Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

One of my all time favorites.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The first time I watched this, I was not impressed. But after the 3rd time in TV, I bought is and have seen it many times since. It have great actors for the roles they play and tells a funny story that ends well. Recommend.

The story-line had potential. A couple decide to disavow Christmas, opting instead for a dream cruise. I didn't read the John Grisham book,but can only imagine how much fun and intriguing it would be to portray a story of denial and a break with this iconic tradition. Instead, Hollywood plunged into their seemingly endless trove of clichés,corniness, and "crappola" to serve up something so ridiculous it boggles the mind that people are actually (well) paid to produce this insult to the art of film making. Luther Krank (Tim Allen) decides on a whim to buy a cruise and skip Christmas. His wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) hee haws for about 30 seconds (her inner conflict is irrelevant) before agreeing to go along with his plan. What ensues is a neighborhood and communal outrage (involving the police department no less) that is so juvenile and ludicrous that one has to wonder at what mentality this film is aiming at. Even if (and it is a big if) the story had managed some association with reality and character development, the acting (on all sides) is so void of any semblance of portraying a real person that there is really no reason to get involved with the hackneyed spectacle or even waste time on a more substantial review. I gave it a 3. (2 points are free, just because I like Christmas.)

People criticize this film for a lot of reasons. Some vald. But to me I think the quality of the cast and some of the gags all result in a fun to watch holiday movie that is both enjoyable as a seasonal film and as just a light comedy. Sure some of the situations are contrived. And sure, some of the gags are predictable, but it has enough laughs and a Strong supportiing cast that flushes out enough family fun that we enjoy it a time of year. The novel this was based on was written in 2001 by John Grisham and was on the NY TIMES best seller list. The film doesn't follow that book to the letter but the film goes for more over the top gags. Jamie Lee Curtis is both the weak link and the Christmas junkie in the film. She shouts and laughs weirdly throughout the film as a simpleton , but on the other hand she plays nicely off Tim Allen's more subdued character. Tim wants to skip Christmas and take a cruise since their daughter won't be there because of a peace corps assignment. For some reason everyone in town, is especially upset that they are skipping Christmas. A little over the top. But the main problem is they won't be participating in the neighborhood decorating collective. Anyway one thing leads to another. And bedlam persists when plans have to change. Overlook the obvious pitfalls and enjoy some of the comedic moments brought to you by Allen and a cast including Cheech Marin and Dan Ackrpyd.

In my review I discuss the general plot, but I try not to give away any specific events or spoilers. However, I marked the review as "containing" spoilers just in case my discussion of the plot details is too much for those wanting to watch "completely fresh."I had the feeling while watching this movie is that Luther Krank (Tim Allen) is supposed to be a version of Scrooge. In Dicken's classic novel, Scrooge is both the villain and protagonist. He is mean and you dislike him, but he learns a lesson and ultimately changes. However, unlike with Scrooge, I sympathized very strongly with Luther Krank. After years of celebrating Christmas with his daughter, all he wants to do is take a vacation with his wife now that she has grown up and moved away. But his neighbours and peers, who are some sort of weird cult-like Christmas version of the Stepford Wives, harass and bully him to no end. Therefore watching this movie I didn't want Luther Krank to change. I didn't want him to give in and bend to the wishes of his horrifically creepy and annoying neighbours (who should have been charged for trespassing and harassment). I completely recognized his right to be "selfish" and live his life for his own sake rather than the sake of his community who have no business interfering with his desires. I do not think it is a spoiler to say that, predictably, Luther Krank learns a lesson and changes his ways at the end of the movie. However it is the wrong lesson. In Christmas with the Kranks the bad-guys win. I think the movie might have been originally intended as a horror movie instead of a family Christmas movie, a theory supported by both the evil neighbourhood and the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis was cast as co- star. Perhaps if you watch it as such, it won't be so awful.