Christmas Movies

So to further comment on my last post, I'm going to talk about some of my favorite holiday films.  My list is probably the same as everyone else's, but I thought I would share it just in case you are missing out on some great films.  Maybe it's sad that I associate the holiday so much with these films, but they are just as much of the holidays to me as anything else.  Especially now that I am in Japan and I can't participate in things like caroling and decorating our house in Stuart.  So in no particular order, here are my favorite Christmas Films...


1. Christmas Vacation
Plot: "It's Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon." 


This movie is part of the National Lampoons Vacation series and to some it might be quite cheesy and overly slapstick, but for me it is the closest I have seen to what a real Christmas is caught on film.  Not that we've ever had a squirrel running through the house or had a crazy uncle kidnap my dad's boss, but we have had a lot of crazy mishaps.  Like the time we came home from midnight mass to find the fully decorated tree on the floor, half of our ornaments smashed.


I love this movie because it is purely about family and about accepting family no matter what.  So what if the crazy aunt brings you her cat wrapped in a box or if your cousin's wife ruins the turkey.  You carry on.  Despite the film's name and despite some drama about a Christmas bonus, we don't see any gifts open and the film ends not with everyone getting what they want, but with everyone dancing and singing together, generally enjoying each others company.  I feel this film truly captures the spirit of Christmas in that sense- the spirit that it's not getting what you ask for, but being thankful for what you get.


And despite all of that, there are some seriously funny lines.  Too many to name here, but I will say that my favorite is when Clark tells the children that he "heard" some people at the airport spotted Santa, and a bewildered Cousin Eddie asks, "Are you serious about that Clark?"  Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, watch it.  And seriously, don't take it seriously- just enjoy.


2. A Christmas Story
Plot: "Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940's."


Now I know that this move gets overplayed in the states and that most people are probably sick at the very mention of it, but I can't help but love it and watch it whenever I come across it on TV.  Like Christmas Vacation, I find this movie to be very relatable.  Not that I was ever a young boy in the 40s wanting a BBgun, but I was a young girl growing up in middle America, dreaming about the perfect gift and fretting over whether or not I would get it.  I also had a younger sister that trailed me around much likes Ralphie gets trailed by Randy.  And I also got weird gifts from relatives that would rival the bunny suit he gets.  Though this movie does eventually pay off with scenes of presents, the heart of it lies with the family.


Another movie with too many good lines to count, it is tough to pick one but I would have to say that I love the whole bit about putting on a snowsuit.  The mom wraps and wraps her younger son, Randy, up in all sorts of warm weather gear and he starts whimpering.  She "unwraps" him by taking off the scarf he has around his face and asks what's wrong.  He says, "I can't put my arms down."  This is because his snow suit is too packed.  His mother tries to force his arms down but they keep popping back up so that they are straight out.  She finally says, "You can put them down when you get to school," and re wraps him as he cries out.  Later on he falls in the snow and quickly realizes, "I can't get up!" without the use of his arms.  I love this because a) that's exactly how my mother would have treated the situation, b) that's exactly the type of thing that would have happened to my little sister.


3. Home Alone
Plot: "An eight year-old, who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, has to defend his home against idiotic burglars."


I was the perfect age when this movie came out.  Similar to Kevin, I was 7 years old and often felt like everyone picked on me.  I wasn't the youngest of my siblings and my cousins, though, but instead was stuck right dab in the middle which, to my 7 year old mind, was just as bad or worse.  I was too little to get to do anything great and yet I was older than the babies so I was expected to mind my manners and be responsible.  I always had grand dreams of running away and living alone, and would have been in heaven if my family had "disappeared," leaving me to have run of the house.


I don't think I need to go into too much detail about why this film is a classic.  I will say that as I have gotten older and become more mature about "the spirit of Christmas," I really like how again, this film isn't about presents but rather about family.  The pay off at the end isn't about Kevin getting everything he dreamed of, but rather just his family being home with him.  


Of course, as I have gotten older I have become a little annoyed at how slapstick the whole booby-trapping of the house is, but all in all its a film I can watch over in over.  Highlights for me are definitely the whole "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" scene where Kevin manages to have a party with some mannequins, some cut-outs, and a train set as well as any scene with the crazy neighbor, Old Man Marley.  Like 
Kevin: I wish my grandparents did that. They always send me clothes. Last year I got a sweater with a big bird knitted on it. 
Old Man: That's nice. 
Kevin: Not for a guy in the second grade. You can get beat up for wearing something like that. Yeah, I had a friend who got nailed because there was a rumor he wore dinosaur pajamas  


Other favorite lines are, "Buzz, your girlfriend- Woof!" and "Look what you did you little jerk!"


4. The Ref
Plot: Denis Leary plays an unfortunate cat burglar, who is abandoned by his partner in the middle of a heist, and is forced to take an irritating Connecticut couple (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis) hostage. He soon finds that he took more than he bargained for when the couple's blackmailing son and despicable in-laws step into the picture. Before long they're driving him nuts with their petty bickering and family problems. The only way for him to survive is to be their referee and resolve their differences, before he can be nabbed by the police.


Now this might be a movie that you haven't seen.  It was recommended to me by my Auntie Anne in Texas who has a wonderful eye for movies.  It stars Dennis Leary and Kevin Spacey and is similar to "Life is Beautiful," only happier and at Christmas.  As the plot summary says, Dennis Leary is a cat burglar fleeing the scene of a botched job.  He hijacks a couple on their way home from couples counseling and while at first they are put off guard by him, they soon put fear aside for the sake of their own arguing.  Add to this a bunch of crazy relatives and a lot of lovable but stupid town folk and you get a great comedy.  After awhile you get so caught up in the dialogue that you kind of forget what is going on in the first place.  And, to stick with my theme, the movie ends with everyone learning that family is what matters.  Although, in this movie, that doesn't include everyone in your family.  I think I relate to this movie in that since, in the past, some of my relatives have had some HUGE fights right in the middle of our holiday cheer.


Favorite scenes are 
*when a teenage girl, in talking about the then-unknown-to-her burglar says, "Maybe the police will catch him and then let him go in the spirit of Christmas."  To which her mother replies, "That's not the spirit of Christmas- either you are good and get rewarded or else you are punished and go to hell."
*Dennis Leary's character confronts the Grandma and says, "What is the matter with you? I thought Mothers were sweet and nice a-a-and Patient. I know loan sharks who are more forgiving than you. Your husband ain't dead, lady. He's hiding."


5. Love Actually
Plot: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.


I was the right age when this movie came out, too.  I think if I had seen it when I was in elementary or high school it would have been ok, and if I were to see it for the first time today I would have found it good but not memorable.  But I saw this movie when I was in my second year of college (Uni) and when I was really trying to decide whether or not to date one of my first real boyfriends.  Though there isn't a particular character I especially related to, I thought all of the stories were very real and original.  I especially liked the whole bit about the Brit in Wisconsin.  Being from the midwest, I know what would happen if someone showed up with a British accent.  Girls would soon and an average guy would find himself an above average girl.


I also loved the us of music in this movie.  Its mixture of Christmas and love songs was well done.  And all of the colors, costumes, locations were beautifully put together.  I'm not really sure if I like the ending with everyone just happening to be at the airport at the same time, but I will forgive it that.


Again every character has a favorite moment for me, but at the top of the list has to be the interaction between Colin Firth's character and his love interest's family.


CF I am here to ask your daughter for her hands in marriage. 
Father You want to marry my daughter? 
CF Yes. 
Father [yelling toward the back of the house] Come here, there is a man at the door. He wants to marry you. 
[a large and confused woman emerges] 
Sister But I've never seen him before. 
Father Who cares? 
Sister You're going to sell me to a complete stranger? 
Father Sell? Who said 'sell?' I'll pay him. 
CF Pardon me. I'm meaning your other daughter - Aurelia. 


6. Elf
Plot: After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity.


So this movie probably has the weakest plot of all of the films on my list.  I don't really pull much of a message from it and I don't really relate to it.  But good lord is it funny.  I can't imagine anyone else being able to do what Will Ferrell does in this film by being so ridiculous without being annoying or obnoxious.  And I love Zoey Deschanel and thank this movie for getting me into her singing.  Her voice on "Baby It's Cold Outside" is one of my favorite holiday songs.


Favorite lines/scenes include how much Will Ferrell freaks when he hears Santa is coming, "Santa?  I know him!" and the whole confrontation with the fake santa, "You smell like beef and cheese.  You sit on a throne of lies."


Films that aren't Christmas movies but that I associate with Christmas...
Little Women (Winona Ryder version) You've Got Mail
So this post is too long as it is but I love these two movies and always watch them at Christmas despite them not being Christmas movies.  They both include great scenes and music that center around the holidays.  I will always be singing, "For the Beauty of the Earth," despite it not being a Christmas song thanks to Little Women and will always dream of Christmas in New York thanks to You've Got Mail.




SO THAT'S MY LIST!  If you read all that, you must have a lot of time on your hands!  If you really do have time, please comment below with your favorite Christmas films or your favorite line from one of the films I wrote about above.


And though I've already put it on Facebook, here is a shot of my little baby watching his favorite Christmas film.  Don't know why, but Finn totally stopped in his puppy tracks to watch Elf.  I think it is because Will Ferrell screams so much in it.