Christmas with the Kranks (2004) * *

Directed by:  Joe Roth

Starring:  Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Cheech Marin, Austin Pendleton, M. Emmet Walsh, Julie Gonzalo, Tom Poston

I'm willing to concede Christmas with the Kranks has one or two moments of brief cheer, but the slapstick and uneven tone prevent it from crossing over into the upper echelon of holiday movies.  Luther Krank (Allen) and his wife Nora (Curtis) live in the type of town which grows apoplectic if you say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".   Their only daughter has joined the Peace Corps and will be away for Christmas.   Now faced with being empty nest parents, the couple decides to go on a cruise during Christmas and simply skip celebrating Christmas this year.   They will save about $3,000 and can process their grief of having their daughter move away while getting a tan in the Caribbean.   

Not so fast says their asinine neighbors, who openly shun the Kranks' desire not to celebrate the holidays this year.   They gather and protest in front of the Kranks' house, harass the poor couple at every turn, and attempt to shame them into decorating their home like everyone does in the neighborhood.   Don't these people have lives or something more productive to do?   They're led by neighborhood Christmas bully Vic Frohmeyer (Aykroyd).   Aykroyd and Curtis were charming together in Trading Place and My Girl, but in Christmas with the Kranks they are neither charming nor together.

Allen plays Luther with a bit of an edge which only grows sharper as his neighbors bully he and his poor wife into submission.   The movie never explains why it means so much to the neighbors for the Kranks to conform to their sense of what Christmas should be or how this is funny.   Oh, Christmas with the Kranks is a comedy, although a subplot involving a sickly neighbor gives the Kranks a chance to show they aren't cranks after all.   The issue is, the Kranks are relatively sane and independent, while the rest of the block is nothing but a mob.   Christmas with the Kranks believes the mob rules and the Kranks had better get with the program or be dealt with accordingly.   If a plot twist didn't occur setting the movie on its course to a, ahem, happy ending, the Kranks and Vic would've come to blows.   Now that's the Christmas spirit for you.