The Kranks are not one bit funny

Christmas with the Kranks

Director: Joe Roth

Cast: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Jake Busey, Julie Gonzalo, Cheech Marin

Cert: 12.

OK, so it's the season of goodwill, jingle bells, chestnuts roasting; but it's also the cynical season for unloading naff films on us.

When it comes to bells the only ones we hear from Hollywood are those on the tills. The motto in the cracker is, clearly, give 'em any old turkey and they'll gobble it down.

Which brings us to this turkey.

Allen, who was so good in the great Star Trak spoof, Galaxy Quest, isn't the right actor to do Christmas. Here he plays a man fed up with the Yuletide commercialisation who decides to get away from it all by taking the family on a vacation.

The film is, amazingly, based on a John Grisham novel - yes, the much-filmed legal author - and the theme is about how a grumpy guy finds the true spirit and happiness of the season when his daughter decides to come home from a stint in the Peace Corps. His neighbours mount a campaign to force him to get into the right Yuletide mood.

And it's not one bit funny - in spite of a decent cast of A-Listers. It's dismal, it's poorly directed and it makes you long for Easter.

Star Rating: 0/5