Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Christmas
Celebration. Previously, I listed my Top 10 personal favorite Christmas
Specials of all time, from many of the Rankin-Bass produced specials like
‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ to holiday
classics like ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’ and ‘A Charlie Brown
Christmas’. Today, we’ll be moving on up to the ‘big boys’ as I’ll be listing
my Top 10 personal favorite Christmas movies. Like the Christmas specials, I’ve
found myself watching these movies annually around this time of the year, and
these movies have spanned quite a long period of time with some all-time
classics from before I was even born to some that came out in more recent years
that are now viewed by many as ‘modern holiday classics’. Now I’m not saying
that these movies are absolutely 100% perfect but at the end of the day, I can
actually forgive them for that because it’s Christmas time and I’m certain that
each of these movies will put at least one person in the holiday spirit,
meaning that I can overlook a lot of their flaws. And of course like last time,
if a certain film that you like isn’t on this list, it’s because either I
haven’t seen it or I just ended up liking these 10 better which of course is no
problem at all giving that film is so subjective. So let’s not waste any more
time… here are my Top 10 favorite Christmas movies.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
For Christmas movies, I have four honorable mentions. First,
there’s 1996’s ‘Jingle All the Way’, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a
workaholic father who desperately searches for a special Christmas present for
his son while in conflict with another father (played by comedian Sinbad),
which is even more tough considering that the present they’re looking for, a
popular action-figure, is almost entirely sold out (I’m aware that this was
inspired by real-life instances of Christmas toys selling out). I know that
this one isn’t that well-liked by a lot of people namely for how chaotic it is
as well as its more ‘commercialistic’ message but I still like it as I do feel
that it does have its moments, primarily thanks to everyone’s favorite
catch-phrase spewing Austrian man (‘Put that Cookie Down! NOW!’). Then there’s
‘Fred Claus’, in which Vince Vaughn stars as the titular Fred, the brother of
Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti), who ends up working with Santa up at the North
Pole when he runs into some trouble with the law. Like ‘Jingle All the Way’,
this one has also gotten some fairly negative reviews but I do think that it’s
actually a pretty good Christmas film, a charming little tale of these two
brothers who have been distant for years as they try and mend their rather
tumultuous relationship. Also, Paul Giamatti, as he usually is, is really superb
in the role of Santa.
Moving on to some more critically successful movies, there’s
the one film that a lot of people like to refer to as a ‘Christmas movie’ even
if it’s not really 100% a Christmas film. That’s right, it’s the classic 80’s
action flick starring Bruce Willis, ‘Die Hard’. Yeah, it’s not really a
Christmas movie per se but it is set at Christmas, the film ends with ‘Let it
Snow’ as the end credits music, and it’s also one of the best action movies of
all time. But because it’s not really a ‘Christmas’ movie, I’m only listing it
here as an Honorable Mention. Finally, there’s ‘Arthur Christmas’, probably the
most recent Christmas movie on this entire list which was made by Aardman
Studios, the studio behind many stop-motion animated films including the
‘Wallace and Gromit’ series and ‘Chicken Run’. ‘Arthur Christmas’, on the other
hand, wasn’t that big of a commercial success when it was released in theaters
as it just barely earned its budget back at the box office. Thankfully, though,
it’s gotten much greater attention recently as it truly is another modern Christmas
classic.
In this film, the whole process of Santa delivering presents
on Christmas Eve has become much more technologically advanced as Santa’s elves
are the ones who do most of the work for him. But one Christmas Eve, when one
present is forgotten by accident, Santa’s rather clumsy son Arthur (voiced by
James McAvoy) heads off on a mission with his grandfather, another former Santa
Claus (voiced by Bill Nighy), to deliver that one present before it’s Christmas
Day. That’s another unique thing about this story in that the position of Santa
Claus is mainly a title that has been held by numerous people over many periods
of time. In this film, we see the current Santa (voiced by Jim Broadbent)
struggle to come to terms with the fact that it’s about time he retires from
the position as he’s grown a bit too old to the point where his role in the
whole ‘delivering gifts’ process is mostly just symbolic. This movie has quite
a lot of the charm and heart that one can expect from a great Christmas movie,
with a timeless message highlighting both the old and new when it comes to
Christmas traditions, while also featuring excellent animation and eye-popping
visuals. For the record, this is not Aardman’s usual stop-motion animation but
it’s just as good as their usual animation. Hopefully this film will continue
to receive the attention that it certainly deserves. Why is it only an
Honorable Mention, you ask? Well, that’s simply because this was the first time
that I’ve seen this film but I guarantee that this is another one that I I’ll
certainly be watching every year during the Christmas season from now on. So
now… onto the real list…
At Number 10 we have a film that isn’t necessarily a well-loved
entry in the genre of Holiday movies. However, this one does hold a special
place in my heart for one very important reason and that is why it starts off
this list.
