It's just my 10 favorite. Some obvious classics are missing, of course. I don't dispute their stature, simply my interest in ever watching them again. As far as It's a Wonderful Life goes, I hold the same position on that one that Tony Soprano does in season two of The Sopranos, as he flips by it on TV: "Enough already!"
10. Bad Santa (2003)
Directed by: Terry Zwigoff
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Brett Kelly, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac, John Ritter
When I saw this in theaters, I didn't love it. This came from all the Christmas-hating dorks that were like, "Ha! Finally a movie for me!" So mostly all I did was focus on the hooooly shiiiiit factor of Santa cursing and fucking and punching midgets. Taken in just that context, it's an annoying movie, totally in love with itself as the bad boy outcast of the holiday season. This Christmas...Santa is a dick!
Overlooked by the crazies is the genuine heart of this movie. It is a mild story of redemption through the spirit of the season, and the finish really sticks out. The fat kid is really going to be known for this movie and this movie only, but he was quite remarkable at moments, particularly the scene where he shows Santa his report card.
The movie's worst scene is undoubtedly the pointless jerkoff scene with Ajay Naidu of Office Space fame. Ha! He said "assclown"! But it does lead right into this gem:
Sadly, this movie probably gave some fuel to the Thornton-starring remake of The Bad News Bears, updated and made crappier for a pussified generation of kids that ride skateboards.
9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Directed by: Kizo Nagashima and Larry Roemer
Starring: Burl Ives, Billy Richards, Paul Soles, Stan Francis
A bizarre, half-frightening movie, creepier than all fucking get out in every manner of presentation. But I love to watch it still -- I've never truly gotten how this didn't scare the hell out of little kids, but hey.
8. The Ref (1994)
Directed by: Ted Demme
Starring: Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis, Glynis Johns
Also featuring a supporting role for the always-awful Christine Baranski, and she does not disappoint.
With this one, I will gladly accept that you probably have to be of the age where Leary's No Cure for Cancer, if you could get your hands on it, probably blew your mind. Now, of course, I know that Leary blatantly lifted material from Bill Hicks (and delivered it better, sorry), but when I was 12, I didn't know who the fuck Hicks was. My mom had No Cure on cassette and I pilfered it from her living room one weekend and took it into my room to listen to it on a Walkman. Out-fucking-rageous. That and the late-night HBO comedy specials (I didn't have HBO at home) where they were just lighting up the TV with the F-bomb were my favorite parts of going to my mom's.
Kind of a flimsy story, but carried by great performances from Spacey and Davis. Leary is Leary -- if you hate him, avoid. One for the ad-ults.
7. Fred Claus (2007)
Directed by: David Dobkin
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Spacey, Rachael Weiz, Elizabeth Banks
Boy, did this one take a beating critically. It's a wildly cynical world when we start expecting every Christmas comedy to be crass and filled with vulgarity. Instead, Vince Vaughn earmuffs his persona and we get a largely clean, PG-rated Christmas feature that's got enough cute story for the kids and enough good humor for the grown-ups. The main complaints I always read were:
1. Vince Vaughn isn't funny when not swearing!
This isn't true. He delivers his lines in the same manic, bullshitting way he always has, he just doesn't say "fuck" all the time. Maybe the problem is really more that people can't find his style funny without the cursing. I love cursing, and I think Vaughn's great at it, but he charms it up big time here. "What kind of party are you dudes throwin'?"
2. Paul Giamatti is wasted
Giamatti busted his hump to become known as one of America's great actors. He deserved a Fred Claus (and a Shoot 'em Up, too). He gives the role refreshing humor and the sincerity and heartwarming moments you'd expect of any Santa Claus.
It's a hell of a good Christmas movie. Nothing more, nothing less. I think people expected more.
6. Love Actually (2003)
Directed by: Richard Curtis
Starring: Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Andrew Lincoln, Kris Marshall, Martine McCutcheon, Thomas Sangster, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman
What a romp! What a rom-com! The ensemble cast has become somewhat of a farce in recent years (who wants to go back and re-watch Smokin' Aces?), but this team delivers, and all the convenience bringing them together here and there can't spoil what is a superbly-acted, wonderfully-written film with enough good short stories to take up the two hours-plus of run time with relative ease. There are stories you'll want to fast forward through on repeat viewings, probably, but what those stories are is no easy task. It'll depend on taste. For instance, I don't care what anyone says, the Keira Knightley segments are death and over the top even for this sort of movie.
If it weren't for the fabulous Bill Nighy, Kris Marshall may have stolen the movie in his brief appearances. But Nighy rules the day.
It's also one of a group of films that will forever have the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States attached to it. Hugh Grant's voiceover at the opening of the film mentions the incident -- it was a world still recovering from that event. To some, it may feel like yesterday. To most of us, it might seem forever ago. I'm not sure which I'd prefer.
5. A Christmas Story (1983)
Directed by: Bob Clark
Starring: Peter Billinglsey, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon
I'd like to thank the good folks at Turner/AOL-Time Warner/whatever for beating this film into everyone's skull this decade, every single fucking year. It's gotten to the point where I WANT Ralphie to shoot his eye out.
A Christmas Story beget "The Wonder Years," which beget "Scrubs." A lifetime of things I watched too many times.
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Directed by: Chuck Jones
Starring: Boris Karloff
This is the one animated feature of the olden days that I figure will never lose its relevance. This one is so perfectly done that it will play well to every generation of children, no matter how many versions of Halo come out or how young kids start getting on MySpace. This will always play well.
And you know what? I didn't hate the Ron Howard version. Jim Carrey is kind of a turd, and it had Christine Baranski, but it wasn't as bad as all that.
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Starring: Chevy Chase, Bevery D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki
Ah, the Griswold kids, changing shapes and sizes and ages and all kinds of shit, over and over and over again. Thankfully, the money is only in Chevy Chase, and to a lesser extent, Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo. Too bad ol' Bev never pops her top off in this one -- the only thing that could've made it better.
Chevy is underrated these days. In his time, he was a hell of a funny dude, and the Clark Griswold character is fantastic. The guy is fucking insane. It's a far funnier movie than I remembered it being, and it holds up quite well almost 20 years later.
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Directed by: Bill Melendez
Starring: Charlie Brown, Linus Van Pelt, Lucy Van Pelt, Schroeder, Snoopy
Unlike the Grinch, I doubt Charlie Brown's tale of Christmas really sticks with kids today. It's a bit heavy-handed and bent on religion, which will put off all these agnostic kids running around, but for me, I just can't imagine Christmas without this movie. If there comes a day when A Charlie Brown Christmas doesn't air on television, I'll know the world has officially changed. And I expect it will end soon -- it's been 43 years now, and it gets less and less in tune with the modern world as the years pass by.
1. Elf (2003)
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel
Much like Fred Claus, only better received, which is bizarre since they're the same sort of movie in many ways. Ferrell takes his schtick to the kids. Wu-Tang is for the children. Favreau does a marvelous job directing (this is better than Iron Man), Ferrell and Deschanel are brilliant, and Caan has a great Scrooge sort of character. For modern Christmas movies, you just can't do better than Elf.
Plus, it introduced us all to the gorgeous voice of the adorable Deschanel:
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1 comments:
Great list!
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