I was discussing Christmas movies with my boss this morning and discovered that we do not share a taste for holiday films. While I prefer the original Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol, or It's A Wonderful Life, or A Christmas Story, he seems to have a soft spot in his heart for Home Alone, Home Alone 2 and Elf. I think I saw Home Alone once when I was 10, I've never seen the sequel, nor have I seen Elf. I watched Bad Santa last year on a recommendation and was scarred for months. Focus: It's snowing outside and the holiday movies are getting pumped out into prime time TV with full force. What are the best (or worst) Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanza or whatever) movies? What do you watch every year without fail, which ones could you do without, which ones would you burn in a fire?
The Alastair Sim version of the Christmas Carol is the best one, with the Muppet Christmas Carol as the runner up. What do you have against Home Alone? Its great exhibition of how PG-rated movies used to have a healthy dosage of violence and casual swearing in the 80s and early 90s. Its a Wonderful Life is great too, as far as commie propaganda goes anyway. Bump.
Bad Santa is a phenomenal movie. The best part is that I doubt Billy Bob was even acting in the role. In my opinion, there aren't enough movies made like that. I was always a Home Alone, Home Alone 2 fan. As a kid, I never appreciated the wealth of acting talent in each of those movies. Mostly because I had never seen "Goodfellas" or Rocky Horror when I was in elementary school. I like to watch "The Shining" when its cold out. "Just Friends" is a pretty funny movie that takes place during the holidays.
Just Friends is criminally underrated. "You'll always be fat to me!" Little things like the retainer dropping really make it. On the other hand I can't stand Elf and I hate it that it gets such heavy rotation. Will Ferrell acting like a man child. Such range. Bad Santa is amazing. XRay is right, Billy Bob wasn't even acting.
One of my perennial favorites is Gremlins. Weirdness, violence, puppetry! A sad story about a girl's dad dying that has no bearing to the plot at hand? Awesome. Also, Bad Santa is amazing. This scene alone has me laughing each time. I hate Elf, it has not the staying power to be seen more than once. And of course, the old claymation shows, Rudolph and such, they're always good.
JAMIE! I remember seeing that movie and going into it thinking it was going to be a chick flick, and by the end my chest hurt from laughing. Just hysterical. Ryan Reynolds kills it, the dude playing his younger brother is hilarious, and it has a ton of quotable lines. I never consider it a holiday movie, but probably should. "He's Jersey, he skis in his jeans"
Anyone catch this a few years ago? It's Santa Clause vs. the Snowman in an all out war? It's horribly CGI animated, but this was 1997*. It popped up on TV and as a kid I loved it. It's all on YouTube and only 30 minutes long. I find it a hilarious tipsy watch.
Airbag's a little slow I figured A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation were excluded, because they are the standards by which all other Christmas movies are judged; and, if you don't like them, nobody thinks your other opinions are valid anyway. So, after those two, I could watch this over and over: Jim Carrey is right in his wheelhouse here, and unlike some of his other roles, this is one where nobody else could have pulled it off that way. (It's not just the suit / makeup - look at that disaster Cat in the Hat that Mike Meyers was a part of.) Christine Baranski kills it, too. I have it on DVD, which is the best place to watch it. I caught in TV last year, I think. It's slightly different version, and just "off" in a couple places.
It's a Wonderful Life, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and The Year Without a Santa Claus all make the annual Must Watch List at the Misanthropic house. But our all-time favorite: Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is always a staple in our house. Also, Prep and Landing is great. It seems to be available in its entirety on YouTube so if you want a 20 minute diversion from your day:
Re: Airbag's a little slow In argument of A Christmas Story, it is a quality film but because it plays for 24 hours it gets old after you watch it three times (at least for me). Christmas Vacation is the better movie of the two. Focus: Meet Me in St. Louie is my Christmas movie. Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" gets me crying every time.
You can watch it once. You can watch it a thousand times it does not matter, this shit NEVER gets old: As for Home Alone I think its one of the most obnoxious movies ever made. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why even kids would like that movie. Every clip from the trailers happens in the final 8 minutes of the film and the "hero" is an annoying, whiney little pissant that you just want to slap city. To each their own...
I'd call Bad Santa one of the better 'modern' Christmas movies. I'm shocked I'm the first to mention Scrooged. Can we count Lethal Weapon and Die Hard as Christmas movies? I mean they came out during Christmas and their plots take place during the holidays.
Re: Airbag's a little slow If you're going to watch the Grinch, do it right and watch the original. How do you make the best Christmas story even better? Get Boris Karloff to narrate it for you.
This is always good to watch. The later Disney version with Jim Carrey and humans rendered in CGI sucks.
Die Hard and Die Hard 2 I'm one of those soulless fucks beaten down by too many years of family dysfunction to get in this thing called the holiday spirit, so a little violence and gore is my go to. Yippee ki-yay, motherfuckers.
This was my favorite as a kid. As much as I love Christmas I really don't care for many of the movies anymore. Like every other holiday it's more about the drinking and food for me.