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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 348403" data-attributes="member: 23">Christmas With The Kranks (2004) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw780%2F6sH8XfDDfTVT8AKZ0UNhnFTsyzJ.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=8b9b87f89a2284fa91d2b1350c96f43ebe1ae58e2f7ffb2afda08caa4ad950a2&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 533px" /> This was a spontaneous watch, chosen on the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Ackroyd both appear. I felt I knew what to expect from the unsubtly wacky poster, and that's pretty much it. As much as anything, this film feels like an ode to the insanity of Christmas preparations and rituals and all the expectation and pressure that comes along with those. And it does so by inverting the whole dynamic so that the people who opt out of "doing" Christmas end up appearing insane and unreasonable. Every street has one of those homes with Christmas lights, decorations and garden displays that are so OTT and bright they need to begin setting them up in August. This film presents a kind of Stepford world where this is the rule rather than the exception, and the Kranks' home stands out because it's the only one not covered in lights, with their concession to Christmas being a tasteful wreath on the door. I'm really not clear if the filmmakers fully understand that the Kranks are the healthy ones, especially since it ultimately equates conforming to Christmas rituals with community (and non-conformity in choosing not to erect a twelve foot snowman on the roof is shown to be a sticky middle finger up at the neighbours). All the same, it does capture the insanity of pre-Christmas perfectly, perhaps best represented by the epic supermarket struggle to obtain the last Hickory Honey Ham (I'd thought this was going to be an actual ham, but the film take the insanity one step further by making this an epic battle for nasty tinned "meat"). The comedy is as broad as one would expect, but the performances make it fly and it got a few genuine laughs from me. JLC and Ackroyd are both great, with the latter representing the push to "do" Christmas. I particularly like that JLC's character is quite unsympathetic, chewing her husband's ear off so that he does her bidding for a quiet life (established well early on when she pushes him to get a soaking in order to obtain her special chocolate chips while she sits in the car and sends him back repeatedly until he gets it spot on). She's also quick to allow him to take the blame when things go tits up, which felt quite truthful. I don't know what I know Tim Allen from. I feel I must have seen him in something, but darned if I know what. On first glance I thought he was Kevin Spacey, but as the film progressed I was struck by how much he looks like William Shatner. The film is schmaltzy at times, particularly as it gets towards the rather hollow "Christmas good" message and Allen's character finds his "redemption" by doing something nice. Still, it's warm enough and irreverent enough to pull off these moments well. The ailing neighbour's trembling lip on being met with an unexpected kindness was perfectly played. I'm glad I didn't know this was based on a John Grisham novel or I would probably have expected more and been disappointed. But watching this with no other information beyond the colourful, one-dimensional poster and a couple of cast members it really hit the spot.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?