The Christmas Grump - DVD

Movie: Once upon a time, elementary school teacher Paul (Martin Freeman), Jennifer (Ashley Jensen) and Gordon (Jason Watkins) were a well-oiled team. But as Paul and Jennifer became a couple, jealousy grew in Gordon, culminating in a relentless rivalry between Paul and Gordon when the two split up five years ago. Every Christmas, Gordon puts on the most elaborate productions of the Christmas story, while Paul takes a rather lackadaisical approach at his school. After all, ever since Jennifer ditched him on Christmas of all days, he's been a downright Christmas mope. But this year, Paul has had enough. He unceremoniously claims that this time his Christmas musical will be so spectacular that even Hollywood will come to Coventry. After this completely bogus claim, the little town is upside down. Everyone is convinced that their child is in for a big career in Hollywood. And Paul, with the help of the unconventional assistant teacher Mr Poppy (Marc Wooton), must now try to put his mistake right without losing face in front of Gordon or his pupils...

The Christmas Grumpy is a musical Christmas comedy for children and anyone looking for British humour of a slightly simpler, but not uncharming kind. Director Debbie Isitt (Confetti), who has already shot the sequel to this festive fun, mixes catchy musical numbers with child-friendly gags that are sometimes very amusing, then again threaten to degenerate into unrestrained silliness. The children act a bit over the top at times, but overall possess an infectious charm that makes the film very amusing and worth watching, especially during the grand finale performance.

Well chosen, too, is Hobbit's Martin Freeman. As a curmudgeonly teacher who has lost all desire for Christmas due to his broken heart, Freeman (Sherlock) provides some really good laughs, especially during the first third of the comedy. At the same time he is also a great sympathetic character with his very special manner, which has already made his characters extremely charming again and again in the past (such as in Actually...Love), which pays off especially in the finale.

Other characters on the other hand, but especially arch-rival Gordon Shakespeare and the dorky Mr. Poppy, are portrayed badly overdrawn. Mr. Poppy in particular is clearly aimed at a younger audience with his rather infantile jokes, and is likely to make smaller viewers laugh heartily on many occasions. Adults, on the other hand, might quickly become annoyed by this character.

In England, The Christmas Grumpy was a resounding success. Both the film and the catchy soundtrack made it into the upper chart regions and the DVD release a year later also proved extraordinarily profitable. That's why a second installment may now launch in 2012 - albeit without Martin Freeman, who was replaced by ex-Doctor Who David Tennant. But since Freeman is one of the reasons why the film still works despite its obvious weaknesses, it may be doubted that the next Christmas grumpy can again provide equally good mood. Because even if this first part doesn't really have what it takes to become a potential Christmas classic and a lot of potential is given away in favour of silliness, some nice and very amusing moments provide for a festive mood and for the fact that the audience gets warm around the heart. Merry Christmas!

Picture + Sound: In the visual implementation, slightly exaggerated contrasts are noticeable, making the image here and there a little too bright and the intrinsically coherently implemented colors a little too pale. The sharpness of the picture is on a good level and the details are also convincing. Soiling or disturbances can not be made out. As for the sound, it is noticeable that the DTS mix is more powerful than the equally good Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, both for the dialogue and the songs. Even if the English soundtrack overall sounds a little more harmonious and the wordplay anyway better in the original funktionier, the two German soundtracks can convince both technically, as well as in terms of content. Good!

Extras: In the bonus material, the viewer can watch 6 minutes of how much effort has been invested in the dubbing of the songs for the German version. There's also a ten-minute, uncommented behind-the-scenes look at the big final show scene, as well as 27 minutes of interviews, the trailer for the film, and more programming tips from the provider. Good!

Conclusion: The Christmas Grumpy is a festive comedy for the whole family that doesn't have what it takes to become a modern Christmas classic, but its inoffensive gags, catchy songs and likeable Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) will please and entertain younger viewers in particular. The good technical realization and the decent bonus material also contribute to the fact that despite some weak points in the end still a recommendable came out!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp