Christmas Movies

[jaimesommers]

My Christmas must-sees are Miracle on 34th Street (the original one), White Christmas, and Christmas in Connecticut. Classics!!

[Betweenyouandme]

Prancer- mini Sue Heck

The Preacher's Wife

One Magic Christmas

Mickey's Christmas Carol

The Snowman

Santa Claus

Jingle All the Way

Home Alone

Muppet Christmas Carol

I like most all the Christmas family movies from the mid-80s to early 90s.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Betweenyouandme

[spaceytraci1208]

Networks either need to come up with better original stories for Christmas, or stick with airing the classics. This past week I've seen the following on my channel guide: "A Girlfriend For Christmas", "A Dad For Christmas", and "A Grandpa For Christmas"

[Ankai]

My favorite Christmas movie is a little movie called Joyeux Noel, or "Merry Christmas" in French. It is actually quite an appropriate time to watch it, as it is a fictional account of the 1914 Christmas Truce during the First World War. In the movie, French, Scottish, and German troops somehow are able to put aside their fight during their separate celebrations on Christmas Eve and come together in peace. And the peace holds past Christmas. While the movie takes several liberties regarding what happened and when, a lot of the things depicted are based on real stories and a few of the more unbelievable parts were actually toned down from what actually took place. It is not the happiest Christmas movie ever, as it is made obvious that it had come about only after months of terrible bloodshed and that years of bloodshed were to follow after the higher ups put a stop to such acts. Still, the movie shines a light on a small moment of humanity in one of the bleakest times in modern history. And is that not what the Christmas spirit is all about?

[MargeGunderson]

My traditional Christmas movie is Fargo. It reminds me of my Midwestern childhood (the snow and the accents), and it has a hopeful message (there's more to life than a little money).

I agree with everyone who has said It's a Wonderful Life is pretty dark. At the end, when his friends and townspeople give him the money, I always think that just makes him more indebted to them, forcing him to stay out of just more obligation, the reason he's always stayed there. Downer!

[ruby24]

Well, I actually see that ending differently. When Sam Wainright finally gets the message he wires him 20 grand, right? So at that point, all the money from the rest of these guys is a purely symbolic gesture of their love for him, and it makes me cry even harder, lol. I'm sure he'll give it all back to them, because he certainly doesn't need it anymore from that moment. It's all just a show of how much he means to them.

[magicdog]

 

The Preacher's Wife

 

The Bishop's Wife (1947), the film it's based on, IMO is far superior. 

 

 

Well, I actually see that ending differently. When Sam Wainright finally gets the message he wires him 20 grand, right? So at that point, all the money from the rest of these guys is a purely symbolic gesture of their love for him, and it makes me cry even harder, lol. I'm sure he'll give it all back to them, because he certainly doesn't need it anymore from that moment. It's all just a show of how much he means to them



 

 

Agreed.  Although I wish Potter had received his comeuppence.  I know SNL did a sketch back in the day (with Dana Carvey as George Bailey) , but I wish Capra had seen fit to use his original idea which was for Potter to have

dropped dead

.

[BatmanBeatles]

When I was a kid I never understood what happened to Violet in the "unborn" scene. My dad refused to explain it to me.

Edited December 23, 2014 by BatmanBeatles

[Betweenyouandme]

The Bishop's Wife (1947), the film it's based on, IMO is far superior.

.

I agree it's "superior," but it's not what I grew up watching at Christmas. It's a fine movie, but it's not my Christmas tradition to watch it.

[magicdog]

When I was a kid I never understood what happened to Violet in the "unborn" scene. My dad refused to explain it to me.

 

 

She became a prostitute.  It looked like a brothel had been raided in the scene we see her in.  In the film's normal timeline, it was mentioned how Violet "loved all the boys" and was a notorious flirt who tried to land George at various times.  She'd walk down the street wearing a sexy dress, and when George asked what she was wearing, she replied, "Oh this?  This is something I wear when I don't care how I look like!".

[topanga]

TBMH had to be one of the most unnecessary sequels ever.  The first one was only OK, and I don't know anyone who was clamoring to know what happened next.  And it was way too treacly, especially the ending.

Fans of The Best Man had been clamoring for a sequel for years. It took 14 years for one to get made.

 

I love TBMH as a holiday movie because of the camaraderie amongst the friends and spouses, the humor, and the beautiful Christmas decorations throughout the movie.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'treacly,' but there were indeed moments that were a bit sappy or a preachy. Still, was a refreshing change to watch a movie about POC (and one white guy) who weren't 1) criminals or cops 2) slaves 3) troubled athletes  4) in abusive or dysfunctional relationships 5) being lynched/persecuted/discriminated against and 6) not part of Madea's big, happy family.  (One of the characters was a professional athlete, but that wasn't the main plot of the movie).

[CaughtOnTape]

Christmas Vacation.  I can quote it from start to finish.

[BatmanBeatles]

She became a prostitute.  It looked like a brothel had been raided in the scene we see her in.  In the film's normal timeline, it was mentioned how Violet "loved all the boys" and was a notorious flirt who tried to land George at various times.  She'd walk down the street wearing a sexy dress, and when George asked what she was wearing, she replied, "Oh this?  This is something I wear when I don't care how I look like!".

Oh I know that now, but back when I was a kid it completely went over my head.

[Haleth]

Watching Christmas Vacation is an annual event for my family.  Watched it last night and laughed till we cried.

 

"I pledge allegience to the flag..."  HA!

[Schweedie]

Watching Christmas Vacation is an annual event for my family.  Watched it last night and laughed till we cried.

 

"I pledge allegience to the flag..."  HA!

We've always watched that every year in my family, too. It really is a classic.

 

Here's what may be an odd one... I know Nicolas Cage isn't the most popular actor, but for some reason I have this fondness for The Family Man. You know, the one where Nic Cage's character gets tossed into an different reality to get a glimpse of what life would've been like if he'd chosen a different path. I like that he's a dick. I like that the ending isn't happy, as such, but still hopeful.

[Shannon L.]

 

Watching Christmas Vacation is an annual event for my family.  Watched it last night and laughed till we cried.

 

"I pledge allegience to the flag..."  HA!

There are so many great quotes in that movie.  I love it when he goes through every single light to see which one is out because I'm from a generation when that's how Christmas lights worked (most of them haven't been like that for years, I think).  I also love that they added another Clark rant because we got "We're going to have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby danced with Danny #%$%@! Kaye!"  And, as rude as it is, "bend over, I'll show you" has become a frequent line in this house.

 

I have a son who prefers action films (although, he likes Christmas Vacation a lot, it's not his first choice), a daughter who doesn't care for movies much at all, and a husband who doesn't particularly care for watching movies over and over again. So, when I said I hated that we hadn't watched a Christmas movie yet this year, we took a vote on which one to watch tonight and Die Hard won, 3-1.  *sigh*

[Ubiquitous]

I hate all incarnations of Christmas Carol; it's been totally over done and milked dry.

[Shannon L.]

Well, while at my father in law's house this afternoon, he suggested that we watch A Christmas Story.  Since a couple other people there love the movie, I finally saw it in it's entirety.  Some thoughts:

 

• The father was amusing.
• I giggled at mom getting the younger son ready for school.  That brought back memories :)
• I smiled at the bloodhounds because we own one.
• I was charmed by the scene where the father gave Ralph his bb gun.
• The final scene in the Chinese restaurant had me laughing so hard I was in tears--best scene in the movie!

 

Overall?  Cute, but I still don't see what the big deal is--I didn't think it was that good. 

[Athena]

I don't get the appeal of A Christmas Story either. Objectively, I can understand why some people like it, but I just don't find it entertaining or amusing at all. I tried as a kid and I tried as an adult. Then again, I don't like Christmas Vacation, but I can see why people would find that funnier than ACS.

 

For me, Home Alone 2 is superior to Home Alone, but then I saw the former first and the setting of NYC is much better than the one house.

 

This year, I watched all three Santa Clause movies. I never saw the third until this year, and they really declined in quality. I think I adore the first one more than I did as a kid. I like that it lacks a villain and was just positive. The second movie was OK, but kinda felt forced with the romance. Third movie was boring.

 

I watched While You Were Sleeping for the first time. Cute, but I don't think it will be a tradition. Sandra Bullock has screen charisma and Bill Pullman use to be very cute.

 

I love Muppet Christmas Carol, but didn't watch it this year.

[magicdog]

I don't get the appeal of A Christmas Story

 

 

I loved the film ever since I caught it on cable many years ago.  While I can't speak for all fans of the film, I like it because in a way I feel like Ralphie (and by default, Jean Shepard) and I are kindred spirits..  Even though we grew up in different generations, he described events in childhood many of us have been through at some point: bullies, dealing with little siblings, dreaming of that very special Christmas gift you were thrilled to get.  Much of Ralphie's experiences mirrored my own to an extent - right down to some of the fantasies!

