Christmas is a great time for joy and happiness and this film serves that purpose with some easy viewing. Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are fun to watch and it has the odd dose of humour that lands well.

It's far from perfect, and has so many flaws, but what this film has that so many Christmas flicks don't is the delightful energy within it, as well as it simply being rather entertaining. I'm not a big fan of Holiday films, I often find them quite corny and ridiculous. This film isn't exactly an exception, but for the most part, I have to admit, I did enjoy it, and i'll tell you why. Tim Allen truly gives it his all in this film, as he often does in all his films and shows, and I just feel his character really fit his performance and although he was far from great, he was perfect for the role. I enjoyed seeing Jamie Lee Curtis in a role like this, often very similar to my own grandmother, which I find kinda ironic. She is a bit over the top at times, and her character is written quite poorly, but she certainly doesn't way down the film in anyway. I enjoy the look of the film, as well as the atmosphere. It has some awful lines of dialogue throughout, really whoever wrote this films script, as well as directing it, really wasn't trying very hard. However, the actors are all up for the job, even in small parts, and it's sweeter spirit can get the best of you at times. It's beginning, or at least first half or so, can feel a bit ridiculous, just by peoples reactions and such, but if your willing to turn your brain off and just enjoy the film for what it is- a goofy sweet little xmas flick- than you are sure to have a good time. My Rating: 6.5/10

Christmas with the Kranks is far from the best Christmas movie, but it is not the worst either, that's Deck the Halls. That said, despite a nice soundtrack, decent camera work and scenery and a talented cast that includes Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd it is pretty bad. A lot of the problem is the film's humour, there are some raise-a-smile sight gags, but overall it is very unfunny and predictable. The story is also rather bland and has some dumb, incoherent parts, complete with a cloying, cliché ending. The direction is lacking too, and the pace is lethargic. The cast do try their best, and they do have some good moments and decent chemistry, but they deserved much more with a tighter script and direction. The real problem with Christmas with the Kranks is the lack of Christmas spirit, at the end of the day it all comes across as cold and mean-spirited. Overall, not absolutely dreadful but with the cast as talented as they are it should have been better. 3/10 Bethany Cox