Christmas with the Kranks

We watch this every year. It will make you laugh and remind you what the holidays are all about. For that matter you could watch this all year round!

OK, this isnt the most profound Christmas movie ever made--we all know what that is already. Nothing will ever touch Its a Wonderful Life as far as great Christmas movies go--very few movies on any subject are that great. But nonetheless, Christmas with the Kranks is a fun movie that demands little in the way of emotional or intellectual devotion--its just a sweet innocent family movie that was designed to make you feel good and hopefully make you laugh a few times and this movie does its job extremely well. I first saw this film on TV and, because I didnt see it from the start, I ordered it online and, by sheer coincidence, it was the first movie I watched on my new TV. I think that both Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are underrated comedic actors and they both play very likable characters in this film. Yes, of course, the story is contrived and silly and the screenplay has logic gaps that you could drive a Christmas-tree truck through, but its still a fun film that everyone in the family can watch. And there are a few tender moments that are pretty well done. One of the things that I love is the aerial footage of the neighborhood (probably just a model or done with CGI) with all the Christmas lights lit--some extremely pretty photography. The neighborhood in the film is a very idealized vision of suburbia, but thats OK--nothing wrong with playing to peoples fantasies of what life should be. Anyway, not a ground-breaking film by any means, but an extremely pleasant way to sip a cup of tea, eat a few Christmas cookies and enjoy some stress-free Christmas moments. I watched the movie after Christmas because, as much as I love Christmas movies, Ive pretty much grown to loathe what has become of the holiday itself. The frustrating thing for me in watching films like this is wondering: How close was this to being a great film if they had only hired better writers to punch up the script--or perhaps if they had left the original script alone? Im going to read Grishams book and see.

Laughing, crying, vomiting, it does it all for you.

Loved the acting. Characters were very believable. Very funny situations. Good moral to the story.

A must watch during the Christmas season

Tim Allen is great in this film; its right up his alley. Jamie Lee Curtis is a bit over the top, which is too bad because she can be really excellent at comedy without overdoing it. Dan Akroyd is classic Akroyd: what else can I say? Overall, a sweet story.

One of my favorite Christmas movies

This particular copy will not play in the USA. Glad I had ordered two, one from another vendor. I am very dismayed regarding this product. Because it was an international shipment (not my choice) it cost me more for the return postage ($13.70) than was the cost of the product to begin with. I had to return it in order to receive the refund. I dont feel it was fair to me, the consumer. The Brits should have known that their DVDs wont work in the U.S.A. Apparently there is a difference in the electric power in some way. I have no knowledge of these things, but I dont feel that this should have happened. I will appreciate a reply concerning this. Thank you. Claudette Armentrout

Funny christmas family movie for all ages

We love this Christmas flick and consider it one of the very best holiday efforts. You do not have a Christmas Film collection if you dont have this in your collection! Perfectly done and full of laughs. We watch it every time Christmas rolls around.