 

My parents enjoyed it for the same reason - plus they were of Ralphie's generation and reminiced about "dampers",  knob and tube wiring, listening to Little Orphan Annie  on the radio (and the decoder rings!), and eating soap when a dirty word was uttered in Mother's presence.

 

From a cinematic standpoint, it's a good film due to the casting, the period details (except for Raphie's mother's hairdo!), the humor and the pacing. 

Edited December 26, 2014 by magicdog

[Shannon L.]

 

eating soap when a dirty word was uttered in Mother's presence.

Ah, yes! Him claiming he'd become a connoisseur of soap got a laugh out of me.  My father in law likes it because, as you said, he was of that generation.  He kept laughing through it saying "yep!  Been there!"  I could relate to parts of it so, like I said, my opinion went from "not enjoying the first half too much, so I don't care about the next half" to "it was cute."  I don't think it will be regular viewing for me. 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Shannon L.

[Bruinsfan]

With absolutely the most depressing Christmas song ever written. LOL 

Laugh all you want, I still love hearing Judy sing it.

[BatmanBeatles]

 

I loved the film ever since I caught it on cable many years ago.  While I can't speak for all fans of the film, I like it because in a way I feel like Ralphie (and by default, Jean Shepard) and I are kindred spirits..  Even though we grew up in different generations, he described events in childhood many of us have been through at some point:

Agreed. I too have fantasized getting back at my parents for punishing me for something.

 

I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol and it bothered me that it didn't show Scrooge's sister Fan, visit him at school.

[Megan]

Mr. Magoo has the best songs but Michael Caine is my favorite Scrooge. I hate that most versions of Muppet's Xmas carol cut out Belle's song

I never liked Christmas Story, I could never relate to the family I guess. I always thought they were very sad and depressing and covered in a layer of dirt.

 

I like the first half of Christmas Vacation better than the second apart from Aunt Bethany's introduction - "Don't throw me down Clark," "Oh I'll try not to Aunt Bethany."

[Chas411]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread as we're approaching the holiday season.

Anyone have any suggestions of movies for me to watch?

[Ruby25]

There seems to be some kind of mental block between people who love A Christmas Story and those who find it meanspirited/depressing. I grew up on it and can pretty much quote the entire thing, but the first time I ever heard someone call it dark or depressing I was so shocked I was convinced they had to be talking about a different movie. Those adjectives would just never, for one second have even entered my head as a way to describe A Christmas Story. I still just cannot understand how people see it that way. I never even considered it a dark comedy, it was just funny and authentic. To this day I don't get that. At all.

[Trini]

Batman Returns. What? It totally counts as a Christmas movie!

And Scrooged; it's hilarious. A Muppet Christmas Carol.

[Chas411]

I haven't seen batman returns in years. Is it set at Christmas?

Also any new Holiday films out this year? I could have sworn Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon Lovett had one coming out.

[proserpina65]

Die Hard and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Nothing says "Christmas" to me like hostage-taking and missing fingers.

 

Die Hard is absolutely my favorite Christmas movie.  'Cause nothing says "Christmas" to me like a heavily accented German saying "Now I have a machine gun.  Ho.  Ho.  Ho.".

[Guest]

Favorites are:

White Christmas

Elf

While You Were Sleeping

 

Absolute Least Favorite:

The Family Stone

[Trini]

I haven't seen batman returns in years. Is it set at Christmas?

Yep:

"Mistletoe  can be deadly if you eat it."

"But a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it."

 

"..How about a kiss, Santy Claus?" ::goes out in a blaze of sparks::

 

 

Also any new Holiday films out this year? I could have sworn Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon Lovett had one coming out.

 

That one came out this weekend.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Trini

[Ruby25]

It feels like it's been a while since we had a Christmas movie really break through and become a beloved, perennial favorite.

 

I think the last two that probably did that were Elf and Love, Actually, and they both came out in 2003. It seems like we're due for another.

[Shannon L.]

Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th St. (the original) and Love Actually are favorites of mine.

[Shannon L.]

For Everyone Who’s Actually Still In Love With “Love Actually”

[Haleth]

^^ I got weepy just reading this.

