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arieliondotcom 2012-05-22 00:57:51

Hearty fare for the Holidays

You see what you want to see most times in many instances. Some criticshere say this is "heartless" but maybe that says more about them thanabout this movie. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie because itDOES show heart. Best of all, for Christians, it shows the REAL meaningof Christmas (as in the birth of Jesus Christ), subtly, not banging youover the head with a manger, but makes sure to use a creche scene,mention the birth of Jesus, and use Christian lyrics among the usualsecular stuff. So for me, that made the movie all the more meaningful.I didn't catch any embarrassing language or actions. Any "violence" isover-the-top cartoon stuff. And the lighting effects ARE great.There are also some genuinely funny lines, but you need a sophisticatedsense of humor to catch it, especially with the deadpan style ofBroderick.It's a funny, fun, family film. I highly recommend it. (And don't payattention to grinch critics who say otherwise! They don't see heart inthis film because their hearts are "two sizes two small.") ;)

matchesmalone45 2012-05-21 07:51:45

Decent Holiday Fun

I watched this in the theater awhile back and actually have the DVDtoo. The overall rating on this movie doesn't surprise me, as the storyis pretty lame. But, in the movies defense, it's not that bad. I foundthis worth several decent laughs. That doesn't mean it's great though,it's forced a lot of the time and it's simply not funny. Overallthough, I can sit through this movie pretty easily and not get tired ofit as long as I don't watch it over and over. It's an alright holidayfilm but will not be a classic or be remembered that far down the road.Try this movie out for enjoyment and don't try to read much into it.Take it for what it is, a cheesy holiday film.

jfwilder 2012-05-18 02:04:49

Why are these actors in a Christmas film anyway?

OK...so creating a cliché comedy at Christmastime is solely for makingmoney. Even so, why do we have to have a nearly all-Jewish cast in aChristian themed holiday show? I'm not religious anyway and don't wantthat to be the issue here aside from showing the greed involved bythose who put this film together only for money. All that aside, theacting was simply horrible and the big show-off ending (Spoiler) wherethe house finally can be seen from space....it's a scene where it'sSNOWING for Pete's sake!!!! How in the world can ANYTHING be seen fromspace if it's snowing outside? DUH?! Did anyone else even catch that?Matthew Broderick can't act his way out of a paper bag, and DannyDeVito is at his worst. The twins were hot, but predictably played tobe shallow and stupid...and were topped by being bad actors. Directionis awful, reaction to situations is not even remotely laughable, andnowhere near what an abnormal human would do even do if they had a zeroI.Q.. I can only imagine anyone from outside of the U.S. looking atthis movie and finally realizing why every other country hates us andthinks we're a bunch of morons. Someone in Hollywood has to startdirecting to a level that is not the lowest commondenominator...please!!! And by the way, I have driven by light showswhere there were serious accidents caused by the distraction...so let'snot make this something we should all relish as a new tradition, eh?

Bob 2012-05-17 16:47:44

As If A Movie Wasn't Done Like This Before

Be safe - Don't waste your money. It's better to get the DVD of "It's A Wonderful Life" or another classic. Danny is a good actor but not in this.

Ed C 2012-05-17 11:13:43

Well.... That sucked!

Poor writing, trite story line. No suspension of dis-belief at all! To para-phrase Frank Cross of Scrooged "Well, that sucked.... Now I have to kill you all! Don't bother.

merklekranz 2012-05-16 19:12:21

Definitely the brightest ...but not the best Christmas comedy...

Danny DeVito has been in some pretty outrageous comedies, "RuthlessPeople", "Tin Men", among others. The problem with "Deck the Halls", isit simply isn't outrageous enough. I'm sure it's due to the PG rating,as R rated Christmas films are undoubtedly a tough sell to the studio.There are other problems, including Matthew Broderick's mummifiedperformance. The film would have benefited from DeVito playing off acharacter you really sympathized with, which is not the case withBroderick. What you are left with is a tepid comedy, which is certainlyno "Christmas Vacation", but still enjoyable. If Christopher Walken hadplayed Matthew Broderick's part, and it was PG13 or R rated, "Deck theHalls" might have been a Christmas classic. - MERK

mcfly-31 2012-05-12 10:26:14

Deck the filmmakers....

