One of 2004’s commercially most successful Christmas films is Joe Roth’s adaptation of the successful novel Skipping Christmas by author John Grisham. Christmas With The Kranks grossed nearly 73 million US dollars.

The story of Christmas With The Kranks is not too bad, which of course is due to the novel. It revolves around the Krank couple who instead of spending the holidays like everybody else has planned a Caribbean cruise. But who would have thought that the Kranks’ neighbors don’t like this idea at all. And when their daughter also announces her visit over Christmas the chaos is perfect. Overall the plot is typical for the holiday season and is focusing on all the cliches that come with it.

Especially in the first half of the film there are lots of them. It is a pleasure to watch the Kranks trying to get out of the hustle and bustle. Just think of the scene where they try to hide from carol singers. This movie is guaranteed to make even Christmas critics laugh.

The last half hour of the movie finally gives us some holiday spirit and (of course) more chaos. The daughter has announced her visit over Christmas and the house must glow with all the Christmas lights as quickly as possible. Only the last 10 minutes get somewhat annoying. As with every Christmas comedy there has to be some kitsch. While I personally have nothing against the usual Christmas kitsch in this movie it feels somewhat out of place. Unlike Bad Santa or Christmas Vacation the trash does not end ironically. Christmas With The Kranks goes even so far as to let Santa Claus fly over the city and of course everybody loves one another no matter how many arguments they had before. It’s the usual kitsch but somehow out of place.

In terms of production one can really be satisfied, everything is like you would expect from a comedy with no major blunders. And the soundtrack relies on the typical X-Mas Classics which create the right atmosphere easily.

But the largest part of the success of this movie can be attributed to the actors. Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are simply the best choice. Allen is in his typical, wonderfully silly but never exaggerated style naturally earns the most laughs. Curtis as the mother shows some courage to be ugly.
These are some other familiar faces such as Dan Akroyd and Cheech Marin.

Conclusion: Christmas With The Kranks is a witty and beautiful holiday comedy which, although unlikely to provide surprises, wins my heart with some nice gags and a great cast. Only the finale is too corny for my taste.
Overall this is a fairly entertaining film even if you don’t like Christmas movies. For fans of Christmas DVDs watching it is mandatory!

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