Jamie Lee Curtis is best-known for her work in the horror genre, with her most iconic works being the Halloween franchise and the hit series, Scream Queens. Nevertheless, Curtis can tackle just about any genre exceptionally, from family-oriented classics such as My Girl, Freaky Friday to action-packed comedies such as True Lies and A Fish Called Wanda. There’s one Jamie Lee Curtis’ Christmas movie that hasn’t stood the test of time, though. Here is a revisiting of Christmas with the Kranks, Jamie Lee Curtis’ forgotten Christmas movie.
Brings Two of Hollywood’s Funniest Talents Together
Sony Pictures Releasing
Christmas with the Kranks brings two of Hollywood’s funniest talents together, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen, and it works perfectly. These two veteran comedians bring their A-game to the Christmas comedy; from Curtis’ Nora Krank; quirky, optimistic, and a mediator between her husband, Luther, and just about everyone he has issues with in their neighborhood. Allen’s Luther Krank is a loving father and husband, but clearly resents his community’s unbending holiday traditions when all he wants is a vacation. Together, Curtis and Allen bring to live an atypical Suburban couple looking to break away from society’s norms for once, judgment-free.
Subverts Christmas Clichés
Christmas with the Kranks subverts the clichés of most Christmas comedies. While some of these narratives focus on a character racing back home just in time for the holidays, Christmas with the Kranks shows the opposite perspective. Nora and Luther are far from the traditional, seemingly flawless families in films such as Miracle on 34th Street, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, and most recently, Happiest Season. This time around, it’s the parents racing against time to put the house back together and hold a perfect–and disingenuous–image for their daughter, Blair.
Realistic Portrayal of Small Family Units
Christmas with the Kranks, in its exaggerated scenarios and regimented supporting characters, is nevertheless a strong portrayal of small family units. Nora and Luther have invested their entire lives into raising Blair and maintaining a picture-perfect image for her. When Blair leaves for the Peace Corps, Nora and Luther have an impulsive reaction after their sudden grief, and it’s understandable. They have maintained an image that hinders their individuality; Luther is an adventurous type that longs to travel outside the secluded community they live in; Nora is open-minded, and unlike most housewives in her community, isn’t subjugated to Luther’s every desire. Similarly to real-life small, one-child family units, Nora and Luther keep their marriage alive, and are in dire need to explore the moment Nora leaves their homestead.
Suburban Lifestyle
Christmas with the Kranks depicts the jurisdictions of suburban lifestyle. Even with Blair gone, Nora and Luther are expected to maintain the status quo by putting up Christmas decorations, house lights, and even the Frosty the Snowman decoration they are celebrated for adorning their house with yearly. When they decide to break these traditions in exchange for a much-needed vacation, their neighbors react negatively; it defies everything their suburban community stands for.
Vic, Nora and Luther’s cavalier next-door neighbor, takes it upon himself to make an example out of Nora and Luther by rallying the neighborhood to pressure them into getting into the holiday spirit. When all else fails, Vic instigates for Nora and Luther to be labeled social deviants. Contrastingly, the neighborhood shows their sense of unity when Blair comes home last minute, led by Vic to help the Kranks decorate their home to give Blair a warm welcome. As flawed as their initial execution is, this suburban community has their heart in the right place.
A Dark Reality: Family Illness
Christmas with the Kranks, with all its comedic antics, still manages to deliver a dark reality: family illness. Luther and Nora’s neighbor, Walt, may have an antagonizing demeanor towards the Kranks over them not celebrating the holidays, but he is actually hiding a heart-wrenching burden that fuels his opposing behavior: his wife’s terminal illness. While the whole neighborhood believes Walt’s wife is in remission from her past cancer, Luther discovers the truth while trying to make amends with Walt. Guilt-ridden over his past self-centered reaction to Blair’s unexpected return, Luther offers Walt his cruise tickets, allowing Walt to spend his last holiday season with his wife vacationing. While a bittersweet approach to illness, the scenario is all too relevant to countless families over the holiday season.
A Funny, Good Time
Christmas movies make audiences laugh, cry, and deliver important messages about family by their conclusion; Christmas with the Kranks excels on all these fronts. Audiences are presented with a deviation from the usual, family model; with Nora, Luther, and Blair; they are a compact family that embodies every loving quality of a bigger unit. Nora and Luther, while being loving parents with Blair’s best interest in mind, are still human; they have their moments of sorrow, frustration, seduction, raunchiness, and ultimately desperation as they struggle against time to make another memorable Christmas celebration for Blair. Christmas with the Kranks also depicts the saddening reality of the holiday season when illness is involved, and how people will pull together for celebration even when illness is plaguing their everyday lives. Christmas with the Kranks delivers a realistic portrayal of Christmas’ ability to reunite an entire community despite their internal conflicts with self–an excellent Christmas tale all across the board.
