the Kranks

Christmas with the Kranks
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joe Roth
Produced by	Michael Barnathan Chris Columbus Mark Radcliffe
Screenplay by	Chris Columbus
Based on	Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
Starring	Tim Allen Jamie Lee Curtis Dan Aykroyd Erik Per Sullivan Cheech Marin Jake Busey M. Emmet Walsh
Music by	John Debney
Cinematography	Don Burgess
Editing by	Nick Moore
Studio	Revolution Studios 1492 Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	November 24, 2004 (2004-11-24)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million[1]
Box office	$96,572,480[1]

Christmas with the Kranks is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Joe Roth and starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. The screenplay by Chris Columbus is based on the 2001 novel Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.

Plot

After Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) see their daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) depart for a Peace Corps assignment in Peru on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, empty nest syndrome sets in. Luther calculates the couple spent $6,132 during the previous year's holiday season and, not looking forward to celebrating Christmas without their daughter, he suggests they invest the money usually spent on decorations, gifts, and entertainment and treat themselves to a ten-day Caribbean cruise instead. Skeptical at first, Nora finally agrees.

The Kranks are amazed to discover they are considered pariahs as a result of their decision. Luther's co-workers think he has become Ebenezer Scrooge when he gives all his employees letters that state about his Christmas boycott, local stationer Aubie is distressed to lose the couple's order for their engraved greeting cards and Christmas Eve party invitations, the Boy Scout troop is upset and angered when the Kranks refuse to purchase one of their Christmas trees to help the scouts make enough money for a camporee, and the police are stunned to discover they won't be buying this year's calendar from them. Most vocal in their objections are neighbors Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd) and Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh). Vic, who's the unelected leader of the street, organizes a campaign to force the Kranks to decorate their home so Hemlock Street won't lose the coveted award for best decorations. Walt doesn't seem to like Luther, so his efforts are primarily personal. However, it is revealed that Walt's wife Bev is suffering from a serious illness, perhaps dampening his holiday spirits. Children picket, neighbors constantly call, and Christmas carolers try to revive the Kranks' holiday spirit by singing on their lawn which Luther stops them by freezing his sidewalk. Even the newspaper gets into the act by publishing a front page story complete with a photograph of the unlit Krank house and states that the Kranks' street has lost the prize and won sixth place because of how Luther and Nora refused to decorate their house. Still, Luther and Nora continue to stand their ground.

The two are in the process of packing on Christmas Eve morning when they receive a call from Blair, who announces she's at Miami International Airport, en route home with her Peruvian fiancé as a surprise for her parents. She's anxious to introduce Enrique to her family's holiday traditions, and when she asks if they're having their usual party that night, a panicked Nora says yes, much to Luther's dismay. Comic chaos ensues as the couple finds themselves trying to decorate the house and coordinate a party with only twelve hours to spare before their daughter and future son-in-law arrive.

While Nora scrambles to find food, especially Blair's favorite ham, Luther buys a tree from the Boy Scouts but they only have one left; a dead, ugly, non-green tree. Luther buys it anyway but rejects it by throwing it in his backyard. While Vic's children picket at Luther's house, Luther arranges to borrow the tree of a neighbor who is going away for a couple of days. He and Vic's son, Spike, try to transport it across the street on Spike's Radio Flyer wagon, only for the neighbors to confuse this to be Luther stealing the family's Christmas tree, and to be stopped by the police, who assume they have stopped a robbery in progress. Nora comes home enraged at Luther for making the Christmas tree a "Disaster" and how she had to buy "Smoked Trout" to replace the honey Ham (Because the Ham rolled into the street and got smashed by a truck). Once it is established why Luther is trying frantically to decorate his home, the neighbors come out full force to help him and Nora ready it for Blair. Blair calls to say she landed from Miami. Luther tries to answer the phone first so he can send Blair back to Peru, but fails; Nora beats him to it.

After giving everybody including Blair and Enrique, an unthankful and non-friendly toast, Luther tries to convince Nora to accept the cruise when she confronts him for the toast, but she refuses, disgusted that he isn't happy that Blair's home. Luther sadly slips out of the house and goes across the street to the Scheel home. Bev's cancer, once in remission, has returned and, knowing this may be their last holiday together, Luther insists they take the cruise in place of him and Nora, going so far as to offer to take care of their hated cat, Muffles. At first they decline, but ultimately they accept his generosity, and Luther, whose holiday spirit has been renewed, realizes that skipping Christmas wasn't as good an idea as he had originally thought.

