Posted on December 6, 2007
Grab some warm chocolate chip cookies, snuggle up under the covers and relax with The Breeze’s picks for the top holiday movies.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Nothing says “classic Christmas movie” better than Frank Capra’s well-loved story of George Bailey and all of his trials and tribulations. We laugh and swoon in the beginning as George lassos the moon for Mary, cringe when Uncle Billy looses the bank’s money and we love to hate the evil Mr. Potter. When Clarence the angel shows George what the world would be like without him, we all can’t help but to be thankful for the people we love in our lives. And as little ZuZu says at the end, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Although this movie was remade in 1994, nothing could replace Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood in the story that makes everyone believe in good ol’ Saint Nick, if only for a little while. From the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to scoring a gig as the in-store Santa Claus, Kris Kringle claims his is the real Santa Claus – and finds himself on trial for insanity. We all know what happens in the end: “Since the United States government declares this man to be Santa Claus, we will not dispute it. Case dismissed.”
Elf (2003)
Thanks to this movie, maple syrup on spaghetti never looked so appetizing. Will Ferrell plays Buddy, an orphaned elf who goes to New York City in search of his father. But once he gets to the city, he realizes that – uh oh – the Big Apple has lost the Christmas spirit, not to mention his birth father is on the “naughty” list. So as he learns about human culture and gritty reality, Buddy aims to return the holiday spirit to one of the world’s biggest cities. And he succeeds, because according to Buddy, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
The Santa Clause (1994)
Imagine witnessing Santa Claus fall to his demise. Then to complicate matters, you must become the next St. Nick, according to the “Santa Clause.” That’s the situation Tim Allen’s character finds himself in one of the more-recent holiday films. It has all the ingredients for a great family movie: the magic of Santa, the love between a father and child and the comedy of Allen’s character transforming into an overweight old man. We’ll just forget about the two sequels they made to follow up with the story – or at least we’ll try to forget them.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Perhaps no Christmas movie has achieved pop-culture status like this 1983 classic. From the movie’s signature leg lamp now making an appearance for sale in Urban Outfitter catalogs to TBS’s 24-hour Christmas day marathon of the film, it’s status as a Christmas classic is assured in American pop culture. Maybe it’s because we all cuss at our ancient furnace, or because we’ve all received some sort of heinous article of clothing from an out-of-touch-with reality relative, a la Ralphie’s “deranged Easter bunny” get-up from his aunt, but America seems to love every dysfunctional minute of it.
Home Alone (1990)
The famous scene of Macaulay Culkin screaming in the bathroom mirror will forever be remembered by everyone who sees this movie. A unique take on the Christmas movie genre, “Home Alone” follows Culkin as he defends his house from burglars after his family forgot to take him on vacation to France. Because of this movie, the line “keep the change, you filthy animal” takes on a whole new meaning. The soundtrack itself is enough to get anyone in the holiday mood, and what says “Happy Holidays” more than Danny Devito getting beat up?
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