30 Feminist Christmas Movies, Ranked
By Emily Scott
Christmas with the Kranks, Image via Columbia Pictures
Christmas with the Kranks
Luther and Nora Krank are feeling some empty nest syndrome after their daughter Blair heads off to the Peace Corps in Peru, mainly because her assignment is scheduled to last through Christmas. Luther comes up with a plan to use the money that they would normally spend on Christmas, which he calculates to be around $6,000, to go on a vacation instead. After months of planning the trip and being shunned by their neighbors for their refusal to buy gifts and participate in the holiday spirit, they receive a call while the pack on Christmas Eve. It’s Blair, who is making a surprise trip home to introduce them to her new fiancé from Peru. The Kranks are forced to abandon their trip and throw together a full-blown Christmas Eve party, complete with decorations, presents, and accoutrements, all in a couple of hours.
The Good
- The fact that Blair goes off to join the Peace Corps on her own shows independence and is a pretty cool thing to do. But the fact that she comes back with a fiancé a month later kinda ruins it.
- Refusal to participate in the Christmas industrial complex is a fairly feminist act against economic inequality, I guess.
The Bad
- As stated above, Blair goes away to Peru to volunteer and help the poor, but she comes back a month later with a fiancé. So…that’s ridiculous.
- Luther discovers that if they go on the cruise, they will save over $2,000 on Christmas, but still wants to skip their yearly holiday charitable donations for some reason. Nora ends up winning out and they do make their donations, but Luther’s obsessive hoarding of money is weird and patriarchal.
The Ugly
- Luther shows pretty much no respect for what his wife has to say and prioritizes his wants and needs over her wants and needs consistently. I liked you better in The Santa Clause, Tim Allen.