Like watching a combination plate of a movie, with elements of everyChristmas movie you've ever seen thrown in for good measure. Firstlet's start with one of the flimsiest plot devices ever: lifelong-loserDevito (despite having a blonde, busty wife, uh huh) gets the inaneidea to put enough xmas lights on his home so it can be seen fromspace. This will give him the accomplishment of his life, and make him"somebody". Now he has just moved in across the street from squeakyclean Broderick, who happens to me "Mr. Christmas" around the holidays.The two begin a war of wills as to whom the town will adore the most.Devito keeps piling on lights, Broderick tries to sabotage it. Now withthat storyline laid out, so, so many things come to mind. A), Devitowould never get away with the noise and paralyzing light beams shootinginto everyone's bedrooms. B), as a car salesman, Devito forgesBroderick's name and sticks him with the payments on a new SUV. Now,only in "movie land" would Devito not be fired and brought up oncharges of fraud. C), let's count the rip-offs of other movies, shallwe: xmas neighbors feuding (Christmas With the Kranks); unstable manlighting up his house (Christmas Vacation); Broderick banged around andcovered in goop (Home Alone); a VERY badly blue-screened runaway Santasleigh (Christmas Vaction AGAIN!). Tack on maybe "the" most forced,overly syrupy, and utterly rushed endings in film history, Christmas ornot, and you have ten hard earned dollars wasted. As the film startedit was good to see a couple of former movie heavyweights in apotentially big holiday film...sadly, this adds to the nadir that isstill their current careers.

Jens L 2012-05-11 17:29:10

Another lame christmas movie

This one was almost as bad as "Christmas with the Kranks". I wish I could have gotten a refund. This definatly was'nt a family movie. Your kids would probably understand most of the lame attempted adult jokes if they knew what a rimjob is. Not to mention, the movie was like 4 hours long. Or it at least seemed that long.Don't watch this with the kids, if your expecting a "Mary Poppins" kind-of family movie.Plot? Was their any? Neighbors trying to outdo themselves? How many times has this been done before, 40? Seriously.Save your forty bucks, and take your family to go have fun somewhere else, or see a different movie.Keep in mind, im still pretty young, (14) and most of you guys probably think, because of that, im gonna give a lame review.In short; try to avoid seeing this movie unless your being payed like fifty bucks (an hour)

Ty Burr 2012-05-05 21:49:38

How come the talk-radio blowhards never bring movies like this up when they're inveighing against the War on Christmas?

squareWave808 2012-05-05 09:02:01

excruciating

So it being the Christmas season and all, the family was in the moodfor a Christmas movie, one we hadn't seen before. With the cast ofDanny DeVito and Matthew Broderick, this one seemed like a goodcontender.Ouch.I could barely make it to the twenty minute mark before bringing theshowing of this movie to a merciful end. It seems that this movie istrying hard to be Christmas Vacation, producing only a meager andclichéd facsimile of that classic. All the elements are there: theyuppie couple with cynical too-cool-for-school teenage daughter, littlehorn dog son, and a plot revolving around their contrast with rougharound the edges newcomers. It's been done before, and more importantlyit's been done much better.This is one of those movies that is offensively bad. Offensive becauseHollywood churns out this utter crap under the assumption that we'lllap it up because we're just too undiscerning to know how bad it reallyis.

Cyndi 2012-05-04 17:14:31

Wait for the DVD

Just saw this movie today. I thought it was average at best. It certainly could have been done in an hour. The story line was the same as so many Holiday flicks - I did laugh but because my daughter's friend spilled Nacho Cheese down the front of her, not at the movie. It was corny, dorky, and had little if any WOW factor. Byt the time I paid for the girls and I go get into the movie, the Nachos, Popcorn and a Drink we all could have had manicures and enjoyed ourselves more. To put the blonde bimbo with the fake rack as Danny's wife - Please, it would have been funnier if she were a toothless, crazed lunatic!There were several swear words and adult inuendos, not appropriate for the K-5th graders.WAIT FOR THE DVD, and don't pay full price for it!