[Qoass]

This weekend I watched one of those movies that is not about Christmas but much of it takes place during the holidays:  Falling in Love with Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro.  It's not very good but whenever I come across it, I always have to stop and look.  I love the Dave Grusin theme "Mountain Dance" and years later, I've gotta say Mer 'n' Bob make a pretty attractive couple!

[blugirlami21]

I love Christmas movies. I really like tv ones oddly enough. Favorites include:

The Santa clause

Elf

Four Christmases (way funnier than people give it credit for)

The Holiday

Holiday in Handcuffs

12 Dates of Christmas is my newest favorite. It's so romantic.

[Qoass]

I just watched The Holiday again last night.  So much pretty.  I've seen it so many times now that I can fast forward through the parts where Cameron Diaz is annoying and just get my Kate Winslet crush on.

[ChelseaNH]

Prancer

[Chas411]

I watched The Night Before last night.

 

Such a terrible film. It's embarrassing really. I'm astounded that it has a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Miss Dee]

Two of my favourite "Christmas" movies are Last Holiday (Queen Latifah) and While You Were Sleeping (early Sandra Bullock). I say "Christmas" because while the holidays are part of the scene, the plot doesn't really focus on them.

[scriggle]

Die Hard.

 

It's the ultimate Christmas movie.

[raezen]

Okay, the worst christmas movie of all time is Christmas with the Kranks, which is a valentine to religious oppression. It's far worse than all those Little Willie Saves Christmas shows. The best version of a Christmas Carol is the Alistair Sim version followed b Mr. McGoo.

Just got roped into watching this with a group of friends and holy crap you are right! I think there was originally a good anti -Christmas/anti-conformity movie that could have been okay, but half way threw they chickened out and undid even the few good points they might have had.

And I agree on the Alistair Sim version too. I still get chills when he falls, wailing on his own grave.

Edited December 15, 2015 by raezen

[Spartan Girl]

The Family Stone is another horrible Christmas movie. "Come spend the holidays with my self-righteous liberal family just so that I can dump you at the last minute for your younger prettier sister!"

[Ruby25]

I've always been curious, does Home Alone hold up for people who didn't grow up with it? I wouldn't know, since that movie has been so seared into my brain since I was four, that I have no outside perspective on it. I think I know every scene by heart. But it's such a classic- I just wonder if it's mostly for people of a certain age.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Ruby25

[Shannon L.]

Ruby25, I was 21 when it came out and, while I only watched it once or twice over the following few years, I picked up watching it yearly when I had kids, and I still found it cute.  Now that my kids are teenagers, I haven't seen it in years, but I can't imagine thinking that it didn't hold up.  But then, it's probably reached "nostalgic" level for me because the kids loved it.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I've always been curious, does Home Alone hold up for people who didn't grow up with it? I wouldn't know, since that movie has been so seared into my brain since I was four, that I have no outside perspective on it. I think I know every scene by heart. But it's such a classic- I just wonder if it's mostly for people of a certain age.

 

Aging myself here, but I was 20 when it came out and remember how ET's critic, Martin something or other, trashed this movie, only for the movie to get the laugh last when  it became a bonfide hit. And I loved the movie. McCauley was beyond cute, and it didn't hurt that they played The Temptations's version of White Christmas. I love that gangster movie that Kevin used to ward off the pizza boy and the crooks.

 

Ahem.

 

I still love this movie; I watch it every year. And the ending always makes me tear up; when Kevin's mom shows up at the end.

[magicdog]

I've always been curious, does Home Alone hold up for people who didn't grow up with it? I wouldn't know, since that movie has been so seared into my brain since I was four, that I have no outside perspective on it. I think I know every scene by heart. But it's such a classic- I just wonder if it's mostly for people of a certain age.

 

 

 

I don't think you have to have grown up with it to like it. I saw I it in my 20s and I loved the Looney Toons style antics when the bandits got theirs! 

[ChelseaNH]

Yeah, to me it's a live-action cartoon.  It's been a while, but the last time I saw it, it still worked on that level.

[Mountainair]

I don't remember how old I was when I first watched Home Alone, probably 8 or so and I watch it every year. I remember when Home Alone 2 came out I got a talkman thingy like Kevin had for Christmas and that was pretty awesome. 

 

I introduced my five year old to it last year and he loved in. In fact, he's watching it now with his younger brother as I get dinner prepared. A lot of the humor goes over his head but he "gets it" more and more each year. I think because he can relate to Kevin it's an instant hit for him.