Review of Christmas with the Kranks (2004) by Todd S — 23 Dec 2014

(11%).

Yet another star-studded, well sort of, Christmas movie that likely paid off more than a couple of turkey dinners. The plot could have possibly worked here, maybe as an antidote to the typical sickly glut of good cheer Hollywood nonsense, but if anything this overall works out even worse than if it were plain sugar syrup. The concept of a couple bypassing Christmas completely is easily interpreted as being somewhat mean spirited, because after all what is Christmas all about? Well according to this movie it's spending vast amounts of cash ($6000+ on a single day, really?), and eating heavily processed pork products. The more broken aspect of the movie though is once the couple start to reject the season everyone around them makes such a big fuss about it. Why do they care so much? What's it got to do with them anyway? But of course the couple then at the last minute have a change of heart and delve right into rampant consumerism, and conformity is fully resumed. Dan Aykroyd is hardly in the film, Curtis is really annoying at times, and Allen has always been a very hard man to like. Overall not utterly dire, but third rate all the same.