10. JACK FROST (1998- JUST TO BE SPECIFIC)
Like I said, this one didn’t exactly get great reviews from
critics and it was also a flop at the box office. Still, this film does mean a
lot to me as it was one of my dad’s favorites, and I don’t mean just favorite
Christmas movies, I mean that this is one of his absolute favorite films
period. And I’m not going to lie, I really like this film too. For anyone who
hasn’t heard about it, this ‘Jack Frost’, not to be confused with either the
other ‘Jack Frost’ movie about a serial killer that is turned into a snowman or
the Rankin-Bass special that I’ve covered previously, stars Michael Keaton as
the titular Jack Frost, who in this film is the lead singer in a band who is on
the verge of signing a record deal. However, because of his commitment to the
band, Jack has been unable to spend a lot of time with his family; his wife
Gabby (Kelly Preston) and their son Charlie (Joseph Cross). On the day that he
is about to take them on a Christmas trip, he is called in on an important gig
with the record company looking to sign him. But he ultimately decides to skip
out on it so that he can be with his family. However, due to a bad storm, Jack
unfortunately ends up dying in a car accident. One year later, Charlie, still
struggling to deal with his father’s death, builds a snowman in his father’s
image and after playing a harmonica that Jack had given to him before his
death, Jack actually comes back to life through the snowman.
So okay, the premise here is admittedly a little ridiculous
given that it’s implied that Jack came back to life as a result of Charlie playing
the harmonica, which Jack jokingly referred to as being ‘magical’ (though later
they say in the film that this happened because Charlie wished that Jack could
be there for Christmas). That and the effects for when Jack is a snowman can be
a little creepy at times, mainly due to the fact that sometimes Jack, when he’s
a snowman, is CG while other times he’s actually an animatronic effect. Still,
I really like this movie’s laid-back tone and I do really like the ‘father-son’
relationship between Jack and Charlie, which I feel is really touching in how
Jack, even though it is after he died, finally gets the chance to really
connect with Charlie having been unable to do so before his death due to the
fact that he was away a lot of times. In short, I know that this isn’t really
one of the absolute best Christmas movies of all time but it is one that me and
my dad both really liked and I do enjoy watching it every year. It’s a simple
little film that I do feel deserves more attention than what it’s gotten.
My Number 9 choice was the first in a series of films from
its director that utilized the fairly polarizing motion-capture animation
style. While this style of animation does have its critics, I do feel that this
film is one of the more recent great Holiday classics.
9. THE POLAR EXPRESS
‘The Polar Express’, based on the iconic children’s story by
Chris Van Allsburg, was the first film directed by Robert Zemeckis (‘Back to
the Future’, ‘Cast Away’, and ‘Forrest Gump’) to utilize a style of animation
known as ‘motion-capture animation’. In other words, the main cast of characters
were filmed via motion capture (similar to the many performance-capture roles
played by Andy Serkis) and that served as the basis for the animators to make
the film. This practice has been rather polarizing amongst both critics and
audiences, mostly in regards to when it comes to animating characters because
they tend to fall into the territory of the uncanny valley, with some even
saying that they look like zombies. Now for the record, I do see what they’re
talking about as sometimes the animation on the characters can be a little
creepy but quite frankly everything else in the film is actually animated
really well. This film’s greatest strength in my opinion is its visuals, which
really make you feel that you too are on this journey to the North Pole. I’ve
heard that the visuals are even better if you see the film in IMAX 3-D, which
unfortunately I have not yet been able to experience as I didn’t see this film
in theaters. I first saw it at school one day before winter break back when I
was in elementary school, though I do hope that I do get the chance to see this
film in IMAX 3-D one day because from what I’ve heard, that’s the best way to
see this film.
Now of course, because this film is adapting a fairly short
children’s book, obviously there were certain things that the filmmakers had to
add in order to satisfy a feature-length runtime. And overall I’m fine with all
of these additions as I do think they help expand the story in certain parts.
That’s another great thing about the story as I feel that this film does a
great job of capturing the overall theme/message of the original story. It’s
all really a ‘test of faith’ as the main character is shown to be having doubts
about whether or not Santa Claus is real. So because of this, he takes a trip
on the titular ‘Polar Express’, which travels to the North Pole to see Santa
head off on his world-wide journey, although he’s rather hesitant about
everything as he’s unsure if this is all real or not. It isn’t until he and the
other passengers finally reach the North Pole when he finally starts believing,
shown in a pretty unique way as, unlike the other kids, he can’t hear the bells
of Santa’s sleigh at first until, like in the book, he comes across one single
bell that Santa eventually gives to him as the first ‘gift of Christmas’. It’s
a beautiful story with equally beautiful animation (though more in the visuals
than the characters, but that’s beside the point), a great sense of adventure,
and a solid turn by Tom Hanks in not one, but six different roles. He does the
motion-capture for the main boy (while also serving as the narrator; the boy as
a grown-up) but also plays the boy’s father, the Conductor of the Polar Express
(arguably his biggest role in the film), the mysterious Hobo that the main boy
meets while on the journey, and finally Santa Claus himself. All in all, it’s a
great modern holiday classic that really did blow me away the first time I saw
it.
I got two films at the Number 8 spot due to the fact that
they’re not only two films in the same series but also because they’re fairly
similar in many ways. Still, I guarantee that these are two films that many
watch around this time of year.
8. HOME ALONE/HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK
What better way to celebrate the holidays than with a pair
of Christmas movies revolving around slapstick violence where the main
character, who was left ‘home alone’ by accident when his family left for
vacation, sets up booby traps to stop robbers who would pretty much be dead if
this was real life. But these two movies are much more than that; they have the
usual Christmas wonder that a lot of Christmas specials/movies, made even more
memorable as it comes through the eyes of a young boy, Kevin McCallister. Say
what you will about Macaulay Culkin’s career as an actor that mostly consisted
of films that studios did to capitalize on the success of this movie but here
is where he gives what is easily the best performance of his career. He has an
incredibly likable persona and, well, considering how douchey his family acts
towards him in the openings of both movies, also very sympathetic. Then you have
a whole variety of other characters, like Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the
bumbling crooks Harry and Marv who are continually stopped by Kevin’s traps,
Catherine O’Hara as Kevin’s mother who goes to quite some lengths to get back
home to her son, Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom), who is said to have killed
his entire family but in reality is a nice guy who’s just not on very good
terms with his son, and much more.
The original ‘Home Alone’ is not only one of the most
memorable Christmas films of all time, but also one of the most iconic and
highest-grossing comedy films period. Two years after its release, it got a
sequel in ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’, though this is one of the most
infamous cases of a sequel that just rehashed the same plot of the first film
with the only major differences being cosmetic changes, namely in this film
Kevin ends up in New York when he ends up on the wrong flight. Still, despite
the fact that this is basically just the same as the first film, it’s still
really entertaining. It still has as much Christmas spirit and funny slapstick
humor as the first film and as many memorable characters, including the always
entertaining Tim Curry as the concierge at the Plaza Hotel, where Kevin stays
when he first arrives in New York, and Brenda Flicker as the ‘Pigeon Lady’ who
Kevin befriends after initially being afraid of her. In short, both of these
‘Home Alone’ movies are incredibly entertaining films that both kids and adults
can enjoy and even if the sequel doesn’t do much different than the first film,
I’d argue it’s still just as good. I mean, it’s better than the following ‘Home
Alone’ sequels, am I right?
Another more recent Christmas movie takes the Number 7 spot;
one starring one of my favorite actors, no less… Tim Allen.
7. THE SANTA CLAUSE
Here’s a Christmas film that’s actually a little dark in the
sense that it’s about a man by the name of Scott Calvin (played by Tim Allen)
who becomes the new Santa after he accidentally causes the previous Santa to
fall off of his roof, which results in his death. Sure, ‘The Santa Clause’ is a
fairly simple film but it’s full of good old-fashioned holiday spirit that one
can expect from a Christmas film. It’s one that I think can appeal to both kids
and adults thanks to the colorful visuals and Tim Allen’s excellent performance
in the role of the new Santa, who at first is rather against being in the job
but soon ends up getting into the spirit to become the next Santa Claus. The
film ended up getting two sequels in 2002 (‘The Santa Clause 2’) and 2006 (‘The
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause’) and while the first film can appeal to both
kids and adults, the sequels are clearly geared towards kids. That’s not
exactly a bad thing, though, as both films are generally harmless for kids and
they both have their own moments at times, like how in the second film Santa
ends up getting ‘cloned’ but then the fake Santa starts to take over the North
Pole. Still, adults probably won’t find too much for them in these two sequels
so they’re better off with the original. Sure, it’s nothing too ground-breaking
but it’s still a pleasant little holiday film.
And here’s another modern holiday classic at Number 6. It’s
one that without a doubt has delighted audiences every year during the holidays
ever since it first came out in 2003. Because you see, the best way of
spreading Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear…
6. ELF
This film has such a great ‘fish out of water’ premise. Will
Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human who, when he was a baby, was brought to the
North Pole by accident when he snuck into Santa’s bag. Once found, he is then
raised by Santa’s elves despite the fact that he isn’t actually one of them.
Eventually, he does learn of his origins (he was given up for adoption by his
parents and that his mother died soon after he was born) and decides to head to
New York to reunite with his father, who’s rather uncaring demeanor has put him
on the naughty list. This film has it all; eye-catching visuals, a great amount
of heart, and of course plenty of laughs, like when Buddy goes to a Department
Store and gets into a fight with a mall Santa (‘You sit on a throne of lies!’).
Of course, the biggest strength of the film is Will Ferrell in the lead role of
Buddy, this film being the first film that he did after leaving Saturday Night
Live. Ferrell’s made a career out of roles where his characters act like a man-child,
to varying degrees of success, but this is easily one of his best roles to
date. He has great comedic timing and makes this character, who admittedly
could have come off as being very annoying, extremely likable. I’ll admit that
without Ferrell, I’m not sure if this film would’ve be as good as it is with
him. I’m not saying it’s a bad movie but it really is because of Ferrell that
this movie is the modern holiday classic it is.
Kicking off the second half of this list at Number 5 is
arguably the best film in the series that this comes from. Another modern
holiday classic full of holiday hi-jinx.
5. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION
The third film in the ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ series
behind the original ‘Vacation’ and ‘European Vacation’, ‘Christmas Vacation’
might just be the best in the entire series. It’s a far more traditional
Christmas story compared to many other movies and specials but it also gives us
a story that features some excellent comedic writing, mostly due to the hi-jinx
that occurs as Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) tries to give his family the best
Christmas ever even though everything he does usually ends up going haywire.
Clark is an interesting character because on paper, we probably shouldn’t like
him that much given that he frequently tries to cheat on his wife and is prone
to anger. Still, he is actually sort of likable because of his commitment to
trying to give his family a great Christmas and for also being very optimistic
even when things go wrong… up until a certain point, of course, but that’s
beside the point. Ultimately, this is another one of those ‘old-fashioned’
Christmas stories and I’m certain that many of us can at least relate to
something that happens in this movie, from having relatives over to struggling
to put up Christmas lights. That and of course it’s hilarious as hell, with
quite a lot of classic funny moments, with my personal favorite being Clark’s
long rant towards his boss after learning that the bonus he was getting was
fairly worthless, which really stresses him out due to the fact that he had
planned to use that bonus to buy a pool (‘Hallelujah… Holy S***!! Where’s the
Tylenol?). In short, ‘Christmas Vacation’ is yet another phenomenal modern
holiday classic that can stand toe to toe with some of the greatest Christmas
films of all time.
I tell you, Number 4 will be a controversial one. It’s
another more recent entry in the Christmas film genre and if you ask me it is
the very definition of a polarizing film. But with this film, not only is it one
of my favorite Christmas films, but quite frankly also one of my favorite films
of all time… no I’m not kidding about that. I love this next film that much.
4. HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Yes, it’s true, I’m a very big fan of director Ron Howard’s
2000 live-action adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss tale, ‘How the Grinch
Stole Christmas’. Like I said earlier, this film has had a very polarizing
reaction from both critics and audiences. Lindsay Ellis (AKA the Nostalgia
Chick) did bring up a very good point about what the general reaction towards
this movie is like in that the people who love it (like me) were very young
when this film came out while anyone who was older (like around high school) is
less than positive towards this having instead grown up with the Chuck Jones
directed animated special. But I’m not going to compare this film to that
special or the original book because I think that’s unfair as they’re both very
different. But with that said, why do a lot of people dislike this movie? Well,
I’ve heard various reasons for this, one being that it has a rather grim look
due to the muted color scheme. While I do see where they’re coming from, the
production design is still really, really good. Now admittedly this (and the
following live-action Dr. Seuss adaptation which we won’t name for obvious
reasons) shows that bringing Dr. Seuss’ human-like characters to life maybe
isn’t the best idea, but on the flip-side, the makeup for the Grinch (done by
legendary make-up artist Rick Baker) is truly superb perfectly matching the
original design of the character.
Another possible reason why a lot of people don’t like this
film could have something to do with the film’s more ‘commercialistic’ feel,
and I’m not talking about the idea of Hollywood adapting the story again, I’m
talking about within the film itself. Instead of the Whos of Whoville simply
loving Christmas, this one emphasizes the commercial side of the holiday. But
even then, I do think this film actually does do a good job when it comes to
critiquing this whole thing. Cindy Lou Who recognizes that because everyone is
more focused on gifts, they’re missing the whole point of Christmas. The Grinch
also points out that this is always what it’s been about later in the film,
this being one of the reasons why he hates Christmas. It isn’t until after the
Grinch does steal their Christmas when he finally realizes the true meaning of
Christmas. After all, that’s the whole point of that moment in the story and
the original special. Even though the Grinch stole all of their presents and
decorations, he didn’t steal their love for the holiday. Admittedly, it takes a
few minutes for the Whos to realize that but they do realize the error of their
ways. Say what you will about the more ‘commercialist’ tone or what they added
to the story to satisfy a feature-length runtime (the latter of which can apply
to pretty much any major book-to-film adaptation) but you at least have to give
this film credit for effectively critiquing the commercialism of the holiday.
But easily the best thing about this entire film is Jim
Carrey who is just fantastic in this movie as the Grinch. Even with all of that
makeup covering his body, he still manages to be very expressive and his
comedic timing/ability is still very much spot on. Thanks to him, this movie is
also quite frankly one of the most quotable movies of all time, from the
Grinch’s ‘back-and-forth’ with his echo (Grinch: “I’m an idiot!”, Echo: “You’re
an Idiot!!”) to him trying to find something to wear for Whoville’s annual
Christmas party (“Ooh… Aah… Mmm… That’s it, I’m not going!”). Bottom line, I
love this version of ‘The Grinch’, though I do want to make it clear that I’m still
as big a fan of the original animated version too (which was ironically also
ranked at Number 4 on my other Christmas list… go figure). I understand if some
of you aren’t as big fans of this movie as I am, but I do feel that it’s better
than what some have given it credit for. Some may say it was just a ‘cynical
cash grab’ that was unnecessary given the top-notch animated version but I think
that it’s much more than that, with its sharp critique of commercialism, its
eye-catching production design/makeup for the Grinch, and of course Jim
Carrey’s excellent turn in the lead role. Apparently there’s a new ‘Grinch’
film in development to be made by Illumination Studios so I’ll be interested to
see how that one turns out, even if the studio’s last Dr. Seuss adaptation,
‘The Lorax’, was rather disappointing.
These next three will no doubt feel rather obvious giving
their legacies but there’s no denying that these are classic Christmas movies.
At Number 3, we actually have multiple films given that they’re all adaptations
of a classic story. Come on, say it with me now…
3. A CHRISTMAS CAROL
This is quite arguably the most famous Christmas story of
all time. The original story, written by Charles Dickens in 1843, of the bitter
Ebenezer Scrooge and how he reforms after being visited by three spirits in
order to prevent himself from the same fate in the afterlife as his deceased
partner Jacob Marley, has been adapted multiple times, with 21 films and 28 TV
specials that have been made to date since 1901, each of which offering their
own unique spin on this timeless story. Of course, like many people, I haven’t
seen all of them and I’m guessing that some aren’t as good as others. Regardless,
I’m guessing that they all manage to at least capture the spirit and emotions
of Dickens’ story. So for now, I’m just going to cover all of the major adaptations
of ‘A Christmas Carol’ that I’ve personally seen.
Many actors have taken on the role of Scrooge to varying
degrees of success. And easily two of the most famous portrayals of the
character were done by Alistair Sim and George C. Scott. Sim starred in 1951’s
‘Scrooge’, a well-shot and well-acted (highlighted by the very dour but also complex
performance by Sim in the title role) take on the story, which actually expands
on certain parts of the original plot, like how Scrooge was swayed by the offer
of a greedy embezzler to join his company. Still, from what I heard, it also did
a good job of staying close to the original source material. Sim’s performance
was so iconic that he would later reprise the role in a 1971 animated version
of ‘A Christmas Carol’ directed by Richard Williams. This fascinatingly
animated (though pretty dark and, in some cases for lack of a better term,
really frigging creepy; not only that, but it also kind of goes through the
story at breakneck story, which, while understandable given that it’s only 25
minutes, was handled better in the Mickey Mouse version) made-for-TV animated film
was so popular that it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film (though this
resulted in some controversy due to it being a made-for-TV film). Scott starred
in a 1984 made-for-TV film adaptation of the story and he too is also superb in
the role of Scrooge. It’s a chillingly good performance in which Scott delivers
both the harsh cynicism and a genuine sense of reclamation as one expect from
the character Scrooge. And while I may not have read the original book, this
version also seems pretty close to it save for a few changes.
Sometimes, there are adaptations of the story that cast
famous characters in the lead roles. I already talked about the Mickey Mouse
version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in my last list but then there’s another
Disney-produced take on the story featuring a group of iconic characters in
‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’, which is notably the first Muppets film to be
made by Disney though on a more tragic note it was also the first made after
the death of series creator Jim Henson. Like the Mickey Mouse version, this
take on the story does a great job in casting the Muppet characters in key
roles, like Kermit as Bob Cratchit (with Miss Piggy as his wife… obviously),
Fozzie Bear as Fezziwig, and Statler and Waldorf both playing the roles of
Marley, represented here as two separate men. Michael Caine plays Scrooge and
he does a fantastic job in the role, perfectly capturing both Scrooge’s initial
surly attitude and his redemptive soul after all that he goes through. The only
major complaint I have towards the film is in regards to a major cut made by
the studio of a song sequence, ‘When Love is Gone’, sung by Scrooge’s former
love Belle when she leaves his life for good. Apparently, this scene was cut
because the studio thought it was ‘too sad’, though I’m against this decision
as a whole. First of all, the song is actually really good and really if
‘Muppets Take Manhattan’ can have that damn ‘Saying Goodbye’ song, then I’m
sure kids can handle this song just fine. Also, because it got cut, it results
in a rather obvious and jarring edit that doesn’t match up with the scene
before the song began. Still, it’s another excellent take on the story that the
whole family can enjoy.
Disney made one more adaptation of the story in 2009, this
one starring Jim Carrey in the role of Scrooge (as well as the three ghosts)
and is the second major Christmas film directed by Robert Zemeckis that
utilizes the motion-capture animation technique like he did with ‘The Polar Express’.
So like I said with that time, at times the animation on the characters is a
little creepy though actually I think it’s not as bad here and also like I said
before, everything else in the film is solidly animated. The one key thing
about this version, though, is that it’s actually pretty damn dark at times and
that was something I wasn’t really expecting with this film giving that it
starred a comedic actor like Jim Carrey in the lead role. Still, the movie has
some really superb visuals and even manages to do a good job in handling some
of the darker moments as well as some emotionally powerful moments, like when
Scrooge witnesses his employee Bob Cratchit dealing with the death of his son
Tiny Tim. I can’t really recommend this one to kids due to its much more dark
tone but overall it’s a solid take on the story highlighted by Jim Carrey’s
solid turn in the lead role of Scrooge. It’s a story that’s been told many
times on film and TV and each one has something about it that stands out
amongst the rest.
This one needs no introduction…
2. A CHRISTMAS STORY
The tagline for the film says it all. It’s a ‘Tribute to the
Original, Traditional, One-Hundred Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted,
All-American Christmas’. While other Christmas specials and movies can have
some more fantastical elements in them, ‘A Christmas Story’ doesn’t go that
route. It instead goes for the more traditional route and because of this, it’s
a film that I feel that many people will relate to in one way or another. And
while the film is set in the 50’s, it still manages to be very timeless thanks
to the narration from Jean Shepard (author of the book the film is based on,
‘In God we Trust, All Others Pay Cash’), who plays the adult version of the
main character Ralphie (played by Peter Billingsley in what is easily one of
the best kid performances of all time) who reflects upon the events of the
movie. In short, this movie is nostalgia in its purest form and while the story
may be fairly simple as it’s mostly just a series of events, there’s no denying
that ‘A Christmas Story’ is not only one of the greatest Christmas films of all
time, but one of the most classic films period. There’s a very good reason why
TBS airs this in a 24-hour marathon on Christmas Day.
And finally we come to Number 1. What, you ask, do I feel is
better than ‘A Christmas Story’, the one that is widely regarded as the
quintessential Christmas film? Well, that movie is…
1.
IT’S
A WONDERFUL LIFE
I know what some of you are probably thinking. Why do I
think this movie is better than ‘A Christmas Story’, arguably the most famous Christmas
film of all time? Well, when I think of Christmas, I think of goodwill towards
all people. It’s a time where even in a world that can be harsh and cynical,
there are still those who do good things for others no matter what, always thinking
of others before themselves. That is the case with the main character of this
film, George Bailey (played by James Stewart). He’s a man who constantly finds
himself having to put his dreams on hold so that he can help others. For
example, when his dad dies of a stroke, he cancels a summer trip in order to
take over the family’s Building and Loan. Or on the day George marries the
lovely Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), they give away the money for their honeymoon to
those in financial need during a big run on the bank. But on one Christmas Eve,
George finds himself in a sticky situation when he and his Uncle Billy lose
track of $8,000 that could result in both criminal charges and the building and
loan declaring bankruptcy. Driven to the point of suicide, George is ‘saved’ by
a man named Clarence, who is revealed to be his guardian angel as he shows him
what life would be like had he not been born. The town he lives in, Bedford
Falls, is run by the greedy and cruel banker Mr. Potter, his brother Harry is
dead because George wasn’t there to save him that one time he fell through the
ice when they were kids, and Mary is a spinster librarian.
It’s a great and touching story that showcases how even one
person can make an impact on people’s lives, even if it’s just from doing a
simple act of kindness and this is shown in a great way by having Clarence show
George an alternate reality where everything’s gone to s*** just because he
wasn’t born. He’s just one person in a big world and yet has left such an
impact on those around him. It really goes to show how iconic this story truly
is when it’s been parodied numerous times on other shows like ‘The Fairly
OddParents’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’,
sometimes to different results (like in the ‘Fairly OddParents’ episode that
parodies this, where Timmy Turner finds that everyone’s actually better off
without him). Both James Stewart and Donna Reed are fantastic and both George
and Mary are excellent characters in their own right, with George being the
kind-hearted but frustrated man that many of us can relate to and Mary being
the caring and understanding wife who sticks by her husband no matter what. Say
what you will about Christmas and how nowadays it’s all about commercialism but
as for me, films like this showcase the best parts of humanity and that is why
stories like ‘A Christmas Carol’, and ‘A Christmas Story’, and ‘It’s a
Wonderful Life’ will always be timeless many years after their initial
releases.
So those are my Top 10 favorite Christmas movies. Did I miss
any? What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? Be sure to sound off in the
comments below and of course, I wish you all a very Happy Holidays!
