Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

The Kranks forfeit Kristmas!

Luther Krank (Tim Allen) convinces his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) that they should skip Christmas and go on a cruise instead. He reasons, it is cheaper and besides daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) has left for South America to work with the Peace Corp. When the Krank’s refuse to buy a tree for Christmas, disbelief and rumors spread through the neighborhood like wildfire. After the neighbors learn that the Krank’s will be away and there will be no Christmas party, it starts a frenzy. After all, they always spend Christmas with the Kranks.

To the dismay of neighbor Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd), the Kranks house is the only one on the block left unlit. Frohmeyer, who has made himself spokesperson for the neighborhood, decides that strong measures are necessary to get the Kranks to put Frosty the Snowman on their roof. Meanwhile, life goes on. Luther tells everyone in his office of his plans to skip Christmas and Nora does her best to fend off questions and bad-will among neighbors and shop owners in their small town. The Kranks become the neighborhood pariahs as they count the days to cruise time. However, a telephone call from their daughter changes everything. She is returning home for Christmas. Luther and Nora have to do a quick turn-a-round and change their plans. They have less than a day to decorate the house, get a tree, plan a party and prepare Blair’s favorite foods. One somber note in this film is that the wife of Luther’s nemesis is terminally ill. On impulse, Luther performs an act of kindness that opens him to the idea of the coming holiday and what it really means. Think Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly character in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It is a warm touch to Luther’s previous “Bah humbug” attitude toward Christmas.

Christmas with the Kranks is not laugh aloud funny; still, the movie does cause a chuckle now and again. Nora crouches on the floor and peeks out of the window as she makes a desperate telephone call to Luther because neighbors are on their lawn yelling for ’Frosty.’ Luther’s session at the tanning salon prove disastrous. There are other scenes to make you smile, scenes that make this a good holiday movie. Like Home Alone I am sure that it will join the long list of Christmas movies that are shown on television every year. Others in the cast are Cheech Marin, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth Franz, Erik Per Sullivan, Jake Busey and Julie Gonzalo.

Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay for Christmas with the Kranks. It is based on the John Grisham novel “Skipping Christmas.”

Christmas with the Kranks and John Grisham's Skipping Christmas is available from Amazon.com and other sites.