There's nothing quite like a heartwarming Christmas film to get you in the spirit at this festive time of year. They couldn't have chosen a better lead role than Tim Allen, who I already associate with Christmas since he is actually Santa!

I really liked the running gag where they couldn't work out who Marty was. I've got to say though, I was a little disappointed that we did find out who he was eventually. For me, it would have been funnier had we never got to find out. But I suppose it brings it together to make sense.

The cast were brilliant, funny but realistic. They could perform visual comedy and slapstick very well. Unfortunately, there was too much focus pulling in the camera work which made it look ridiculous and distracting. But that's about the only downside to the movie.

One fantastic part of the movie is when they start singing an Eddie Cochran song "C'mon Everybody". Eddie Cochran is the bees-knees of music and I remember being pleasantly surprised at this when I saw this film in the cinema. (I've always been a huge Cochran fan.)

Definitely worth a watch and I'll probably watch it every year from now on.

It's only 77 days to go 'til the big day!! So Merry Christmas everyone!

**_Harmless Christmas fun with Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd_**

When the Kranks’ daughter goes off to Peru after Thanksgiving, they decide to skip Christmas and spend the money on a Caribbean cruise, but their neighbors browbeat them for it. At the last minute, they decide they have to celebrate the holiday anyway, but how will their offended neighbors respond?

“Christmas With the Kranks” (2004) is one of those Christmas flicks that you can just roll with and enjoy or be a Scrooge and pick apart. As far as the latter goes, what’s wrong with NOT blowing money on Christmas lights and so on? Who joins the Peace Corps to help out the world and comes back in a month? If you can ignore such questions, it’s entertaining enough and warmhearted.

While everything is usually exaggerated in movies, especially ones like this, there ARE neighborhoods in which neighbors are coerced into displaying unison decorations for the holidays.

The movie runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in studios of the Los Angeles area, e.g. Downey, with second unit work done outside Chicago.

GRADE: B-

Suitably amusing.

With that said, 'Christmas with the Kranks' certainly starts brighter than it ends. I found fun in the opening portion, especially with the two leads. I didn't like the ending as much, I found it too sappy and untidy. The run time is short though, so that doesn't hamper things much.

Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are enjoyable at the forefront of the film, with Dan Aykroyd joining them in that bracket with his arrival. The rest of the cast are fine. The plot isn't anything majorly fresh, but it entertained me enough. Fun film.