The 25 Greatest "Holiday" Movies of All Time -- and Why I Believe This To Be So:
01. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 8.0 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is the all-time BEST Christmas movie ever made! "Miracle on 34th Street" is almost perfect in every respect. It features superb acting performances from everyone in its relatively large cast, right down to the smallest, uncredited part. So much so, that, with only a few special exceptions, those performances actually constituted (or approached) "career-topping" efforts for virtually EVERY member of this amazing troop of actors. The cast includes Maureen O'Hara (as the overly businesslike and too-literal-minded mother), Natalie Wood (as the very sweet but disbelieving child), John Payne (as the good neighbor, and attorney, whose interest extends beyond mere neighborliness), Gene Lockhart (the less-than-eager "competency hearing" judge who will be running for reelection soon), William Frawley (the savvy, cigar-chomping, political advisor to the judge), Jerome Cowan (as "Thomas Mara," the District Attorney and father to a young son), Porter Hall (the story's quirky "villain" and psychological "quack"), Philip Tonge (as the toy department manager and compatriot with O'Hara's character in the back offices of Macy's Dept. store), Harry Antrim (portraying the real-life R. H. Macy), Alvin Greenman (as "Alfred," the young Santa-wannabe), Jack Albertson (a postal clerk, in a pivotal role), Marlene Lyden (as the young Dutch-speaking girl, also a pivotal role), and Thelma Ritter (as the newly "won over" customer at Macy's). And all this is to not even mention the absolutely incredible Edmund Gwenn, as "Kris Kringle," in what has to be, by far, the single GREATEST turn any actor has ever taken in the role of Santa Claus! Further, this immortal film "takes on," head first, the concept of disbelief in Santa Claus in a brilliant way that not only will *NOT* dislodge that belief in any young child who happens to watch the film; but, also, in refuting that concept of disbelief so very charmingly, the story makes true believers out of everyone else, except, perhaps, for the most hardened and heartless of cynics among us!
02. The Bishop's Wife (1947) 7.5 (recent IMDb user rating)
Movies seldom ever get as good as this one, let alone better. The cast of this film, and their "miraculous" individual performances, when I think about them, make me literally vibrate and quiver with the anticipation of future viewings, as do they make me ecstatically swoon with joy over the memory or prior viewings! Just think, for a brief moment, about the cumulative talents these amazing artists, at their absolute peak, lovingly bring to bear on this touching and inspirational material: Cary Grant (as the most sophisticated angel Heaven ever sent out), Loretta Young (at her loveliest, in the title role), David Niven (as the faithful, albeit Protestant, Bishop), Monty Woolley (as the kindly, old history Professor who specializes in antiquities), James Gleason (as the best cabbie one could ever hope to meet), Gladys Cooper (as the rich widow and potential church benefactor), and Elsa Lanchester (as the Bishop's wonderful housekeeper). The real glory of this film is the truly magical, central performance given by Grant as the angel who escorts the Bishop's wife (to free up time for the harried Bishop's work) and, yet, who seems to actually be falling in love with her!
03. The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) 7.7 (recent IMDb user rating)
If Monty Woolley was adorably charming, quixotic, and tender in his performance as Professor Wutheridge in 1947's "The Bishop's Wife," (and he was!) it is all the more remarkable how, with such perfect pitch, in the choice role of Sheridan Whiteside in this hilarious film, Woolley is able to be so deliciously snide, discourteous, self-centered, and downright nasty to nearly all those surrounding him-- while remaining, all the while, quite loveable! This brilliantly clever film, which spans the Christmas season, and reflects on the Christmas Spirit, also features Bette Davis in one of her most attractive and endearing screen performances as Whiteside's faithful secretary, plus excellent acting turns from Ann Sheridan (the sexy, gold digging actress), Richard Travis (the small town newspaper editor and suitor to Davis' character), Jimmy Durante as "Banjo" (imitating the real-life Harpo Marx!), Billie Burke (as the Ohio matron whose home "Sherry" Whiteside has "taken over"), Reginald Gardiner (as "Beverly Carlton," a character presumably based on Noel Coward), Grant Mitchell (the household's ineffectual patriarch), George Barbier (the town's elderly doctor with literary aspirations), and an unforgettable portrayal from Mary Wickes as the home care nurse who is the long-suffering target of the relentless verbal barbs from Whiteside, her irascible "patient." Both Woolley and Wickes reprise their roles which they originated in the smash Broadway production.
04. Home Alone (1990) 6.6 (recent IMDb user rating)
Let's face it, there has never been a child actor in the entire history of the movies who has been as adorable and as supremely talented as was Macaulay Culkin during his two outings as "Kevin" in the first couple of "Home Alone" movies! The first film, especially, is quite magical in BOTH of its halves; meaning, that the "first half," which revolves around the situation of Kevin being accidently left behind while his large, extended family flies to Paris France for the rapidly approaching Christmas holiday, is supremely well done in the sense that it brilliantly captures the range of thoughts and emotions, and assumptions the precocious 8-year-old undergoes as he adjusts to being forgotten by his parents and the others. In the "second half" of the film, Kevin is forced to "defend" his home from a pair of bumbling yet dangerous burglars who have targeted the presumably empty dwelling. This latter portion of the movie is just as well done as the earlier portion, even if it accords to Kevin some unlikely skills, and levels of bravado & assuredness in his "defense" efforts which might seem unrealistic. Let us not forget that it is Kevin's elderly neighbor who actually saves him from the burglars' evil intentions at the end of the movie. Reviewers like Roger Ebert who downgraded or faulted this absolutely charming (and eminently watchable) movie for having a plot "so implausible that it makes it hard for us to really care about the plight of the kid," simply didn't "get it," and that just astounds me. This movie was obviously never intended as a "realistic" drama; it's a Christmas "fantasy" tale trumpeting the triumph of youthful innocence and goodness over adversity and evil! Indeed, for 17 years, I have been expecting Ebert, whom I generally respect, to revise his rating of this "modern classic" upward to the 4 stars it deserved from him. Thank God the public "got it" regarding this marvelous film! While it was in its initial theatrical release, it became about the fifth highest-grossing box office success of all time, with only the three original Star Wars films and "ET" ahead of it!
05. We're No Angels (1955) 7.4 (recent IMDb user rating)
This wonderful film, uniquely detailing the conquests of the Christmas Spirit (of love and generosity) over the worldly devilments of avarice and self-interest, stars Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov as three convicts newly escaped from Devil's Island. They take refuge in the home of a French family, which lives near the coast in French Guiana, South America, where they are inspired, by the difficulties facing this generous and welcoming family, to help "right" matters for them. The kind family played by Joan Bennett (as an earlier, middle-aged "Amelie"), Leo G. Carroll (her gentle husband, Felix), and Gloria Talbott (their lovely but as yet unmarried daughter, Isabelle) are at the mercy of their wealthy and rather evil uncle Andre, played by Basil Rathbone, who holds complete control over their combination home & retail store business which is less than sufficiently profitable. Needless to say, the haughty overarching uncle proves to be no real match for the three criminals, who also find time to play matchmaker for the daughter and her suitor.
06. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 5.4 (recent IMDb user rating)
This film sequel is essentially a "remake" of the first Home Alone movie, with the main difference of having the eventual "homes" for Kevin (due to a mix-up in boarding flights at the Chicago airport) become, first, the Plaza Hotel in NYC where Kevin cleverly, but lavishly, employs his father's credit card; and, second, the vacant residence of an absent New York uncle. Meanwhile, the rest of his extended family's communal vacation sojourn takes them to a rain soaked motel "dive" in Florida. By chance, the same two bandits from the first film (played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), having escaped justice, arrive in NYC with a plan to rob one of the city's largest toy stores of its cash hoard after midnight on the night of Christmas Eve. The movie involves three additional subplots-- (1) Kevin's ongoing battle with the Plaza Hotel's Concierge, brilliantly played by Tim Curry, who rightly suspects the boy of being "alone" in the hotel; (2) Kevin's coincidental relationship with the generous founder & manager of the huge toy store; and (3) Kevin's friendly relationship with a homeless woman, played by Brenda Fricker, who frequents Central Park near the hotel. In the latter portion of the film, there is another (and significantly more violent) Battle Royal between Kevin and the two bandits, who are now seeking simply to kill the boy, in the vacant residence of Kevin's New York uncle. Partly because they did "pull out all the stops" in this second effort to make it spectacular, it suffers the flaws of many sequels, but viewers would need to be particularly heartless to NOT love and want to root for the adorable Kevin as played by the very young Macaulay Culkin. [It has been asserted by some that Macaulay Culkin was named for Thomas Babington Macaulay, the nineteenth-century English poet and historian. However, whether that is correct or not, I prefer to believe that he was named for the character, "Macaulay Connor," portrayed by James Stewart in the "Philadelphia Story," another film I love.]
07. Family Man (2000) 6.5 (recent IMDb user rating)
In my opinion, this is one of those rather rare films that have actually improved upon their inspirational source material from the fabled lore of Hollywood movie history. Clearly, the inspiration for this film was Frank Capra's classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," but the thing that makes this film superior to the earlier one (in my mind) is that in THIS film it truly *IS* a wonderful life that the main character missed out on (due, simply, to a path not taken). And the angel's magic is used to give the main character a second shot at attaining that life, by allowing him the opportunity to eventually come to fully realize the nature of the life he MIGHT have had, despite his having become a rich and powerful Wall Street success in the version of life to which his previously chosen path had led him! In other words, the triumph of familial love over avarice is at the film's core. Whereas, in the older movie, the main character was fleeing FROM his already achieved (supposedly) "wonderful life," having never actually recognized its less-than-totally-obvious value. In the earlier film, Stewart's character consistently rejects or postpones self-serving opportunities for advancement and self-enrichment, often not so much out of any higher moral principles, but rather out of necessity or a sense of duty; so, subsequently, he comes, after a number of years, to view his life as failed, despite the normal trappings of love and family he has theoretically enjoyed all along. To my way of thinking, a clearly GREAT life (albeit an average middle class life) which is recognized as such in the face of having HAD, and having reveled in, the experience of real wealth and success, is somehow preferable to a "great life" that apparently can only be recognized as such in the context of its "hidden impact" on the community at large. In the older movie, the angel's magic is used merely to create a shift in the focus with which the main character "sees" his one and only life. In "Family Man," the angel's magic actually allows a new and superior life to be striven for by Nicholas Cage's character.
08. Home for the Holidays (1995) 6.3 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is the best movie about the Thanksgiving holiday. Period. It simply involves most of the members of a relatively normal, yet moderately dysfunctional family (is there such a thing as a "functional family"?), gathering together at the "grandparents" home for Thanksgiving dinner and a couple of days worth of interaction. The factors that make this movie so excellent are to be found in the even-handed, rather subtle direction of the story by Jodie Foster, and the collective skill of the very talented cast which includes some of my very favorite actors, including Holly Hunter, in the lead role, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Claire Danes, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson, and David Strathairn. A perennial seasonal favorite of "dysfunctional families" everywhere!
09. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) 7.4 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is the second best movie about the Thanksgiving holiday. Period. This film, however, focuses on the efforts of a man (played by comedic genius, Steve Martin) simply to "get home," from his job in New York City to Chicago, for the holiday celebration with his family, in the face of many delays and other travel crises which seem totally beyond his control. He becomes "teamed up," rather against his will, with another fellow traveler, played by the very great John Candy, whose character, although basically a decent fellow, is something of a nightmare as a traveling companion. Thus, the film becomes a mismatched buddy, road trip film with hilarious, laugh-inducing results.
10. Scrooged (1988) 6.6 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is probably the very BEST "remake" of Charles Dickens' seminal story, "A Christmas Carol," that has been produced so far. It stars Bill Murray and Karen Allen (both of whose work I adore) as people on the prowl for love and sex in the world of modern day network TV, and features Carol Kane, David Johansen (of The New York Dolls fame), Bobcat Goldthwait, John Forsythe, Michael J. Pollard, Alfre Woodard, Jamie Farr, Robert Goulet, and Robert Mitchum!
11. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) 7.2 (recent IMDb user rating)
Okay, the Griswold family's misadventures on their various vacations are legendary in the world of motion picture comedies, so it is no big surprise that their "Christmas Vacation" movie makes this list. Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Randy Quaid, William Hickey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Brian Doyle-Murray are all excellent in this very funny version of the Christmas holiday no one ever wants to have! The many highlights include the insanely over-lit exterior of the house, the electrocuted cat which chewed through a strand of Christmas lights, the burning Christmas tree, the "Jelly-of-the Month Club" Christmas bonus fiasco, and the exploding sewage gas, in the street's rain water drain, that had been dumped there by Cousin Eddie from his nasty old RV parked in the driveway. It's far from being highbrow humor, but it's funny, and Chevy Chase (Cary Grant's "arch enemy" at one time) is always interesting.
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 8.0 (recent IMDb user rating)
Okay, I have basically been ignoring, or discounting, "animated" films on this list for numerous reasons; however, I'm willing to make an exception in this case. First, there is an obvious, deranged charm to this Tim Burton movie and to its lead character, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town; and, second, the stop-motion animation, which is a lovely throwback to the days of 1964's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and even earlier, is totally magnificent! Plus, I find the three little trick-or-treaters, "Lock, Shock, and Barrel," to be adorably mischievous. And I love the character of "Oogie Boogie" who is so deliciously evil; and who, in the end, is revealed to actually be a sort of "collective kibbutz" of bugs, working together to achieve his existence. Granted, the concept of Halloween's King deciding to kidnap Santa Claus and imprison him, for the sake of "taking over" his Christmas duties, and then ruining everyone's Christmas as a result of failing to grasp the nature of Christmas, is pretty twisted stuff, but it's also great fun to watch!
13. Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951) 8.0 (recent IMDb user rating)
This excellent cinematic presentation of the famous Charles Dickens yuletide story-- with an astounding performance by Alastair Sim as "Ebenezer Scrooge"-- wasn't the first of the many efforts that have been made to turn that beloved literary classic into a motion picture, but it is certainly the "definitive" version!
14. Jesus of Nazareth (1977) 8.5 (recent IMDb user rating)
Forget all about Mel Gibson's ridiculous blood fest, "The Passion of the Christ," the ultimate film for the Easter holiday is Franco Zeffirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" with Robert Powell as Jesus, and featuring Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Claudia Cardinale, James Farentino, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, James Mason, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn, Fernando Rey, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger, Ian Holm, Olivia Hussey, Cyril Cusack, Michael York, and Peter Ustinov in very well crafted supporting roles! This extremely long version of the story of Jesus was originally a TV mini-series, which format, in general, I've excluded from this list, but I'm making an exception for this title because of its surpassing excellence.
15. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 7.3 (recent IMDb user rating)
Delightful in every way, this fine film's superb cast sparkles! Enjoy the perfect "at home" Christmas celebration with Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, Dennis Morgan, and S.Z. Sakall. The story/plot of the film can be summed up this way: Imagine "winning" a chance to spend Christmas with Martha Stewart in her private home...if (#1) Martha were (in secret) totally clueless about how to decorate, or how to prepare a large meal; and...if (#2) Martha were to suddenly, somehow (?) become "as worth spending time with" as Barbara Stanwyck, in her prime, clearly was! And it's NOT that I dislike Martha Stewart-- she's totally fine-- it's much more that I just LOVE Barbara Stanwyck of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s who made numerous films which score well on my all-time top favorites list!
16. Ha-Ushpizin (2004) 7.5 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is an amazing film about the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, or "the Feast of Booths," with marvelous characters, and a fine balance of drama, comedy, and even suspense. There are not a lot of movies dedicated to this holiday, so I think it's fair to say that this one is the very BEST film for the Sukkot holiday! The husband in the family, "Moshe Bellanga," as played by Shuli Rand, is truly an amazing portrait of a fascinating man! And the traditional customs and beliefs of the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, such as those living in the Breslov community in Jerusalem, have never been portrayed better on film, to my knowledge.
17. Holiday Inn (1942) 7.5 (recent IMDb user rating)
Starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, and Virginia Dale, and featuring the music of Irving Berlin (including the debut of the song, "White Christmas"), this wonderful film, "Holiday Inn," is the original version of the story upon which the extravagant 1954 "remake" entitled, "White Christmas" was loosely based. Even though the 1942 film was shot in B&W, whereas the latter one was shot in Technicolor and was the first ever VISTAVISION film, I am inclined to count "Holiday Inn" above its "remake" for this list. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are both superb in this movie and, by contrast, a 12-years-older version of "Der Bingle," with Danny Kaye subbing for Astaire, doesn't quite compare. Sadly, the film, "Holiday Inn," is only rarely ever shown anymore on television-- either broadcast or cable. It is said the primary reason for this ridiculous fact is due to a single song the movie presents about Abraham Lincoln which was performed in "blackface" by Crosby and Reynolds. Obviously, today's television programmers are not worried about offending President Lincoln; so, we see here an example of "politically correct" attitudes having gone insane, which, for me, just makes "Holiday Inn" that much more interesting.
