TOM: Ah Christmas time, how we love you in all your infinite glory of sparkling lights, mince pies, presents and warm and fuzzy Christmas films.
ZOE: That time of season is here once again (just in case you didn’t know) and as always it’s time to wrap up warm, stay inside with the fire on and watch the Christmas channel for all those awful Christmas films as well as some others of higher quality that have been laying in wait, hidden away in the DVD collection for Christmas to come around again.
TOM: I tend to have a real problem with Christmas film lists that actually don’t contain just Christmas films. This will be a list of actual Christmas films and not ones I’ve seen in the past such as In Bruges, Eastern Promises and even Rocky IV! I’m sorry, but they’re not Christmas films – great films yes, but not ones to crack open with the Christmas classics.
ZOE: Right you are, Tom!
With that in mind, let’s get started with our personal favourites .
TOM: Elf
You know, I spent all year thinking about the Christmas films I couldn’t wait to see, and for ages Elf wasn’t one of them. I love Elf and I love Will Ferrell who is my favourite comedic actor, but I began to get fed up with it last year as it seemed to be on TV once a week, at least. Then it happened, there was nothing to watch and Elf was just starting, so I said “huh, why not”. And there it was, that so ridiculous it’s hilarious concept, Ferrell’s child-like endless charm which works perfectly with James Caan‘s Scrooge like demeanour and the ultimate warm-fuzzy ending of reconciliation and accepting the Christmas spirit. Elf has bags of energy and Christmas spirit to share. Lost on slightly older audiences, I tend to find, but a modern day classic that we’ll cherish and show our children and grandchildren when we’re older.
ZOE: Love, Actually
I’ll kick off my list with my go-to Christmas film: Richard Curtis’s unparalleled Love, Actually! Yes, it’s a tad on the melodramatic side but who doesn’t love a bit of festive drama around our favourite time of year? The seamless intertwining of the character’s lives brought about by a genius with a pen and a truly talented, star-studded cast adds an immersive quality to the film that succeeds in avoiding many of the tired tropes of its Rom-Com genre. To put it simply, Love, Actually just never gets old! It’s a touch on the fantastical side, but who doesn’t love a bit of fantasy around Christmas? It’s an unquestionable Christmas classic capable of evoking feelings of warm fuzziness and dewy happiness, so sit back and enjoy!
TOM: Love, Actually (whaaaat)
Zoe, what a crazy and totally unexpected coincidence! Love, Actually is on my list too. Curtis is definitely helped by having a splendid array of talent on screen – and I think it was one of the first of its kind, too. I’ve always been a fan of his, with his ability to tell such warm love stories and comedy in general, and Love, Actually is up there as one of his best which not only gives you an overall positive message about love and life, but yep you guessed it, manages to highlight this message for Christmas as well. I’ve heard arguments that it was pointless basing it around Christmas, but in fact it wasn’t, because Christmas is a time for family and those you love, so it’s quite a perfect setting for a story like this.
ZOE: Home Alone
I can’t agree more! Although my next choice gives that notion an interesting twist; Chris Columbus’s 1990 home invasion classic Home Alone adds a tinge of slapstick comedy into the mix. The John Hughes-penned film is a must-watch around the festive period. Not only is it an entertaining, hilarious and thrilling watch but it still resonates a true Christmas message at heart: nothing is more important than family!
TOM: Fred Claus
I’ll come back to that one later. First I want to talk Fred Claus – my next choice (I can hear the groans). This one truly baffles me because I don’t understand why the world can’t see what I do; this is a wonderful modern Christmas film. I genuinely think if anyone else had taken the reigns instead of Vince Vaughn (someone used this as the only reason to criticise Fred Claus once) then it would be held in much higher regard. And that’s a real shame because he does a very good job, and the rest of the film is rounded off with a wonderful cast including Paul Giamatti playing a truly jolly version of Father Christmas/Santa Claus/ Saint Nicholas. Fred Claus uses a fun story, changes it around a little, adds in some modern humorous elements, a devious villain in Kevin Spacey and a sweet message of redemption, family and Christmas, it deserves to be in more ‘Best Of’ Christmas lists.
ZOE: Nightmare Before Christmas
My next must-watch Christmas film is the di-festive Nightmare Before Christmas. Some may argue that it doesn’t qualify as a Christmas film because it’s also watched at Halloween – but there I disagree! The heart of Christmas seeps into the narrative as our protagonist Jack Skellington learns about the mysterious Christmastown, eventually soaking in its warm and happy festive feel. Not only that, but it’s a musical and visual masterpiece. Henry Selick’s smoothe graphics and Danny Elfman’s superb score harmoniously collaborate to cement this Christmas classic into your mind! Treat yourself this Christmas, and sit down to watch this stop-motion animation masterpiece.
TOM: Jack Frost
I liked the idea of Nightmare Before Christmas, it was something very different, but it just wasn’t for me. I know I have no leg to stand on saying that with this next one, it’s my all-time guilty Christmas pleasure. It’s Jack Frost – the not scary one, the Michael Keaton one. Yeah it’s corny as hell but it’s as sweet and sentimental as they come. It does a nice job of building the relationships between Keaton and his wife and son before the film unmercifully kills him off – giving us a reason to care about his death. I can imagine if you saw it as an adult for the first time you’d hate it very much, it’s quite farcical, but it hooked me as a kid and now I’m stuck with it forever.
ZOE: Gremlins
This Christmas film list wouldn’t be complete without at least one creature feature! And what better than 1984’s mammoth-grossing Gremlins? And if you doubt for a second that perhaps this film ought not to be included, I urge you to think back to the little blighters performing Christmas carols. Gremlins is certainly a film that will leave you cackling with glee and perhaps slightly perturbed at the strange smell coming from your chimney, but altogether offers the complete Christmas package! So sit down this Christmas to Gremlins and laugh heartily.
TOM: Home Alone (too, not 2)
I do love Gremlins! It really does have it all for a film. Finally I’d like to touch on Home Alone again, which is (while we’ve avoided order all this time) my all-time favourite Christmas film. Home Alone transports you back to a time when you first watched it in your childhood. A time of being a huge kid who wanted to be Kevin McAllister and run riot over your house with no family to tell you off. You believed in the magic of Christmas and all it had to offer, Home Alone encapsulates all of that. It’s everything a John Hughes film should be, and the world could do with a few more films like it. It captures everything we’ve come to know what Christmas represents – family, kindness, love and lots and lots of food. It’s the perfect film with a wonderful cast, beautiful score and unmistakable quotes, “look what you did you little jerk!” It really is a magical Christmas film.
ZOE: Die Hard
My last Christmas film of the list is a bit of a curveball, but it’s a film among some of the best ever made – Die Hard. This indisputable Christmas classic substitutes sleigh bells for machine guns and presents for bullets, with our balding hero John McClane taking on the role of Santa Claus himself. Yippee Ki-Ho, it’s Christmas! Another interesting point of the film itself is it represents and defines a time when Bruce Willis actually had some integrity about his work and the films he appeared in – as well as his hair eh? It may not be for everyone, but what more do you need at Christmas than an adrenaline-fuelled action-packed thriller? I think ‘nothing’ is the word you’re looking for.
TOM: Ugh, Die Hard. Love the film, not one for Christmas for me though. So that’s our list! We sort of cheated because it’s either 8 or 10 – whichever way you decide to look at it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave your comments below.
ZOE: Well they can’t all be as good as Jack Frost, can they? Anyway, Merry Christmas to all.
TOM: And to all a good night…too cheesy?
ZOE: Just a bit, yeah.
