Christmas Films

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

It wasn’t a huge hit, but like a lot of Christmas movies, it caught on cable and people of a certain age quoting it.

It has certainly taken off in the social media age, with those tedious "weeks til Christmas" / "sleeps til Christmas" memes.

[ad hoc]

From the current watching thread. Not exactly a film, but can be watched as one


A friend recommended Norwegian Christmas series "A Storm for Christmas" as a Christmas show that didn't have that Hollywood schmaltz, so we watched it (it's a series of 6 30 minute episodes so we actually did it as a film). Very big Love Actually vibes (a set of interconnected but separate stories). Like Love Actually, some of the stories are more engaging than others (and at least one is really tedious). A lot less comedy than LA, but on the plus side also none of the fuck-the-help sexism.

Anyway it was OK. Passed the time and the advantage of the multiple storyline set up is that none of them get too drawn out. Not really sure that, subtitles aside, it really delivered on what we were promised re: unhollywoodness. It certainly wasn't without mawk. I'm not going to recommend it exactly but I'll also say that it's a step up from most Christmas fare (while acknowledging the lowness of that bar)

[Simon G]

I mentioned this on the Current Watching thread - the first is watchable but the sequel goes downhill rapidly, which at least is appropriate given they go on a skiing holiday.

I was sceptical about the sequel after Christmas Chronicles 2 was so ass, so I might put off watching it.

I haven't watched Muppets Christmas Carol yet this year, I'm going to try and convince the wife to watch it on Saturday.

[Hot Pepsi]

From the current watching thread. Not exactly a film, but can be watched as one


A friend recommended Norwegian Christmas series "A Storm for Christmas" as a Christmas show that didn't have that Hollywood schmaltz, so we watched it (it's a series of 6 30 minute episodes so we actually did it as a film). Very big Love Actually vibes (a set of interconnected but separate stories). Like Love Actually, some of the stories are more engaging than others (and at least one is really tedious). A lot less comedy than LA, but on the plus side also none of the fuck-the-help sexism.

Anyway it was OK. Passed the time and the advantage of the multiple storyline set up is that none of them get too drawn out. Not really sure that, subtitles aside, it really delivered on what we were promised re: unhollywoodness. It certainly wasn't without mawk. I'm not going to recommend it exactly but I'll also say that it's a step up from most Christmas fare (while acknowledging the lowness of that bar)

The "Hollywood" schmaltz is the point.


Although, I think maybe the culture has passed through the "we enjoy these things ironically." While I was looking for a different Christmas movie, YouTube showed me 10,000 skits claiming to parody "every Christmas romcom/Hallmark movie."

That's been done to death. SNL doesn't even do it annually any more, as far as I can tell.

It's not funny or clever any more.

[Hot Pepsi]

It has certainly taken off in the social media age, with those tedious "weeks til Christmas" / "sleeps til Christmas" memes.

All of social media is tedious.

[ad hoc]

I think the possibility of a Christmas film which is not schmaltzy is something that we should strive for. (The reason that people have this hard on for Die Hard as a "Christmas Movie" is because people are desperate for a film set at Christmas which doesn't have some uber-saccharine "message") .

[Hot Pepsi]

I've been trying to watch relatively modern ones which I'd never seen before, and last night watched Happy Christmas, which was neither happy nor particularly Christmassy, and a A Bad Moms Christmas which was so forgettable that it took me a while to realise I'd seen it before. And earlier in the weekend watched Four Christmases, in which the only interesting feature was noticing how much Reese Witherspoon genuinely resented having to work with Vince Vaughn.

At least I'll soon be switching to the classics for the final few evenings in the run up.

I forget which, but one of my streaming services is trying to convince me that Four Christmases is a Christmas classic. I've seen it. It isn't. But I thought Vince Vaughn was better it in. He was just playing Vince Vaughn, which was appropriate for the movie. Maybe Reese Witherspoon thought she was doing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

[ad hoc]

I hadn't realised that the "sleeps until" thing was an Elf thing. Another reason to not see it.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I haven't watched Muppets Christmas Carol yet this year, I'm going to try and convince the wife to watch it on Saturday.

I'm fairly sure that I've never seen it, but it's been bigged up so often on OTF that I'm going to try to give it a whirl, (I think I saw that it's on Disney+)

[Hot Pepsi]

I think the possibility of a Christmas film which is not schmaltzy is something that we should strive for. (The reason that people have this hard on for Die Hard as a "Christmas Movie" is because people are desperate for a film set at Christmas which doesn't have some uber-saccharine "message") .

The continued success of the Hallmark Channel and uplifting Christmas films suggests there is not so much "desperation" for that.

We live in a cynical, self-absorbed age, where deeply disturbed people set the public conversation.

Anything vaguely uplifting or positive or encouraging will be dismissed as saccharine or naive, so why bother trying to appeal to those miserable critics?

[Hot Pepsi]

I hadn't realised that the "sleeps until" thing was an Elf thing. Another reason to not see it.

It isn't. It's from Muppets Christmas Carol.

That is exactly how many children think of it. It was certainly how I did.

A lot of people want to recapture the excitement and joy they felt as a kid before adulthood in this deeply stupid, selfish country ruined it.

And no doubt, there are 100 hot-take essays from assorted editorial writers - some examples come to mind - telling us that we all need to grow up. Fuck that.

[Jon]

I'm fairly sure that I've never seen it, but it's been bigged up so often on OTF that I'm going to try to give it a whirl, (I think I saw that it's on Disney+)

Yes, it's on Disney plus, NC. You'll love it.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I hadn't realised that the "sleeps until" thing was an Elf thing. Another reason to not see it.

Actually, the bit where Elf (Ferrell) sees some skimpy lingerie on sale with the pitch "For That Special Person In Your Life," so buys some and presents it to his dumbfounded dad (James Caan) is pretty funny.

[Hot Pepsi]

I think the Peter Dinklage part is the best. He might regret it because of the "elf" jokes, but I love the idea of a beloved children's author being a humorless, greedy, mercenary asshole.

The whole film is a triumph of casting in every role.

It almost wasn't. Buddy was almost played by Jim Carrey. If that had happened, nobody would be talking about the film now.

I'm not anti-Jim Carrey, however. I rewatched the Zemeckis CGI Christmas Carol that he did and while the motion-capture tech does not work as well as Zemeckis thinks it does, Jim Carrey does all the main voices in that and he's very effective at capturing Dickens' tone.

[ad hoc]

It isn't. It's from Muppets Christmas Carol.

That is exactly how many children think of it. It was certainly how I did.

A lot of people want to recapture the excitement and joy they felt as a kid before adulthood in this deeply stupid, selfish country ruined it.

And no doubt, there are 100 hot-take essays from assorted editorial writers - some examples come to mind - telling us that we all need to grow up. Fuck that.

Yeah we're arguing from different (geographical) perspectives entirely.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

I forget which, but one of my streaming services is trying to convince me that Four Christmases is a Christmas classic. I've seen it. It isn't. But I thought Vince Vaughn was better it in. He was just playing Vince Vaughn, which was appropriate for the movie. Maybe Reese Witherspoon thought she was doing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

IMDB suggests:

According to reports, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn hated each other during filming, though nobody knows why. During production, a number of stories leaked to the press about the tension on set. The Daily News quoted "spies" who gossiped about how the stars' personalities clashed: "Vince rolls onto set in the morning looking like he just came in from a night out, while Reese will arrive early looking camera-ready," said their San Francisco source. "Then Reese tries to force Vince into blocking out each scene and running through their lines as Vince tries to convince her that he's an ad-libber and wants to play around and see where the scene goes." It got so bad that Witherspoon refused to film a steamy sex scene with Vaughn.

[ChrisJ]

Elf is brilliant. It's not the best Christmas movie (Muppet Christmas Carol IMHO) but it is fab. It's bollox and silly and nonsense but it's also fun.

[hobbes]

Watched Violent Night the other day. It's immediately gone into my top 5 xmas films.

[ChrisJ]

Watched Violent Night the other day. It's immediately gone into my top 5 xmas films.

My son keeps suggesting that one. Normally that's a reason to avoid a film but I've heard quite a few recommendations for it now.

[hobbes]

If you're a fan of utterly gratuitous ultraviolence and thoroughly unlikeable characters then it'll be for you.

[Jon]

IMDB suggests:

According to reports, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn hated each other during filming, though nobody knows why. During production, a number of stories leaked to the press about the tension on set. The Daily News quoted "spies" who gossiped about how the stars' personalities clashed: "Vince rolls onto set in the morning looking like he just came in from a night out, while Reese will arrive early looking camera-ready," said their San Francisco source. "Then Reese tries to force Vince into blocking out each scene and running through their lines as Vince tries to convince her that he's an ad-libber and wants to play around and see where the scene goes." It got so bad that Witherspoon refused to film a steamy sex scene with Vaughn.

Now I really want to see it!

[San Bernardhinault]

I might actually rewatch it just for that. It's so lightweight I never bothered to check the actors' chemistry.

It started OK, as quite a fun cynical take on Christmas movies. The fact that the story arc got utterly and boringly predictable was shit.

[The Red Max]

There are films that I historically associate with Xmas that aren't at all Christmassy - Wizard of Oz / The Great Escape / Mary Poppins / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang / Bridge on the River Kwai / Ben Hur / Lawrence of Arabia - that I'll happily watch year after year after year.
A Muppet Christmas Carol is the best version of Dickens tale, but the Patrick Stewart or Alastair Sim versions are also very good. Even the Albert Finney musical version isn't that bad.
Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, Bad Santa, Scrooged, It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone 1 & 2 are all perennial favourites in our house.

So far this year we've watched Four Christmases (which peaked about half an hour in, then tailed off badly), and Deck the Halls (meh), but they were harmless enough festive fun.
I'm prepared to forgive a lot when it comes to Xmas films, but not Love Actually. No-sireee.

[Hot Pepsi]

I suspect Reese Witherspoon is a bit like her character in Election in real life and Vince Vaughn is a bit like his character in Wedding Crashers. That was never going to work.


I watched It's A Wonderful Life again, but with people who hadn't seen it or know much about it.

One of the many things I can say about it is that I'm not at all tolerant of the take that "Potterville was better because it was more fun." Do you think strippers in 1947 were unionized, or well-treated by management, or that an economy based entirely on cheap tourism is a good basis for sustainable living-wage jobs? Because there's no doubt he'd try to do casinos, and that hasn't really worked in western New York.

Also, the quality and quantity of the fake snow in that film is remarkable. It was all filmed in Southern California and, as I understand it, the whole town is fake.

[Simon G]

There are films that I historically associate with Xmas that aren't at all Christmassy - Wizard of Oz / The Great Escape / Mary Poppins / Chitty Chitty Bang Bang / Bridge on the River Kwai / Ben Hur / Lawrence of Arabia - that I'll happily watch year after year after year.
A Muppet Christmas Carol is the best version of Dickens tale, but the Patrick Stewart or Alastair Sim versions are also very good. Even the Albert Finney musical version isn't that bad.
Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, Bad Santa, Scrooged, It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone 1 & 2 are all perennial favourites in our house.

So far this year we've watched Four Christmases (which peaked about half an hour in, then tailed off badly), and Deck the Halls (meh), but they were harmless enough festive fun.
I'm prepared to forgive a lot when it comes to Xmas films, but not Love Actually. No-sireee.

I enjoy Deck The Halls because of how cheap and tacky it seems. Also, Danny De Vito actually isn't that bad in it, even though he's obviously phoning it in.

I'm a sucker for Love Actually as well. I don't know why - I know I should hate everything about it, but I can't help that I love it.