If you want to watch holiday-themed movies this Christmas, these are better left forgotten. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the following “works” received the lowest audience ratings. Here’s a selection of the worst Christmas movies:
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
Audience Score: 17%
Critics’ Opinion: Martin Short’s presence would be fine, as he plays Jack Frost like a mix of a sinister Liza Minnelli and Liberace, but this tired series continues to rely on worn-out jokes and silly slapstick.
Summary: Christmas cheer turns into chaos when Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), aka Santa Claus, invites his father-in-law and mother-in-law (Ann-Margret, Alan Arkin) to the holidays.
Cast: Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell, Spencer Breslin
Director: Michael Lembeck
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Audience Score: 20%
Critics’ Opinion: Arnold Schwarzenegger does his best, but Jingle All the Way suffers from monotony caused by abrupt shifts between scenes meant as satire of materialism and the zany comedy.
Summary: Workaholic Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to make up for mistakes he made to his son Jamie (Jake Lloyd) and wife Liz (Rita Wilson).
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson
Director: Brian Levant
A Merry Friggin’ Christmas (2014)
Audience Score: 14%
Critics’ Opinion: No consensus yet.
Summary: Boyd is forced to spend Christmas with his parents and goes on a long journey with his eccentric father.
Cast: Joel McHale, Robin Williams, Lauren Graham, Clark Duke
Director: Tristram Shapeero
Black Christmas (2006)
Audience Score: 13%
Critics’ Opinion: A pointless remake of the 1974 slasher film, delivering blood and brutality without creativity, humor, or visual ideas.
Summary: For a group of sorority girls (Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Michelle Trachtenberg), the Christmas season takes a deadly turn.
Cast: Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Michelle Trachtenberg
Director: Glen Morgan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G22-87SiYo
American Carol (2008)
Audience Score: 13%
Critics’ Opinion: American Carol fails not so much because of political bias, but simply because it isn’t funny.
Summary: Michael Malone (Kevin Farley), a documentary filmmaker about America’s faults, launches a campaign to abolish Christmas.
Cast: Kevin P. Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins, Robert Davi
Director: David Zucker
Mixed Nuts (1994)
Audience Score: 13%
Critics’ Opinion: Mixed Nuts may provoke strong allergic reactions among discerning moviegoers or die-hard Steve Martin fans.
Summary: Philip (Steve Martin) runs a suicide-prevention hotline called Lifesavers, assisted by Mrs. Munchnick (Madeline Kahn) and Catherine (Rita Wilson).
Cast: Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, Anthony LaPaglia
Director: Nora Ephron
Surviving Christmas (2004)
Audience Score: 8%
Critics’ Opinion: For 90 minutes, unpleasant characters attack each other while delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message.
Summary: Wealthy executive Drew Latham (Ben Affleck), who has few close relationships, nostalgically revisits his childhood home at Christmas.
Cast: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O’Hara
Director: Mike Mitchell
Deck the Halls (2006)
Audience Score: 6%
Critics’ Opinion: Built on flat humor and a ridiculous plot, this unnecessarily mean-spirited holiday film does little to get viewers into the Christmas spirit.
Summary: Suburban dad Steve (Matthew Broderick) finds his orderly life disrupted when a new neighbor moves in.
Cast: Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenoweth, Kristin Davis
Director: John Whitesell
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Audience Score: 5%
Critics’ Opinion: A joyless movie as fresh as last year’s fruitcake; this crude, loud comedy promotes conformity.
Summary: Finally alone for the holidays, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to skip Christmas traditions.
Cast: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, M. Emmet Walsh
Director: Joe Roth
