Friday night after work we ambled over to a friend's house and had supper with the intention of then watching a "Christmas Movie." (The husband part of this particular friend couple is, how to put this gently, loonies about Christmas. Thus when I asked which one he just laughed and said he had "over a hundred". Quick - name more than 10 Christmas movies. Yeah, I couldn't either.)
There are four Christmas movies that I will watch without hesitation over and over: White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Christmas Vacation, and While You Were Sleeping. (Ok, technically While You Were Sleeping isn't a "Christmas movie" but it takes place during Christmas time so...Christmas movie.) I loathe, let me reiterate, loathe It's a Wonderful Life and the shoot your eye out movie (though I will cop to quoting various pieces of the latter, mostly out of self defense as it is, hands down, Tim's favorite Christmas movie), so it was with no small amount of trepidation that I went that way, figuring I was in two hours of dreariness - or, if I could muster the energy to put a happy spin on it, a good nap on someone else's couch.
The movie selected was The Ref. Now, this is not something that immediately screams "HI! I'm a Christmas Movie!" In fact, I thought that it was some meanspirited trick to get me to watch a football movie (though I suppose that wouldn't be too bad if someone could finally explain the rules in an understandable format.) I was skeptical, but was sold on it because it had Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey, both of whom I normally find amusing. And I have to say, I laughed. It's irreverent and full of filthy language (um, hello? Denis Leary?) but still very amusing.
So, I will add it to the list of movies I would watch again - though I don't know that even though it takes place at Christmas that I would categorize it as a Christmas movie. There just is something in me that can't associate Christmas with that enormous a quantity of foul language. Still though, if you haven't seen it and you normally like Denis Leary and/or Kevin Spacey, you'll probably enjoy it as well.
The distinction I made between While You Were Sleeping and The Ref got me thinking - is every movie that takes place at Christmas-time a "Christmas Movie" or is there something that differentiates between them? Thoughts?
11 hours ago
You should try Elf - hilarious and sweet and it's a new Christmas classic in our family.
ReplyDeleteElf is indeed a very funny one, but the two Christmas movies I simply have to see every year are A Christmas Story and that Muppet Christmas Carol
ReplyDeleteI think for it to be a "Christmas Movie," Christmas has to be sort of the central theme. I still like A Christmas Story, though I can understand the loathing. I also love Christmas Vacation and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the old version, not Jim Carey's). And no, I can't even name 10. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIMHO I think to be a Christmas Movie it should deal with Christ. Not necessarily the story of His birth or the Gospels but about celebrating His birth. So a film about a family dealing with the madness of the season so long as they realize Jesus is the reason for the season is a Christmas movie. A film about anything else that happens to take place around Christmas aint necessarily so.
ReplyDeleteJen - I'll give Elf another shot, Will Farrell just, well, I have to be in the right frame of mind. :)
ReplyDeleteReel Fanatic - Not sure I've even seen the Muppet Christmas Carol, have to look into that one, imagine it's great. I love the Muppets.
Gwynne, the cartoon Grinch is a good one, for sure. I'm pretty much with you on Christmas having to be central to the story in some way.
Dane - Yes, well, ok...I'm slightly ashamed of myself. You're right, of course. Are there any that meet that criteria? I'm wracking my brain and coming up empty and, well, that's kind of a sad statement, isn't it. (Though I will say in The Ref, the little boy whines that there's no TV and says "What are we going to do all night" (it's Christmas Eve) and his mom says "Celebrate the Birth of Christ!" - so they did at least mention that that's what should be happening (though it was done with exasperation.)