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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Comedies

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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Reviews for Christmas with the Kranks

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[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
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Below average comedy that remains watchable thanks to a likeable cast but is very low on laughs.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
12/04/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Okay. It’s official now. I hate Christmas.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
11/23/04
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Should you spend Christmas With the Kranks? Well, perhaps if you're an adolescent boy, or you have nothing better to do, then go for it. Otherwise, make other holiday plans.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
11/24/04
Tracy Allerton
Tracy Allerton
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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

Kranks lacks that basic kernel of credibility that even a goofy farce needs to work.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/23/04
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This one is a veritable celebration of intolerance, disguised as a joyous holiday film.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
11/24/04
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Christmas with the Kranks wants to toss out the holiday fruitcake but eat it, too.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/22/04
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

A nightmare vision of a theist, conformist America... It's like 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' except we're expected to root for the pod people.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
11/30/04
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Phony, disingenuous family entertainment, suffocated by its green bean casserole approach to Middle America, spineless cardboard characters and paper-thin plot 'twists.'

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/23/04
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

As with average TV fare, moments of genuine humor are rare, and character development can best be described as perfunctory.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
11/21/04
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

This movie reeks.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/24/04
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

Joyless and forced.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
11/23/04
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

As I write this...I have just walked out on Christmas With the Kranks after roughly 45 minutes of mind-numbingly humorless, sitcom barrel-bottom idiocy.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
11/22/04
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

You’d have to be a Scrooge not to crack a smile during this feature.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
11/30/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

If Christmas means spending it with the irascible, over-the-top Kranks, then taking a Caribbean cruise really does sound like a much better deal.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/24/04
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

A dreadful movie, and if you've seen the advertisements you've already seen the laughs -- all three of them -- it has to offer.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/29/04
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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