Christmas with Kranks

Theatrical Release Date: 2004 11 24 (USA)

UPC: 043396125452

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Language, Adult Humor]

Summary: Based on John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas, Christmas With the Kranks revolves around Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther Krank's (Tim Allen) decision to put their normally fanatical enthusiasm for the holidays aside for a tropical cruise. With their daughter in Peru with the Peace Corps, the Kranks believe it just isn't worth it; thus, no presents, Christmas trees, or decorations of any kind will adorn their house to the great consternation of their neighbor Vic (Dan Aykroyd). Just as it looks like Christmas will be successfully skipped, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) throws a major kink into her plans when she suddenly has a change of heart and announces she'll be coming home for Christmas after all. The film ran into troubles early on in production when Ben Affleck's similar sounding bomb Surviving Christmas won the race to the theaters, forcing the filmmakers to depart from the book title in favor of the catchy Kranks one. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Features: Full-length movie
Widescreen presentation
DVD picture quality

Christmas with Kranks

Format: Universal Media Disc

Release Date: 11/08/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Runtime: 99 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,German,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,German

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Derek Armstrong

The title's silly-name humor is typical of Christmas With the Kranks, the film version of John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas. The original name would have been better, but it was probably too similar to Surviving Christmas, Ben Affleck's lump of coal that came out the same holiday season. Joe Roth's film of a Chris Columbus script doesn't stoop to those depths, but it does have a consistently hard time capturing real human behavior. Each scene is less believable than the one before it, but at least it starts with a decent idea -- a middle-aged couple decide to redirect their usual holiday resources toward a Christmas cruise, with their daughter occupied in the Peace Corps. The many niggling details involved with avoiding Christmas -- whom to inform, which traditions to skip -- are humorously presented in the early going, as acquaintances react with surprise and frustration that's exaggerated just enough for good farce. But as the neighbors eventually launch a full-scale assault on the historically generous and popular family just because they decide to re-prioritize for one year, things get ridiculous. Then, not only does their daughter fly home at the last minute -- an unthinkable luxury for a Peace Corps volunteer only a month on the job -- but Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen drive themselves and everyone around them bonkers trying to support the ruse that Christmas was always proceeding just as normal. A disappointed daughter hardly seems grounds for such crisis-level behavior. Most problematic is that the film sees Allen as a Scrooge -- a crank, if you will -- simply because he makes the justified and quite contemporary decision to use late-December vacation days for a real vacation. The audience ends up sympathizing with him a lot more than the filmmakers intended. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Julia Roth  Actor 
Rachel L. Smith  Actor 
Mark Christopher Lawrence  Actor 
Taylor Block  Actor 
Eryn Nicole Gonsalves  Actor 
Jan Hoag  Actor 
Lyndon Smith  Actor 
Vernee Watson-Johnson  Actor 
Andrew Daly  Actor 
David L. Lander  Actor 
Patrick O'Connor  Actor 
Cary Thompson  Actor 
J.P. Romano  Actor 
Joe Guzaldo  Actor 
Dawn Didawick  Actor 
Eric Per Sullivan  Actor 
Doug Cox  Actor 
Kim Rhodes  Actor 
Paul Taylor  Actor 
Chelsea Broussard  Actor 
Matt Walsh  Actor 
Ryan Pfening  Actor 
Bruce A. Block  Executive Producer 
Chris Columbus  Producer 
Chris Columbus  Screenwriter 
John Debney  Composer (Music Score) 
Charles James Newirth  Executive Producer 
Mark A. Radcliffe  Producer 
Joe Roth  Director 
Michael Barnathan  Producer 
Tim Allen  Actor 
Jamie Lee Curtis  Actor 
Dan Aykroyd  Actor 
Erik Per Sullivan  Actor 
Cheech Marin  Actor 
Jake Busey  Actor 
M. Emmet Walsh  Actor 
Elizabeth Franz  Actor 
Kevin Chamberlain  Actor 
Tom Poston  Actor 
René Lavan  Actor 
Austin Pendleton  Actor 
Caroline Rhea  Actor 
Patrick Breen  Actor 
Felicity Huffman  Actor 
John Short  Actor 
Arden Myrin  Actor 
Julie Gonzalo  Actor 
Bonita Friedericy  Actor 
David Hornsby  Actor 

Country: USA