Deck the Halls is a 2006 family comedy film set during the Christmas season in Massachusetts. It stars Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis, and Kristin Chenoweth and is directed by John Whitesell. The tagline for the movie is "There glows the neighborhood!"
Plot
Local eye doctor and Christmas expert Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) wants his kids to have a great Christmas, packed with Steve's tried and true traditions, such as using an advent calendar, taking Christmas card pictures in matching sweaters, and getting a large tree. At night, he hears noises. He looks out his window and sees a moving truck. He and his wife Kelly (Kristin Davis) immediately know that "the new neighbors are moving in." In the morning, when Steve goes to get his paper, he is startled to see someone on his doorstep, stealing the paper, which causes him to spill coffee on himself. The stranger is his new neighbor Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito), a car salesman. Steve and Kelly also meet Buddy's wife Tia (Kristin Chenoweth). Later that day, Kelly, her daughter Madison (Alia Shawkat) and son Carter (Dylan Blue) go to the Halls' house, where they meet Tia and Buddy's children, Ashley (Sabrina Aldridge) and Emily (Kelly Aldridge). Tia and Kelly immediately become friends, as do Ashley, Emily and Madison. That night, the Hall girls discover a website called MyEarth, which shows satellite images of any place from space (seemingly a parody of Google Earth). The Hall house is not visible, so Buddy decides to make it visible using Christmas lights. Due to his lights, Buddy becomes known around the town. Steve is not happy about this as he is considered "the Christmas guy" and is chairman of the town's WinterFest. Buddy also purchases a large horsedrawn sleigh, and finds horses to pull it. The Finches come to see the sleigh, and are invited to take their Christmas pictures in the sleigh. Steve declines, but Carter enters the sleigh anyway. In attempt to get Carter "out of that metal death trap" he frightens the horses, who pull him around town, finally plunging into a frozen river. Steve wakes up to find himself naked, zipped into a sleeping bag with Buddy, who is also naked. Buddy explains that he is giving Steve body heat in order to keep him from dying. Steve then starts screaming. Buddy's house is eventually completely lit, and synchronized to music. Steve has had enough with being kept awake each night, and finally fills Buddy's fuse box with snow. His plan is foiled, due to a backup generator.
Buddy and Steve make a bet: if Steve beats Buddy in the WinterFest speedskating race, then Buddy removes the lights, and if Buddy beats Steve, he buys a car from Buddy. Buddy wins, and Steve yells at Buddy for being a nobody, since the Hall house is still not visible from Space. Steve finally buys a large amount of fireworks and a large illegal military grade firework from a gangster and tries to blow up the Hall house. The rocket misfires, and sets the Finch house on fire. Kelly, Carter, Madison, Tia, Ashley, and Emily all decide to stay at a motel to salvage the Christmas. Buddy and Steve forget their rivalry, and build a winter wonderland with all of Buddy's lights and lure Tia, Kelly, and the kids home. They all sit down to a nice meal. But, the whole town helps put Buddy's lights back up in time for a story about them on MTV. The lights don't work, and they all sing carols and use their cell phones as flashlights. Suddenly, Carter plugged in a plug that wasn't properly plugged, and the lights turn on, making the house visible from space. The movie then ends with Buddy and Steve becoming friends again.
Cast
Production notes
The movie was originally entitled Wreck the Halls, and while it was set in the United States, it was shot in Cloverdale, British Columbia and other locations throughout Metro Vancouver.
In the scene in which Steve and Buddy are in a speedskating race, Matthew Broderick (Steve) had to train with a real speedskater for a few months before he could film that scene. He trained at Chelsea Piers in New York (they rented out an entire rink).[verification needed]
Critical reception
Critics across the board have widely panned the movie. It received a 6% rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes. 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 movie should've been named Dreck the Halls instead. Michael Medved named it the "Worst Movie of 2006." Finally, Richard Roeper, co-host of the television show Ebert & Roeper, wrote:
"You cannot believe how excruciatingly awful this movie is. It is bad in a way that will cause unfortunate viewers to huddle in the lobby afterward, hugging in small groups, consoling one another with the knowledge that it's over, it's over -- thank God, it's over. [...] Compared to the honest hard labor performed by tens of millions of Americans every day, a film critic's job is like a winning lottery ticket. But there IS work involved, and it can be painful -- and the next time someone tells me I have the best job in the world, I'm going to grab them by the ear, fourth-grade-teacher-in-1966-style, and drag them to see Deck the Halls."
The film was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards:
Box office
The movie has earned $35,093,569 domestically, and $47,231,070 worldwide.[1]
References
External links
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Films directed by John Whitesell |
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