Register  |   Log In  |  
Sign up to our weekly newsletter    
Search   
Empire Magazine and iPad
Follow Me on Pinterest
Empire
Trending On Empire
Two free posters with Empire magazine
Subscribe: Get Dead Island: Riptide
Empire's Soundtrack Celebration
90 Years Of Warner Bros.
Your chance to win a Blu-ray every day!
Cannes Film Festival 2013
News, photos and more from the Croisette
Reviews
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable 5 Stars
Excellent 4 Stars
Good 3 Stars
Poor 2 Stars
Tragic 1 Star

FILM DETAILS
Certificate
PG
Cast
Jamie Lee Curtis
Tim Allen
Dan Aykroyd.
Directors
Joe Roth.
Screenwriters
Chris Columbus.
Running Time
99 minutes

LATEST FILM REVIEWS
Iceman, The
3 Star Empire Rating
Behind The Candelabra
4 Star Empire Rating
Before Midnight
4 Star Empire Rating
Everybody Has A Plan
3 Star Empire Rating
Easy Money
3 Star Empire Rating



5 STAR REVIEWS
My Neighbour Totoro
5 Star Empire Rating
Gatekeepers , The
5 Star Empire Rating
Stoker
5 Star Empire Rating
In The House
5 Star Empire Rating
Lincoln
5 Star Empire Rating

Christmas With The Kranks
Christmas comedy with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis


Plot
A husband and wife attempt to completely avoid the annual holiday, much to the chagrin of their neighbour (Aykroyd) and daughter, who has returned home to celebrate the event.

Review
You'd think that Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis would be able to squeeze a few laughs out of any comedy script they deigned to accept, but this adaptation of John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas proves otherwise. After their daughter Blair (Gonzalo) leaves home, Luther and Nora Krank (Allen and Curtis) decide to give Christmas celebrations a miss - much to the disgust of their neighbourhood, lead by the fanatically festive Vic Frohmeyer (Aykroyd).

There's a hint of early promise in the street's attempts to convert them to all things frosty, sparkly and covered in lights, but this is abandoned in favour of comedy so broad it barely dents its targets and a patronising moral conclusion that goes against everything its protagonists originally stood for.


Verdict
Skipping Christmas begins to seem like an increasingly good idea…


Reviewed by Anna Smith

Write Your Review
To write your review please login or register.

Your Reviews

Average user rating for Christmas With The Kranks
Empire Star Rating

Not quite that bad

....I rented this title, and was pleasantly surprised, ready to hate it. Yes, its daft, slightly patronising and full of "dire-logue" but it felt okay watching it. Its there to make money, but I don't feel so offended having no paid so much to see it if I'd watched it at the cinema or bought the DVD itself. If I had, I'd of taken another star off, but as I didn't, this is very feel-good stuff, kids will like it and it does feel a little christmassy. Not great, but hardly the worst film... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Pipkin3 at 21:51, 15 December 2007 | Report This Post


Not quite that bad

....I rented this title, and was pleasantly surprised, ready to hate it. Yes, its daft, slightly patronising and full of "dire-logue" but it felt okay watching it. Its there to make money, but I don't feel so offended having no paid so much to see it if I'd watched it at the cinema or bought the DVD itself. If I had, I'd of taken another star off, but as I didn't, this is very feel-good stuff, kids will like it and it does feel a little christmassy. Not great, but hardly the worst film... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Pipkin3 at 17:50, 15 December 2007 | Report This Post


Disagree!

I am sorry to say that for once, I disagree with the above review from Empire. I think that once you are in the Christmas spirit, "Christmas With the Kranks" is a fun and warm film. Personally, I think that as Christmas films go, this is one of the better ones and I think it should be enjoyed by any Christmas enthusiast out there! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Movie Mad at 21:59, 09 July 2007 | Report This Post


W

This film is utterly woeful, and reveals a high degree of ineptitude amongst those who made it. While it is apparently a comedy, laughs are rarer than living dinosaurs. Furthermore, the ending is a complete cop-out, somehow mixing the endings of A Christmas Carol and It's A Wonderful Life, but without the excellence of either. This film aspires to mediocrity. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by Southall Sissoko at 15:23, 07 February 2007 | Report This Post



CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
Empire's Great Gatsby Video Interviews
Leonardo DiCaprio! Carey Mulligan! Tobey Maguire! Joel Edgerton! Baz Luhrmann!

Cannes Film Festival Videblogisode #3
Featuring Justin Timberlake, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen and Carey Mulligan!

The Biggest Doctor Who Jaw-Droppers
The Time Lord's biggest surprises over 50 years of TV

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch: A Beginner's Guide To The Avengers 2 Newcomers
Your primer on the brother and sister joining the A-team

Clint Mansell On Making Requiem For A Dream
'Darren had to edit at night because he could get access to the studio for free then.'

Arrested Development Video Interviews
Say hello to Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Tony Hale, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat

Empire's Favourite Music Moments
From The Pixies to Burt Bacharach via Audioslave

Subscribe For Only £20
Get Dead Island: Riptide and six issues of Empire for only £20! Subscribe now
Steven Spielberg iPad App
Hollywood's most beloved director in this unique iPad special. Download now
Empire iPad Edition
The world's biggest movie magazine available on iPad Download now
Home  |  News  |  Blogs  |  Reviews  |  Future Films  |  Features  |  Interviews  |  Images  |  Competitions  |  Forum  |  iPad  |  Podcast  |  Magazine Contact Us  |  Empire FAQ  |  Subscribe To Empire  |  Register
© Bauer Consumer Media  |  Terms And Conditions  |  Our Data Promise To You  |  Bauer Entertainment Network
Bauer Consumer Media. Company number 1176085 (England). Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY