Top 5 Christmas Movies
On week until Christmas and you’re stuck at home, bending to knee to your state/local government. Why not indulge in some Christmas movies that depict families getting together for Christmas. You know, something your state/local government is prohibiting you from doing so. Maybe you have a spineless, tactless governor who would rather spend his time whining on MSNBC/CNN or a worthless county executive who thinks Scrooge is soft. Whatever the case, for those who aren’t going to participate in some good old fashioned civil dissidence, here’s some movies to remind you that the government has way too much power.
My top 5 Christmas movies.
Honorable Mention: A Christmas Story – Five years ago and this would’ve been in my Top 5, but as I get older this movies is starting to take a backseat to the following. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and more cynical. Maybe because I don’t want to be reminded of what America was and what America is becoming. Maybe it’s because a modern remake would feature a parent using the pink rabbit suit as a way to allow the child to explore his/her sexual identity. And you know damn well they’ll eventually censor this movie because it features a child lusting over a BB Gun. They’ll replace that with a gender-neutral Barbie soon.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great movie. It really is. But I don’t enjoy watching as much as I did for the past couple of decade. The same goes for #5.
5. Christmas Vacation – Just like my honorable mention, this would’ve been higher about a decade ago. Chevy Chase’s shtick is starting to annoy me. He’s a victim to my evolving tastes. At least if features Randy Quaid.
With that being said, this is a solid Christmas movie. It features all the holiday tropes of an American Christmas: packed malls (well, before the spineless governors/local officials led my clueless technocrats shut them down), Christmas tree shopping, annoying family, Christmas decorating, and a much younger Beverly D’Angelo. It’s one of those movies that maintains some laughs but is beginning to show its age.
4. Scrooged – Number 3 and 4 are in the same tier. They could be switched. If you haven’t seen Scrooged you’re really missing out. Unlike Chevy Chase, Bill Murray just gets funnier. The guy is a comedic genius. Modern comics could stand to learn plenty from Murray. But they won’t. Because modern comedians are horrible.
This take on A Christmas Carol is simply fantastic. Led by a strong cast, Bill Murray nails his role as television president Frank Cross (Scrooge) who forces his employees to work on Christmas Eve night to produce a live version of A Christmas Carol. Murray faces the ghosts throughout the production of the movie.
Do yourself a favor and see if you can catch this movie.
3. The Ref – Most people don’t even know this movie exists. Ted Demme enlists Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and Judy Davis to star in this holiday dark comedy. And it works. It works so well. It’s the movie my wife and I watch while we decorate ye old Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night.
Denis Leary is a thirty-something cat burglar who gets caught in the middle of a family on the brink of divorce after a botched robbery attempt. Leary ends up posing as Spacey’s shrink as Spacey’s extended dysfunctional family comes over for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The dinner scene in itself is worth the price of admission. I promise you that.
The movie features redemption. Remember, He was born so we can redeem ourselves. Great movie. Watch it.
2. Christmas Carol ’84 – Most will say the ’51 version is superior, but I personally love George C. Scott’s depiction of Scrooge. He’s stockier, healthier, and a more robust Scrooge. This version is really close to the source material, which has troubled some other adaptions in the past.
And A Christmas Carol is one of those movies you need to watch during this season. It also makes a strong—but subtle—case for generosity through capitalism. Pay attention to the scene with Scrooge being approached by Williams and Foster. They ask him for a charitable donation. Scrooge counters asking if the poor houses have been closed, because his tax dollars fund those institutions. Williams and Foster are appalled because “most would rather die than visit those (government-run) institutions.”
Those two lines are everything. Scrooge ends up giving on his own through redemption and generosity, not through government-mandated giving. Scrooge understood, not because the government brainwashed him to understand, but because he had a chance to look at his life.
George C. Scott is awesome in this.
My podcast reviewed this movie two years ago.
1. Die Hard – Yeah, Die Hard.