Deck the Halls (2006 film): Difference between revisions

'''''Deck the Halls''''' is a 2006 American [[Christmas]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[John Whitesell]], written by Matt Corman, Chris Ord, and [[Don Rhymer]], and starring [[Danny DeVito]], [[Matthew Broderick]], [[Kristin Davis]], and [[Kristin Chenoweth]]. The film was released on November 22, 2006. The film was released, by [[20th Century Studios Home Entertainment|20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]] on [[DVD]] on November 6, 2007. It was a critical and [[Box-office bomb|commercial failure]].

In the fictional town of Cloverdale, [[Massachusetts]], [[optometry|optometrist]] and self-proclaimed [[Christmas]] expert Steve Finch wants his family, consisting of wife Kelly, daughter Madison, and son Carter, to have a great Christmas, filled with traditions such as using an [[Advent calendar]], taking Christmas card pictures in matching sweaters, and buying a large [[Christmas tree|tree]].

In the middle of the night on December 1, new neighbors move in across the street: [[car salesman]] and electrical engineer Buddy Hall and his [[trophy wife]] Tia, both of whom Steve and his wife Kelly meet the next morning. Later that day, Kelly and hergoes daughterwith Madison and son Carter go to the Hall house, where they meet the Halls’ teenage twin daughters, Ashley and Emily. Tia and Kelly immediately become friends, as do Ashley, Emily, and Madison.

Buddy goes to work as a used car salesman, where he manages to sellsells a car to the owner of the [[Car dealership|dealership]], giving him a [[promotion (rank)|promotion]]. That night, BuddyTia complains to TiaBuddy that while heBuddy can sell anything, he soon gets bored, that she's fed up with always moving on, to which Buddy responds he wants to achieve something greater than selling cars or easilycopiers. After discovering that the neighborhood can be seen on [[satellite photo]]s via a website called MyEarth (seemingly a [[parody]] of [[Google Earth]]), but that his house is not visible, Buddy decides to make it visible using Christmas lights. As his display grows bigger, including live animals, it gets Buddy known around town, angering Steve and threatening his position as the “Christmas guy.”

Steve’sSteve's envy towards Buddy increases; in various incidents, Steve's Christmas-card photo is ruined when two of Buddy's [[Phonophobia|phonophobic]] [[feral horses]] get startled by the sleigh bells and take Steve for a wild ride which ends with him falling into a frozen lake, his car doors are ripped off during one of Buddy's [[Christmas lights|light shows]], and his private Christmas-tree lot is destroyed by a [[fire]] when Buddy accidentally spills [[gasoline]] with his [[chainsaw]]. Eventually, Buddy's house is completely lit, and even synchronized to music. Steve manages to sabotage Buddy’sBuddy's lights by filling his fusebox with snow, but a backup generator foils his plan. Buddy discovers the sabotage and retaliates by stealing the town's Christmas tree, putting it in Steve's house, and "buying" him a car.

Steve discovers Buddy has been stealing the former’sformer's power for the latter’slatter's lights. However, after seeing Buddy taking down his lights, a remorseful Steve forgives Buddy. The two forget their rivalry and build a winter wonderland with all of Buddy's lights. They lure Tia, Kelly, and the kids home and all sit down to a nice meal made by both Steve and Buddy.

Soon, the whole town arrives at Buddy’sBuddy's house to help put Buddy's lights back up in time for a story about them on [[MTV]]. They do not work, and everyone sings [[carol (music)|carol]]s and uses their [[cell phone]]s as flashlights. As they sing, Steve accepts Buddy’sBuddy's offer to be his friend, and Carter notices that the lights did not work because one of the plugs is not plugged in properly. He tightly plugs it in, causing the lights to shine brightly through the night. [[SuChin Pak]], doing the MTV report, gets confirmation from MyEarth that the house is indeed visible from space, and the crowd celebrates.

*[[Dylan Blue]] as Carter Finch

*[[Kelly Aldridge]] as Ashley Hall

*[[Sabrina Aldridge]] as Emily Hall

*[[Jill Krop]] as Herselfherself

*[[SuChin Pak]] as Herselfherself

== Production notes ==

''Deck the Halls'' was panned by critics. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads, "Relying on flat humor and a preposterous plot, ''Deck the Halls'' is an unnecessarily mean-spirited holiday movie that does little to put viewers in a holiday mood."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deck_the_halls|title=Deck the Halls (2006)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> This was the third-worst reviewed Christmas movie on the site, after ''[[The Nutcracker in 3D]]'' and ''[[Christmas with the Kranks]]'', respectively.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/worst-christmas-movies/ | title= The Worst of Christmas Movies| work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= December 23, 2020}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 28 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/deck-the-halls|title=Deck the Halls Reviews|work=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web|url=https://m.cinemascore.com |title=CinemaScore |work=cinemascore.com}}</ref>

Roger Moore of the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' named it "A leaden slice of fruitcake, with about as much nutritional value," and concluding that "it's not worth working up a good hate over". [[Stephen Hunter]] remarked "I literally didn't count a single laugh in the whole aimless schlep," and suggested that the film should've have been named ''Dreck the Halls'' instead. [[Michael Medved]] named it the "Worst Movie of 2006." Finally, [[Richard Roeper]], co-host of the television show ''[[At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper|Ebert & Roeper]]'', wrote:

* {{AmgAllMovie movietitle|349033|title=Deck the Halls}}