MovieChat Forums > Christmas with the Kranks (2004) Discussion > The Neighbors were selfish.

The Neighbors were selfish.

posted 11 years ago by pastorjwallen
5 replies | jump to latest

This is a decent movie in a number of ways, in that it's festive, slapstick silliness, and I'm alright with that. My problem actually stems from the behavior of the neighbors. When Nora tells her friends that she and Luther are taking a vacation and skipping Christmas, her "friend's" first reaction is "What are we supposed to do?"

I would have replied, "Oh, I don't know, pay out $6,000 to have your own party?"

I mean, really? The Kranks have poured thousands of dollars into their Christmas parties every year, for the neighborhood, and one year they decide they want to do something else, and they're scolded for it? These neighbors took advantage of that good will and generosity, and now they're upset at the Kranks because they can't do it again for that year? Ridiculous.

The way the neighbors behaved toward the Kranks is downright terrible. These two people just want to skip a giant Christmas party because their daughter has left home, and they want to celebrate it somewhere else together, away from the hustle and bustle. Somehow this makes them bad people? The behavior of the neighbors sours the movie somewhat for me. I still like it, but I just found their behavior unacceptable.

~j~

[–] kellimcm 10 years ago

I agree. The behavior of everyone around the Kranks was terrible. Why should the Kranks feel bad because they wanted to do something different, like not pay 6,000 to please everyone else.

[–] pastorjwallen 10 years ago

Yep. There was just no excuse for it. Sadness, I get. Annoyance, I also get, but there's just this entitlement that makes them come off as jerks.

~j~

[–] dcamonkeys 9 years ago

I couldn't even finish it. The jerk neighbors made me want to see Luther punch them. Or Nora could do it. Somebody needed to be punched.

[–] FlushingCaps 9 years ago

In defending the neighbors, I need to "spoil" it for anyone who hasn't seen this yet.

What you write is true, but when you think about how those same neighbors came through with shining colors to help the Kranks out at the end...well, I would love to have neighbors like that, and so would most people. They really knocked themselves out, right before Christmas, to help the Kranks. That was the real heartwarming part of this film.

As for the initial reaction of "What are we going to do?":

I think it would be a natural reaction of anyone in that situation. They were accustomed to this annual shindig and, from what else was said, really looked forward to this huge party every year. It was clearly one of the highlights of the whole year for these people and they were stunned to learn it wasn't going to happen this year--just a couple of weeks before, as well. I don't think anyone would say, "Well, I'll have to raid my bank account and throw a similar party for everyone, even though I don't have much time at all to plan it."

I'd also say that the script needed the neighbors to be that way in the early and middle of the film, so the transformation at the end would be more dramatic. Think about It's a Wonderful Life. If George had never been considering suicide, but only thinking of going to work for Potter, earning a good living, the presence of a guardian angel would not have been nearly as dramatic.

[–] lakealice 8 years ago

It's true the neighbors seemingly transformed at the end, but that's because they were getting their own way. It would have been better if they had realized that the trappings of Christmas weren't all that important and had decided to help the Kranks get away on their cruise in a selfless manner. But that wouldn't have been comical enough.