*** Official CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Nicholas Vargo]

From the best-selling novel "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham and starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, I think this will turn out to be the biggest surprise of the holiday season.

Not to metion the fact that it was written for the screen by Chris Columbus ("Gremlins") and directed by Joe Roth ("America's Sweethearts"), that should guarantee a moderate hit if not a blockbuster.

Prediction: $105 Million

Is anyone else looking forward to it, or am I alone?

 

[Jason Seaver]

I think it's just you; the trailer gave me "if it's between this and Surviving Christmas, I'll go with Affleck" vibes.

 

[Malcolm R]

No way in hell I'd pick Ben Affleck over Jamie Lee Curtis.

Can't exactly say I'm looking forward to it (I'm not a Tim Allen fan), but it looks light-years better than "Surviving Christmas."

I just don't understand why, if you're adapting a best-selling novel, you change the title? What was wrong with "Skipping Christmas"? Unless they were afraid it would be confused with "Surviving Christmas" which would look nearly identical on the marquee?

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Surviving Christmas looked atrocious and it was.

Christmas with the Kranks looks even worse...

 

[Jason Seaver]

Like Jamie Lee Curtis will have a single interesting thing to do in Christmas with the Kranks - in case you haven't noticed, she is playing the wife of a comedian, and thus will be stuck being the relatively sane one rolling her eyes at the stupid things Tim Allen does.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't know. I saw her chasing a canned ham down the street in the trailer. Seems like a pretty silly/stupid task to me. And there were others I don't recall the specifics of at the moment. But she seemed far more than just a "straight man" to Tim Allen's kook.

 

[GuruAskew]

I saw "Spider-Man 2" three times this summer and I had to sit through a trilogy of awful trailers each time: "Christmas with the Kranks" (at least they changed the title to something that sounds as awful as the movie looks) "Without A Paddle" and "Anacondas".

 

[Nicholas Vargo]

Before you make your final decision whether or not you would like to see this movie, do yourself a favor and read "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham, which is what this movie is adapted from. One of the more entertaining books I've read that I think others will enjoy if they read it as well. I want to see the movie even more after reading the book.

Now I'm just wondering how faithful the movie will be to the novel.

 

[SteveGon]

Saw the trailer for this awhile back and I gotta agree with Scott - Skipping Christmas looks like a real misfire.

 

[Tim Glover]

At the Spidey 2 showings I went to, the Xmas with the Cranks trailer really brought the house down. Especially the midnight viewing. People were laughing and having a big time. I'm quite a Tim Allen fan and Curtis fan too. Ever since Trading Places

 

[Malcolm R]

It's gonna be huge; $150M minimum.

 

[george kaplan]

I can understand having an opinion of a film based upon a trailer, but I don't really understand why people have such strong opinions based upon trailers. Lots of great films have had bad trailers, and some horrible films have had great trailers.

If I were to just judge Dr. Strangelove from the trailer, I'd conclude it was going to be a stupid movie. But it's a great one. I'll hold off any real judgment about the Kranks until I see the film (if I do), and not decide about seeing it one way or another until I at leat hear some reviews or feedback from people that have actually seen the film, not just the trailer.

 

[Chris Baucom]

My wife and I both read the book a couple of years back and recently saw the trailer. Based on the trailer, this movie goes in a different direction than the book. The book, while meant to be funny, was not slapstick or goofy. It had a believable undertone and a moderately serious basis. The movie, again just from what I have seen in the trailer, looks to be more Clark Griswold-ish.

 

[Mark Oates]

quote:The movie, again just from what I have seen in the trailer, looks to be more Clark Griswold-ish.

Which to me would be a recommendation. I've seen the trailer and I'm looking forward to it. On DVD.

 

[Rob P S]

It looks like a typical noisy Chris Columbus hack job, but I could be wrong.

 

[paul_v]

Right now Christmas With the Kranks has a 6% tomamometer rating at rotten tomatoes.[/url]. 32 out of 34 critics agree the movie is basically crap. I don't recall ever seing a 6% rating for such a heavily marketed film.

 

[David Hobbes]

for me though, there are so many movies that have been panned by critics that i have enjoyed very much that it is hard to take critics seriously, let alone even read reviews...

i am a casual movie goer though...i never really get into deep critical discussions of movies..i just watch them and enjoy them

 

[Henry Gale]

I saw Christmas With The Kranks. It was called a "trailer"...probably about 3 minutes long and they excellently condensed the whole "film."
I know this is more and more common. Give the masses something comfortable and simplistic. Don't surprise them and when they go to the actual movie they'll be laughing together like old friends.
What a funny, ironic name, "Kranks!"
I laughed and laughed! :frowning:

 

[DonRoeber]

I'm so afraid that I'm going to end up seeing this movie with my family. *shudder*

 

[ZacharyTait]

I've seen this "movie" 4 times then. It's been in front of the last 4 movies I saw. The stupidest thing about the trailer wasn't just that they gave away the whole movie, but Jamie Lee Curtis driving down the street with the car windows down, just so that Dan Akroyd can come along and get his hands stuck in the window. Hello, it's winter!

Roger Ebert's Review

James B's Review