Pop Culture Pick: Christmas Movie Recommendations

'Tis the season...

Image Credit: Disney

Welcome to Pop Culture Pick, a catch-all for subjects I want to highlight outside of the usual weekly Weekend Watch columns. In this edition, I offer some Christmas movie recommendations. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite and Threads/Instagram: @jammerwhite

With Thanksgiving in my adopted home now over with, it’s time to think of the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas! Unless you work/shop in a store, in which case, that’s been your last couple of months.

Still, in a quiet week for new releases I’ve seen, I figured why not break out my list of festive favourites I watch each year…

Spirited

A relatively recently entry, this Ryan Reynolds/Will Ferrell musical for Apple was a surprisingly nimble and fun confection. Reynolds tones down some of his meta winking (though if you enjoy that, there is still some) and Ferrell is agreeably goofy. A highlight is the “Good Afternoon” song, hilarious explaining how certain terms were once seen as incredibly vulgar (and featuring a great cameo from a British acting dame). It’s also sweet and emotional when the moment calls for that.

Scrooged

A Christmas film I have been watching every year almost since it came out, this 1980s take on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol boasts one of the best Bill Murray performances (as sarcastic and ruthless TV producing prodigy Frank Cross) and some fantastic twists on the classic story. The satirical pot-shots at the TV industry have also never felt timelier, especially when Frank’s boss suggests he might start programming for dogs and cats. It’s sharp and hilarious, though I have to admit I do tend to turn the movie off when it reaches the gloopy, sentimental final sing-along. A small flaw in an otherwise perfect movie.

The Holdovers

While it was released surprisingly early in the States and after the Christmas season in the UK, this Alexander Payne film was one I knew was destined to enter my rewatch list of annual festive favourites. And so it has come to pass: the movie is among the titles I’ll watch this year. Written by David Hemingson and loosely based on his own boarding school experiences, it’s wonderful look at found family and discovering the truth behind your assumptions about others. Paul Giamatti shines as the grumpy teacher lumbered with wayward, lonely student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa in an excellent breakout role). Alongside those two, there’s a heartfelt, steel-spined (and Oscar-winning) performance by Da’Vine Joy Randolph as the school’s cook.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

I’m not ranking these in any particular order, but come on –– who doesn’t think that the Muppets’ version of Christmas Carol isn’t up there with the best? Kermit and co. (with welcome star turns for Gonzo and Rizzo) re-tell the story in high comic fashion, but don’t forget either the heart or the scarier moments towards the end. While the fuzzy friends are the focus, Michael Caine acquits himself admirably as Scrooge.

Elf

You’ve probably seen bits and pieces of this one every Christmas season, especially since plenty of channels feature it in their festive line-up, and it’s the source for a variety of Gifs and memes. Yet Jon Favreau’s wonderful fable is more than the sum of its parts. There’s so much that makes this one work –– the sheer commitment to the bit from Will Ferrell. James Caan’s what-have-I-gotten-myself-into attitude, the fantastic turn from Bob Newhart, the beautifully realised tribute to Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. It’ll warm your heart without turning your stomach.

A Christmas Carol (1951)

This film is one I can truly call a family favourite as it’s the version my mother introduced me to and one we look forward to every year when I’m home for Christmas. Alastair Sim is such a memorable Scrooge, and while it hasn’t perhaps aged as well as some of the other movies on my list, it’s still a superb adaptation.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Chevy Chase suffers through one of the most stressful Christmases ever, even if a lot of it is self-induced. A critter in the tree? Cranky relatives? Bad neighbours? It’s all here. And yet it also carries writer John Hughes’ penchant for injecting love and cheer into everything. Even when you’re worried that the family is one step from murder, there’s plenty of heart to be found.

A Christmas Carol (1999)

I’ll hold my hand up here and admit that this one is a bit of a cheat. Not only is it a TV movie, but it’s really an excuse to talk about an entirely different version of the story. True, this film, which stars Stewart as Scrooge alongside the likes of Richard E. Grant, Joel Grey, Saskia Reeves and Dominic West, is perfectly serviceable, the real Stewart-starring treat is actually the audiobook of his one-man show based on the Dickens story. I was lucky enough (through a competition in a Star Trek magazine, of all places) to win tickets to one of Stewart’s live performances of the show many, many years ago (1993 –– eek!) at the Old Vic. It has remained one of my favourite theatrical experiences and I listen to the audiobook every Christmas Eve. He plays more than 30 characters! Including a set of bells! Where else will you hear that?

Home Alone

John Hughes’ Chrimbo classic is on so many peoples’ lists for a reason –– it’s eminently re-watchable. It’s my girlfriend’s favourite Christmas film, so of course we watch Macaulay Culkin getting into trouble at home (and, via the sequel, in New York) each year. Hughes builds this one so sturdily, setting everything up like clockwork to pay off later. Is Kevin a psychopath for what he inflicts on Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern)? Maybe, but they also needed to learn that crime doesn’t pay, especially at Christmas!

Gremlins

Joe Dante’s tale of Christmas chaos via small chittering demonic little creatures is very much Halloween-meets-Christmas and therefore pulls double duty. But where else are you going to find one of the main characters admitting they hate Christmas because their father died trying to make it down the chimney dressed as Santa. With a pitch-black but also loveable script by Chris Columbus, it’s the antidote to any schmaltz.

If you have your own favourites to share, feel free to leave them in the comments. Here’s wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy holiday season!

Weekend Watch will return next week.