Christmas with the Kranks DVD 2004 Verrückte Weihnachten / Directed by Joe Roth / Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Erik Per Sullivan, Cheech Marin

UPC 4030521376755

REGION 2 PAL DVD

MADE IN EU

AUDIO: English 5.1, German 5.1 

SUBTITLES: German, English, Turkish

Total Runtime: 95 MINUTES

English Summary:

After Riverside, Illinois couple Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) see their daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo), depart for a Peace Corps assignment in Peru on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, empty nest syndrome sets in. Luther calculates the couple spent $6,132 during the previous year's holiday season and, not looking forward to celebrating Christmas without their daughter, he suggests they invest the money usually spent on decorations, gifts, and entertainment and treat themselves to a ten-day Caribbean cruise instead. Luther insists that they completely boycott the holidays in return, and eventually Nora agrees.

The Kranks are amazed to discover they are considered pariahs as a result of their decision to skip the holidays. Most vocal in their objections are neighbors Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd) and Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh). Vic, who is the unelected leader of the street, organizes a campaign to force the Kranks to decorate their home. Walt does not seem to like Luther, so his efforts are primarily personal. However, it is revealed that Walt's wife Bev is suffering from cancer, perhaps dampening his holiday spirits. Children, led by Vic's son Spike (Erik Per Sullivan), constantly picket to force them into putting up a Frosty the Snowman decoration, and Christmas carolers try to revive the Kranks' holiday spirit by singing on their lawn, which Luther stops by freezing his front lawn. Even the newspaper gets into the act by publishing a front-page story complete with a photograph of the unlit Krank house. Still, Luther and Nora continue to stand their ground.

German Summary:

Da ihre Tochter Blair in diesem Jahr um die Weihnachtszeit nicht zu Hause ist, weil sie dem Friedenscorps beigetreten ist, beschließt das Elternpaar Krank, den lokalen Weihnachtsbräuchen zum Trotz, das Fest ausfallen zu lassen und mit dem gesparten Geld eine Kreuzfahrt in die Karibik zu unternehmen. Diese Weihnachtsflucht ist für ihre Nachbarn allerdings ein großer Frevel. Als Blair plötzlich für die Weihnachtstage ihre Rückkehr ankündigt, bleiben dem Ehepaar nur wenige Stunden Zeit, um ein perfektes Fest für sie zu organisieren. Mit Hilfe der Nachbarschaft gelingt schließlich eine perfekte Weihnachtsparty.

Cast / Besetzung:

• Tim Allen as Luther Krank
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Nora Krank, Luther's wife
• Dan Aykroyd as Vic Frohmeyer, the Kranks' domineering neighbor and usually the ward boss of the neighborhood
• Dava Hulsey as Amanda Frohmeyer, the doting wife of Vic and loving mother of Spike
• Julie Gonzalo as Blair Krank, the Kranks' daughter
• M. Emmet Walsh as Walt Scheel, the Kranks' obnoxious neighbor
• Elizabeth Franz as Bev Scheel, Walt's ailing wife
• Erik Per Sullivan as Spike Frohmeyer, Vic's kid
• Cheech Marin as Officer Salino
• Jake Busey as Officer Treen, Salino's partner
• Austin Pendleton as Marty, an umbrella salesman who somehow knows everyone
• Tom Poston as Father Zabriskie, a priest
• Kim Rhodes as Julie, Luther's employee
• Arden Myrin as Daisy
• René Lavan as Enrique Decardenal, Blair's fiancé
• Patrick Breen as Aubie, a stationier
• Caroline Rhea as Candi, a friend of Nora's
• Felicity Huffman as Merry, a friend of Nora's
• Kevin Chamberlin as Duke Scanlon, a Boy Scout leader