Um Natal Muito, Muito Louco

Christmas is a great time for joy and happiness and this film serves that purpose with some easy viewing. Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are fun to watch and it has the odd dose of humour that lands well.

Suitably amusing.

With that said, 'Christmas with the Kranks' certainly starts brighter than it ends. I found fun in the opening portion, especially with the two leads. I didn't like the ending as much, I found it too sappy and untidy. The run time is short though, so that doesn't hamper things much.

Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are enjoyable at the forefront of the film, with Dan Aykroyd joining them in that bracket with his arrival. The rest of the cast are fine. The plot isn't anything majorly fresh, but it entertained me enough. Fun film.

I saw the movie Christmas with the Kranks for the first time in theatres. I now own it. I really liked it. It was a light, funny, laid back movie. I don't know why so many people disliked it. I think that you have to have a certain sense of humor to think it was funny. I thought the plot was very entertaining and yes heartwarming. What's wrong with a heartwarming movie about spreading Christmas joy. Why is it so unrealistic? Is it really impossible anymore for people to be nice to one another? To be thoughtful. I think this movie portrays the values of enjoying the little things and simple things in life and perhaps this is why people automatically think this movie is dumb because they don't enjoy and embrace the little things and therefore they are quick to say these certain situations are unrealistic. All movies are a little unrealistic. So what. Like lord of the rings is realistic? come on folks. lighten up.

It's a fun amusing film with Jaime Lee Curtis playing a totally different part from her usual. However the underlying tone is also amusing. I don't know if the writers were being ironic but how Christmas has been hijacked by Christmas fundamentalists on how everyone should partake in it. I'm with Luther Krank on this one.

The first part of this movie is filled with dark humor and makes a worthwhile statement: Most of those who celebrate Christmas do so because of the trappings, not because of the substance. The huge snowman that each family who lives on the block is supposed to inflate and put atop their house points to the frivolity of the holiday for the average observer. I haven't read John Grisham's book "Skipping Christmas" yet but the first half of the film seems to be pure Grisham. Luther Krank (Tim Allen) is something of an antihero declaring his own private little war on Christmas abuse, unlike Dickens' Scrooge who simply doesn't want to be bothered with the holiday because he's a miser and worships money. Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) on the other hand really wants the show of Christmas to impress the neighbors and not to rock the boat. Having her only child Blair Krank (Julie Gonzalo) away from home at Christmas for the first time kills her holiday spirit anyway. She is pictured as a doting mom who has spoiled her child rotten at the expense of her marriage and anything else not involving Blair. The second half of the film becomes a standard traditional type outing with Luther Krank being the scrooge-like selfish oaf who wants to spoil it all with his bah, humbug attitude. He comes around by giving the best gift of all to his neighbor whose wife is dying of cancer. In other words, the film cops out during the second half and with it the humor sours. A potentially funny holiday treat becomes just another lame copy of "It's a Wonderful Life."

There are some truly funny sequences during the first part of the movie. Note when Luther Krank waters down his sidewalk to make it slippery for the terrible carolers. Keep your eye on the neighbor's cat. The botox part is excruciatingly laughable with Tim Allen at his best. The tanning scene with the glorious Tom Poston as the Krank's priest is also hilarious. Too bad this level of humor was not maintained throughout.

The cast is well chosen with one exception. Cheech Marin is wasted in a thankless role. When given a chance he can be a funny man.