2012-05-04 11:14:31

A must have for our Holiday collection

This review is from: Deck the Halls (DVD) Just a fun movie to watch during the Christmas Holidays. Who doesn't love Danny Devito? The kids love this movie!

JohnRouseMerriottChard 2012-04-28 01:23:28

What is your favourite Christmas memory?

Deck the Halls is directed by John Whitesell and stars Danny DeVito,Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis & Kristin Chenoweth. Plot seesBroderick & DeVito as warring neighbours who try to out Christmas eachother during the festive season.Seasonal movies are notoriously hard to get right, particularly thoseset around the Christmas period. Even the most popular and fondlythought of ones still have their detractors and carry around a sort ofsentimental baggage that many critics refuse to kowtow too. Deck theHalls, sadly, is the sort of film that still further sets back theChristmas movie's chance of getting a fair crack of the critical whip.In truth it's a pretty inoffensive movie, one that boasts a couple ofvery watchable leads, but the laughs are sparse and the plot as thin asa pre ghostly visited Ebenezer Scrooge's Christmas dinner. Even as theinevitable feel good factor starts to kick in for the final quarter,the makers feel the need to shoe-horn in a song moment that's so fullof treacle it vanquishes what little good Xmas spirit was built up inthe run in.Danny and Matthew deserve better, and ultimately so do those viewerslike me who are mostly forgiving on the Christmas movie. 4/10

2012-04-27 14:00:18

Super Dave's Blu-Ray Review

This review is from: Deck the Halls [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Deck The Halls is funny and a must have for your Christmas movie collection.Blu-Ray format makes it even better.The picture is stunning.Now i'm replacing all of my dvd's with blu-ray copies.

The Brahma Bull 2012-04-21 01:25:07

Such a disappointment!

Gosh...where do I begin? I was expecting a better movie, even after reading all the negative reviews. To my surprise...the movie was far WORSE than the reviews said. Deck the Halls is TRULY AWFUL! It's honestly one of the worst I have ever seen. And while I applaud the attempt at a fun Christmas movie (I really enjoy Christmas movies)...this one is DREADFULLY BAD! Save your $10. And there's no reason to rent the DVD either!

Walter V. Addiego 2012-04-20 14:45:32

The raw ingredients of this crass holiday comedy include an inept stab at Home Alone-style slapstick, sitcom-thin characters, a snickering attitude about tacky yuletide decorations and a good helping of smarmy sentimentality. Merry Christmas!

Gary Thompson 2012-04-11 13:55:39

It's Bottom Ten bad, destined to wind up on end-of-the-year 'Worst Of' lists. It may still be there at the conclusion of this century.

Alex Albot 2012-04-11 07:20:13

this is rock bottom...

I think this has to be the very worst movie i have ever seen..it hasnothing..no spirit..no screenplay..no acting.. i don't even know howanybody can watch it 'till the end..for me it was an actual fight..ijust wanted to see how much bad lines and bad acting can i see in onemovie.. the producers,the actors..they must have no shame releasingthis movie..if i was in their shoes i think i would have to apologizeto the public ant the ones that paid the tickets. please don't ever dothis or anything close to this ever again..it is the absolute rockbottom of Christmas movie..or any kind of movie for that matter.. I amconfident that Danny and Broderick can act..i have seen them doing muchmuch better..i really hope that they are able to learn and never repeatthis..maybe their agents should learn better and really do their job asadvisers..or get fired..

K 2012-04-09 07:58:19

Cute Holiday Movie

Deck the Halls was just an ok movie. Thier were some funny parts and it was just ok. Also the acting was good.I would recomend you see this.It is a nice Holiday movie to see with your Family.I gave it 2 and 1/2 stars.

2012-04-08 17:38:27

A Family Friendly Film

This review is from: Deck the Halls (DVD) A warm family friendly holiday film, it has it's good points and its bad points. a funny comedy classic. Matthew Broderick and Danny Devito are a bonus to the film which is what also makes it good.