DECK THE HALLS
Year: 2006
USA & UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis, Kristin Chenoweth, Alia Shawkat, Dylan Blue, Kelly Aldridge, Sabrina Aldridge, Jorge Garcia, Fred Armisen, Gillian Vigman, Ryan Devlin, Sean O'Bryan, Suchin Pak, Jackie Burroughs, Garry Chalk, Nicola Peltz, Zak Santiago, David Lewis Daniel Bacon, Ken Kramer, Jill Morrison, Alfred E Humphreys, Brenda M Crichlow, Jill Krop, Agam Darshi, David Stuart, Quinn Lord, Nathaniel Deveaux, Fulvio Cecere, Eliza Norbury, Randi Lynne, Dan Joffre, Aurora Faulkner-Killam, Melissa Howell, Lori Johnson, David Shaw, Myles Wolfe, Ty Olsson, Stephen Holmes, Andrew Hedge, Cory Monteith
Director: John Whitesell
Country: USA
USA: 95 mins
UK: 93 mins
USA Rated: PG for some crude and suggestive humor, and for language
UK Certificate: PG contains mild innuendo and language
USA Release Date: 22 November 2006
UK Release Date: 1 December 2006
Synopsis
DECK THE HALLS is a family comedy about one-upsmanship, jealousy, clashing neighbors, home decoration...and the true spirit of the holidays. For Cloverdale, Massachusetts' optometrist Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick), no time of the year can compare to the glory of the Christmas season. And, for many years now, he's carried on a series of heartfelt but hokey Yuletide traditions that his family - wife Kelly (Kristin Davis), daughter Madison (Alia Shawkat), and son Carter (Dylan Blue) - at this point, can barely tolerate. Despite his family's exhausted protests, super-organized Steve has the December calendar chock full with everything from shooting the Finch's annual Christmas card photo, to their ritual tree harvesting and neighborhood caroling night. There's also scheduled time for shopping, "personal reflection," and the town's yearly Winterfest carnival, which Steve joyously oversees.
But Steve's Christmas bliss is suddenly destroyed when slippery car salesman Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) moves in next door and Steve finds himself going toe-to-toe with his new neighbor. Buddy quickly begins to undermine Steve's dominance as the local "King of Christmas" when he sets out to festoon his new house with enough glowing holiday lights so it will be visible from outer space!
But why stop at lights? Motivated by the celebrity he's achieving with his dazzling, megawatt decorations, Buddy adds a live manger scene complete with donkeys, cows, sheep, and an imported camel, while continuing to wreak havoc on an infuriated Steve in a host of creatively twisted ways including tapping into the Finches' electricity to power his decor! In contrast to s fuming Steve, Kelly has bonded with Buddy's brassy better-half Tia (Kristin Chenoweth), while Madison has buddied up to the Halls' sexy, twin daughters Ashley and Emily (Sabrina and Kelly Aldridge), who light up the life of younger Carter as well. Kelly and Tia and the kids become increasingly impatient, though, with Steve and Buddy's escalating rivalry and eventually threaten to pull the plug on the guys' entire Christmas season.
Can Steve and Buddy declare a ceasefire before the holidays are ruined altogether, or will they continue their one-upsmanship until personal victory is achieved? In DECK THE HALLS 'tis the season where just about anything is possible.