Release Date:
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Christmas With the Kranks is yet another abominable Tim Allen Christmas vehicle, and this time he's bringing Jamie Lee Curtis down with him. (Or maybe lifting her up? It's hard to tell at this point in her career.) After their daughter leaves for the Peace Corps, the Kranks (Allen and Curtis) decide to skip all the Christmas clatter and head out on a cruise, much to the chagrin of offended coworkers, neighbors, and paying theatergoers. But on the eve of the cruise, their daughter plots a surprise return home with her new fiancé, and only the Christmas spirit will have the home ready in time for their arrival! As you can imagine, Kranks is loaded with the usual holiday claptrap: Christmas-light-installation slapstick, holiday hugs between enemies, and Dan Aykroyd's bald spot outperforming the one-time hilarious Blues Brother. We're not saying Tim Allen hasn't done anything funny since Home Improvement; we're just saying Tim Allen hasn't done anything funny ever.