Cast

• Tim Allen - Luther Krank, the Main Protagonist of the film, who plans to skip Christmas with a wonderful cruise making him be believed by all his employees, as part of a running gag to be "Ebenezer Scrooge" and is taunted by his neighbors to accept Christmas.
• Jamie Lee Curtis - Nora Krank, the Deuteragonist of the film. Luther's wife who isn't pleased with the cruise idea and gets disappointed when Luther forces her to suffer the most irritating ways when the neighbors try to taunt Luther to accept Christmas and when Luther refuses the Christmas offers.
• Dan Aykroyd - Vic Frohmeyer, the Kranks' neighbor who does everything in his power to get Luther to accept Christmas. At first he is thought to be the antagonist but he reveals he just wants what is best for the neighborhood.
• M. Emmet Walsh - Walt Scheel, a major neighbor of the Kranks who doesn't get along with Luther very well. He refers to Luther as "Old man" because he doesn't want to admit he is older than Luther.
• Elizabeth Franz - Bev Scheel, Walt's dying wife.
• Erik Per Sullivan - Spike Frohmeyer, Frohmeyer's kid who joins in to taunt Luther to accept Christmas.
• Cheech Marin - Officer Salino, a minor character who drives Blair home.
• Jake Busey - Officer Treen, a Minor character and friend of Salino.
• Austin Pendleton - Marty, a man who is actually Santa Claus and seems at first to know everybody even though he does not meet them.
• Tom Poston - Father Zabriskie, a Church priest.
• Kim Rhodes- Julie, Luther's employee
• Arden Myrin- Daisy
• Julie Gonzalo - Blair Krank, the Krank's daughter
• René Lavan - Enrique Decardenal, Blair's fiance.
• Patrick Breen - Aubie, a stationier who gets upset by Nora not ordering her annual Christmas cards and invitations
• Caroline Rhea - Candi, Another friend of Nora's who is dismayed when Nora refuses to make Christmas cards for them.
• Felicity Huffman - Merry, a friend of Nora's.
• Alethea McGrath - old woman (uncredited), a savage woman who takes the last ham favorite of Blair's and taunts Nora by saying "Happy Holidays" and grins at her. She is seen at the Kranks' Party.
• Kevin Chamberlin - Duke Scanlon, a Boy Scout leader that is kind and compassionate towards the Kranks but is disappointed when they refuse to support the Boy Scouts by buying a Christmas tree and when Luther smugly tells them about the cruise he and his wife want to go on.

Production

Some exteriors were shot on location in Vancouver and Los Angeles. Interiors were filmed at Culver Studios and Downey Studios. Because of weather concerns, the original plan to film in the Chicago suburbs was nixed in favor of constructing the Hemlock Street set in the parking lot of a former Boeing factory.^[2]

The soundtrack features many holiday standards, including "Jingle Bell Rock" by Brenda Lee; "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Billy May & His Orchestra with vocal by Alvin Stoller; "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Eddie Dunstedter; "White Christmas" by Dean Martin; "Frosty the Snowman" by Steve Van Zandt; "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley; and "The Christmas Song" by Ella Fitzgerald.

Reception

The film was universally panned by critics. It received a "rotten" rating of 5% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 131 reviews.^[3] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 22 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.^[4] Much of the negative reaction stemmed from the movie appearing to vilify the Kranks for their non-conformity, which many agreed was not the appropriate message.

Box office

Despite negative reviews, the film was a box office success. On its opening weekend, it earned $21,570,867 on 3,393 screens, ranking #3 behind National Treasure and The Incredibles. It eventually grossed $96,572,480 worldwide.^[1]

Home media

The Region 1 DVD was released by Sony Pictures Entertainment on November 8, 2005. Viewers have the option of watching it in either anamorphic widescreen or fullscreen formats. It has audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English, French, Thai, and Korean. There are no bonus features.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} BoxOfficeMojo.com
2. ^ Variety review
3. ^ "Christmas with the Kranks Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc.. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/christmas_with_the_kranks/?critic=creamcrop#contentReviews. Retrieved 2010-10-16. 
4. ^ "Christmas with the Kranks". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/christmas-with-the-kranks. Retrieved 2010-10-16. 

External links

• Official website
• Christmas with the Kranks at the Internet Movie Database
• Christmas with the Kranks at AllRovi
• Jamie Lee Curtis interview