Commentary Track
Opinion: Top Christmas Movies
Posted by Matthew Alexander (matthew@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 24, 2006
No holiday can compare to Halloween when it comes to the silver screen. Even if a movie is not specifically made with Halloween in mind, any horror movie can easily be incorporated into the celebration. Christmas is a little different. Though there may be more movies which are explicitly Christmas, there really is no genre that can automatically be attributed to it. Furthermore, most Christmas movies wind up as trite and offensively humorless little comedies starring Tim Allen.
In picking the best Christmas movies of all time, a critic has very little to wade through. However, this is counterbalanced by the difficulty one has in coming up with Christmas movies in the first place. My own list does not exceed three*.
A good, but not great, comedy, starring Chevy Chase. One has to tip one’s hat to anyone who can make a Christmas comedy that isn’t some sort of crime against humanity.
2) Die Hard
It happens during Christmas and there is a mention of Santa Claus so we may include it on the list so we have at least three movies. Die Hard is one of the best pure action movies ever made.
Of the dozens of film/cartoon versions of the Dickens classic, the one with George C. Scott stands head, shoulder, breasts and belly button above the rest. The music, the setting, the acting… everything about this film is wonderful.
But in my opinion, no discussion of Christmas movies would be complete without some mention of the wretchedly awful crap that we so often have to put up with. And I’m not talking about Home Alone, a poor but inoffensive attempt to spread holiday cheer. I’m talking about the ones that are so bad and/or so misguided that they verge on blasphemous.
Of all the odious junk that preys on our love for Christmas, there are two items that stand out. The first is any Christmas movie starring Tim Allen. I have nothing against the man other than his appearance in the second most detestable Christmas movie of all time, Christmas with the Kranks, as well as a handful of other ill conceived Yule Tide endeavors. Anyone who has seen Christmas with the Kranks – and mercifully I have not, can tell you just how terrible it is. It is so bad that I didn’t even need to see it to comment on it. The trailer was more than capable of conveying the abject dreadfulness.
The second item, and the all time most horrendous excuse for a Christmas movie ever, not only ranks high in the offensively awful category, it also manages to wantonly defile a Dr. Seuss classic. I’m talking about How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Jim Carrey vehicle that features a terribly unfunny Mr. Carey doing improvisation, slow motion shots of the Grinch running away from explosions and, in a movie that one supposes children will be watching, a wife swapping party! This one got me blood boilin’!
So the message is clear: Hollywood has produced a paucity of quality Christmas movies, at least in recent years. Perhaps they can learn from their mistakes and concentrate a bit more on this holiday in the future.
*I must admit to either having not seen, or seen so long ago I barely remember them, the Christmas classics of yesteryear. Any subjective list like this must of necessity be limited by the author’s experience.
powered by performancing firefox
Read more articles by Matthew Alexander
2 Comments
December 27th, 2006 at 10:41 am
I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion on the Jim Carrey/Ron Howard Grinch. It was just an impossible undertaking to turn that book into a full length film. Not to mention some of the sexual undertones which were highly inappropriate for a children’s movie.
I have to say, however, that you forgot one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time - “A Christmas Story.”
May 21st, 2007 at 10:22 am
I know what you mean about the limited nature of quality Christmas movies. But what different people expect from a Christmas movie is pretty much down to whatever blows your hair back. Fluffy sentiment? Comedy? Action? Horror?
I can offer a few suggestions to anyone who´s having trouble deciding on what to watch next Christmas Eve when they´re settling down with that glass of egg-nog….
It´s a Wonderful Life - A timeless classic.
The Sure Thing - A young John Cusack on top lite-comedy form. (Hasn´t dated very well but it´s got a lot of charm.)
Planes Trains & Automobiles - The immortal John Candy (and Steve Martin before he quit being funny.)
A Christmas Carol - (The black and white Alistair Simm version) Easily superior to the George C. Scott version!!!!!!
Scrooged - (Modern telling of A Christmas Carol) comedy from Bill Murray. The comedy is Hit and Miss….still, there´s something about it that makes it worthy of a few viewings.
And of course (as already mentioned….and wisely so)….Die Hard - The movie that made bare feet and broken glass as much a part of Christmas as Santa´s reindeer and tinsel. Yippy kay yay MF.