Roger Ebert-Slammed ‘Christmas with the Kranks’ Becomes Surprising Free to Stream hit on Freevee

Christmas with the Kranks premiered in 2004, but the critically panned holiday feature has found a second life on Freevee 20 years later. Starring Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dan Akroyd, Christmas with the Kranks follows Luther (Allen) and Nora Krank (Curtis), whose daughter has left for the Peace Corps. With their daughter away, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas and take a lavish Caribbean cruise. That plan is spoiled when their daughter announces she’ll be returning home for the holidays, leaving Luther and Nora to scramble with their last-minute holiday preparations. The Christmas comedy is currently the number 1 film on Freevee, Amazon’s free, ad-supported streaming service.

Upon its release, Christmas with the Kranks did reasonably well at the box office, grossing $96.6 million, against a $60 million budget. Despite a solid starring trio, the holiday feature holds an abysmal 5% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found fault with just about everything, using adjectives like “exhausting,” “unfunny,” “unoriginal,” “grueling,” and “hellish” to describe the movie. Directed by Joe Roth, Christmas with the Kranks was adapted for the screen from John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas. The 2001 comedic novel satirizes consumerism while exploring the true meaning of the holiday. Some critics found that the book’s satirical nature didn’t translate well to screen, and took issue with the movie’s mixed messaging. The Boston Globe’s review noted:

“Here’s a film that says Christmas is a sellout, that your neighbors are morons, and that suburbia is a playground of fascist conformity, and then it concludes that anyone who actually believes that is a heartless Scrooge.”

Roger Ebert bestowed the movie with just one of four stars, also slamming its inconsistent messaging:

“The movie’s complete lack of a sense of humor is proven by its inability to see that the Kranks are reasonable people and their neighbors are monstrous. What it affirms is not the Christmas spirit but the Kranks caving in. What is the movie really about? I think it may play as a veiled threat against nonconformists who don’t want to go along with the majority opinion in their community. What used to be known as American individualism is now interpreted as ominous. We’re supposed to think there’s something wrong with the Kranks. The buried message is: Go along, and follow the lead of the most obnoxious loudmouth on the block.”

‘Christmas with the Kranks’ Has Become Another Shocking Streaming Hit

While critics panned it, audiences were slightly more forgiving, giving Christmas with the Kranks a 39% approval rating (on Rotten Tomatoes). They found the feature heart-warming and praised the cast’s comedic chops.

So what’s behind Christmas with the Kranks‘ resurgence? Well, some viewers enjoy holiday movies that are a bit over the top (with unlikely storylines, like being harassed about not putting a giant inflatable snowman on your roof for the holidays); others simply love Christmas with the Kranks and watch it every holiday season. Of course, there’s also something to be said about the movie’s cast: Allen remains a prominent figure in Christmas cinema due to his iconic role as Santa Claus in The Santa Clause franchise, Curtis’ star only continues to rise (as we patiently await the Freaky Friday sequel), and Akroyd is a comedy legend. There are also those discovering the feature for the first time.

To find out if Christmas with the Kranks really deserves all the critical hate, head to Freevee to judge for yourself. It’s also available to stream on Hulu.