Tagline: No! Ho! Ho!
“Christmas with the Kranks,” based on the John Grisham best seller “Skipping Christmas,” Tim Allen plays Luther Krank, a man who decides to skip Christmas and all the surrounding trappings and go on a vacation with his wife Nora (Curtis) instead. But when his daughter decides at the last minute to come home for the holiday, he is forced to put Christmas back together.
In Revolution Studios’ new comedy Christmas With The Kranks, based on John Grisham’s best-selling novel Skipping Christmas, Tim Allen plays Luther Krank, a man who decides to skip Christmas and all the surrounding trappings and go on a vacation with his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) instead. But when his daughter decides, at the last minute, to come home for the holidays, he is forced to put Christmas back together.
After faithfully and happily celebrating Christmas their entire lives, and with their daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) in Peru to serve a stint in the Peace Corps, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) Krank are facing the prospect of a very lonely holiday.
One blustery Chicago night, Luther glances longingly at an alluring poster in a travel agency window and pictures himself and Nora basking in the glow of the sun on a Caribbean cruise. What if this Christmas there was no tree, no holiday lights, no fruitcakes, no parties, no decorating… no Christmas?
Though Nora is at first reluctant about going away for the holidays, she soon warms to the idea. But when their neighbors up and down Hemlock Street find out, they are aghast, especially local busybody Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd). Among the other injured parties are local police officers Salino (Cheech Marin) and Treen (Jake Busey), as well as Luther’s neighborhood sparring partner Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh).
The Kranks are skipping Christmas? Unimaginable. Unthinkable. Unbearable. To make matters worse, Luther refuses to put his illuminated Frosty the Snowman on his rooftop. Every house has a Frosty on its rooftop at Christmas. Hemlock Street is famous for it and has won numerous contests sponsored by the local newspaper for its Yuletide decorations.
The battle of wits between the Kranks and their neighbors quickly escalates, threatening the harmony of the community and, yes, the spirit of Christmas itself. Then, without warning, Luther and Nora get a phone call from Blair. She’s coming home for Christmas after all. Now the Kranks have less than twenty-four hours to get themselves and all the families on Hemlock Street back in the proper Christmas spirit.
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Directed by: Joe Roth
Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Gonzalo, Dan Aykroyd, Jake Busey, Erik Per Sullivan, Cheech Marin, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth Franz, Austin Pendleton, Felicity Huffman
Screenplay by: Chris Columbus
Production Design by: Garreth Stover
Cinematography by: Don Burgess
Film Editing by: Nick Moore
Costume Design by: Susie DeSanto
Set Decoration by: Karen O’Hara
Art Direction by: Christopher Burian-Mohr
Music by: John Debney, Paul Morabito
MPAA Rating: PG for brief language and suggestive content.
Distributed by: Revolution Studios
Release Date: November 24, 2004
Visits: 71
