NAME: Christmas with the Kranks
SPECS: Film, 2004, PG, Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd
SUMMARY: When their only daughter leaves for the Peace Corp at Thanksgiving, Nora and Luther Krank decide to skip Christmas and go on a cruise instead.
OVERALL RATING: K
MATURITY LEVEL: Pretty mild, it's PG
WHAT I’VE BEEN STRUCK/MOVED BY: For some reason, this is often the first Christmas movie of the season to play in our household. The title, the cast, the goofy set-ups don't point to a movie I would particularly like. But it grows on me every year and I think there's something genuinely beautiful about it. More specifically, this speech about community that somehow makes me cry every time I watch it.
(Spoiler alert section below)
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SPOILER ALERT SECTION
WHAT I WAS STRUCK/MOVED BY - SPOILER VERSION: The central storyline is one of deciding to isolate yourself from community (to do something that looks more fun), then trying to deal with a sudden crisis in that isolation and making an utter hash of it. It's into their self-inflicted (if generally well intentioned) chaotic mess of a Christmas Even plan that the neighbors intervene with the whole group sacrificing their Christmas Eves "for Blair who used to babysit your kids, Blair who comes home every year and makes us all feel like family". That rallying of the neighborhood for some reason never fails to make me cry.
It's also beautiful that Luther's story arc isn't complete until he is able to himself offer an overly generous gift (to the neighbors across the street). There's something lovely about the resolution coming about by the offering of gratuitous gifts and the support of community.
Also, the main character's name is Luther. I've been thinking a lot about certain cultural failings of America - particularly the way we practically treat isolation as a virtue, claiming that you ought to accomplish everything on your own. Even if it's overly reading into things by extrapolating about the name Luther, this story remains beautifully about community, not isolating yourself, and not calculating the cost of caring for people.
REFLECTION IDEAS TO START WITH:
Where are the places in your life that you are unnecessarily isolating yourself?
Do you know any of your neighbors? Is there a practical way available to you to get to know your neighbors?
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