Christmas with the Kranks

Hollywood is set on the Scrooge theme this season. Based on a John Grisham novel, this sees Luther and Nora Krank (Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) deciding to boycott Christmas in favour of a cruise when their daughter Blair moves out. After becoming the black sheep of the Christmas-crazy neighbourhood, the Kranks suddenly discover Blair’s coming back for the holidays and all rally round. And so the potential satirisation of suburbia’s seasonal obsession is lost in a flurry of snow. British audiences, particularly, may find it hard to buy into the film’s reverence for consumption, and with clumsy sight gags the only humour on offer, the temptation to mutter ‘Bah humbug’ is overwhelming.