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The same phenomenon, as occurred with "Holiday Inn" and its remake,"White Christmas," can be recognized, for instance, with "Silk Stockings," the 1957 color remake of 1939's B&W "Ninotchka," where the original seems the superior version to many. Ironically, "Silk Stockings" stars Fred Astaire who turned down the opportunity to reprise his co-starring role from "Holiday Inn" when given the script for "White Christmas" to read! Perhaps Fred regretted that 1954 decision by the time 1957 rolled around, or maybe it was simply the chance to co-star with Cyd Charisse (for the third time) in "Silk Stockings" that swayed his decision for that film. And another example of a 1950's color remake which fell short of its classic, 40's, B&W original, would be "The Birds and the Bees," a 1956 version of 1941's "The Lady Eve." Of course, the absolute epitome of foolishness in Hollywood's silly trend during the 1950s to remake great B&W films, from prior decades, as lavish color musicals, can be seen in the film, "High Society," which attempts to redo 1940's "The Philadelphia Story," but with Bing Crosby in Cary Grant's role, Frank Sinatra in James Stewart's role, and Grace Kelly subbing for Katherine Hepburn. What WERE they thinking when they did that?!?
18. A Christmas Story (1983) 8.0 (recent IMDb user rating)
"A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas..."
One of the most violent "Christmas movies" ever made, this is the story of meek little Ralphie Parker, a nine-year-old schoolboy in small town Indiana (circa, the 1940s) who, when pestered by some local bullies ("Scut Farkus" & "Grover Dill"), while on his way home from his school, knocks Grover Dill to the ground, beats Scut's face bloody, and then pounds Scut's head into the snow-covered ground numerous times! Despite Ralphie's sudden uncharacteristically sadistic behavior, for Christmas, he is rewarded by his father (over the strenuous objections of his mother, his school teacher, and EVEN Santa Claus) with his heart's most passionate desire, a Red Ryder Carbine Action, 200-Shot, Range Model Air Rifle (or BB gun), with which, over the next few weeks, he proceeds to shoot out not only both of his own eyes, but also the eyes of everyone else in the entire neighborhood! [Just kidding.]
19. The Holiday (2006) 6.9 (recent IMDb user rating)
This delightful film has Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet on the prowl for love and sex in both England and California during the Christmas holidays. Plus, it offers probably the best romantic performance ever given by Jude Law, with some nice comedic counterpoint from Jack Black who keeps "grazing" Kate's boobs. What more needs to be said?
20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.6 (recent IMDb user rating)
This is the famous Christmas classic, directed by Frank Capra, which many people cite as their #1 favorite holiday film. While it obviously does not suck, it is (in my view) an amazingly overrated movie. First, it is just one among many in a long line of films about Heavenly angels who are dispatched to Earth to intercede in the lives of deserving (or not so deserving) humans; and while "Clarence," the bumbling, novice angel-in-training, nicely played by Henry Travers, is fine, he's no Cary Grant, nor is he even a Don Cheadle. Second, even though this clearly is a "fantasy" tale, and while the closely examined life of Jimmy Stewart's character, "George Bailey," certainly seems to have brought some significant good to the lives of a number of the other characters, the movie stretches credulity to the breaking point in making its (far too weak) case for the absolute "Hell on Earth" their small town would inevitably have become if this one particular man had never been born! If this film was not quite so maudlin, or maybe if it had a more central element of real romance in the storyline, it would be a superior movie, I believe. I guess movies based on potential suicides (brought on by depression over lost opportunities) and the eventual salvation of such sorrowful characters from themselves, just aren't my cup of tea. On the other hand, as I said up above, "it doesn't suck," and is easily capable of being enjoyed on the level at which it exists.
21. Millions (2005) 7.2 (recent IMDb user rating)
"Millions" is a movie I almost skipped for this list of particular "holiday" films because it strikes me as being suitable for all seasons, equally, even though it takes place during the X-mas season. But it truly *IS* a "Christmas movie" in that it clearly attempts to focus on the "real meaning" of Christianity in a way that isn't even touched upon in many films purportedly "aimed at" the holiday's audiences. Directed by Danny Boyle-- who also helmed Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Sunshine-- it's set in the suburbs of Manchester, England, apparently at some future point in time when the British pound is about to soon be eliminated as the official currency of Great Britain in favor of the Euro (a change which is not now, and may never be, scheduled to actually occur). "Millions" features a luminous performance by Alex Etel as the 7-year-old "Damian," a religious child who is visited by odd apparitions of Roman Catholic saints. "Damian" and his older brother, "Anthony," who are both still trying to deal with the recent death of their mother, suddenly become "wealthy" beyond their wildest dreams when a bag filled with money seems to fall straight from Heaven into Damian's little cardboard "religious retreat" he has set up near some railroad tracks. The rest of the film (and its messages) grow out of how the two boys (and the film's other characters) relate to the money; that is, how they spend, disburse, covet, or otherwise dispose of the cash.
22. La Bûche (1999) 6.4 (recent IMDb user rating)
"Christmas, family, and infidelity." It features Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emmanuelle Béart, Sabine Azéma, Christopher Thompson, and others, all on the prowl for love and sex in France over the holidays while the dysfunctional family that brings them all together for a rare Christmas dinner, struggles with the many pressures of the season -- what more could one ask of any "holiday" film?
23. Hocus Pocus (1993) 5.7 (recent IMDb user rating)
There are lots of scary films that many people repeatedly enjoy during the Halloween holiday every year, and some of those movies are superb, but I would question whether they really qualify as films which are centered on the holiday of Halloween itself. Many such favorite "Halloween" scare-fests are simply generic horror films which could just as well take place in January or July or any other time of year. But Hocus Pocus is, by far, the best film I know of, that seems to actually be focused on the Halloween holiday. In turns, it alternates back and forth between being delightfully humorous and quite scary. Plus, it includes excellent performances from both Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, as well as a truly stunning performance from Bette Midler-- who, together, portray three witches, the long-deceased "Sanderson sisters" from 17th century Salem, Massachusetts. By mistake, they are brought back to life by some children through the use of a magic spell, and into our modern times, on Halloween. In one of the film's most hilarious segments, the three newly reincarnated (but somewhat confused) witches mistake Garry Marshall for the real Satan! Marshall is dressed up for the holiday in a red devil's costume, and he welcomes them into his home, believing they are adult trick or treaters! Eventually, the film turns a lot darker as it becomes clear that the three witches will require children as "sacrifices" so they may extract and ingest the life essences from those youngsters to maintain their own unnaturally prolonged, wicked existences.
24. White Christmas (1954) 7.2 (recent IMDb user rating)
Directed by the great Michael Curtiz, "White Christmas," starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, and featuring songs by Irving Berlin, is a lavishly produced musical, shot in Technicolor and VISTAVISION, which is, basically, a loose "remake" of an earlier Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire vehicle, "Holiday Inn," that was made in B&W 12 years before. Astaire chose not to be in this version and was ultimately replaced by Kaye. The plot involves the efforts of Bing and Danny (who play a professional song and dance team), along with the aid of the two female leads, to "save" the financially distressed Vermont resort that is now owned by a man who used to be their commanding officer when they were Army buddies during WWII. Much of the glory of this film is to be found in the musical score and the songs, all of which were entirely composed by Berlin, and which include about half new music, written specifically for this film, and about half older numbers originally written for prior shows. Obviously, this film's "title number" is one of the older songs, as it debuted in "Holiday Inn" well over a decade earlier. Regardless of whether one prefers this movie or "Holiday Inn"-- and a rather strong case may be made for either-- the film, "White Christmas," just like the song which it is built around, has become a revered holiday classic and is certain to remain so, far into the future.
25. Bad Santa (2003) 7.2 (recent IMDb user rating)
It's not difficult to imagine that many people might be tempted to argue with the inclusion of "Bad Santa" (or its slightly more explicit twin, "Badder Santa") on this list. However, this film was directed by Terry Zwigoff, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starred Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Bernie Mac, John Ritter (in his final live-action movie performance), and Lauren Graham-- very talented people, all! Let's just be content to say that "Bad Santa" features Billy Bob Thornton (as a drunken store Santa) and Tony Cox (as his twisted "elf" helper) on the prowl for kinky sex, massive quantities of hard liquor, and as much ill-gotten booty as they can steal from the shopping malls of America over Christmastide. And if someone foolishly happens to "love" either of them, despite all efforts to push such pesky nuisances away, so be it! I guess one has to be capable of tolerating (if not of enjoying) this sort of crude humor; however, somewhere, buried among the scenes of meaningless but wall-shaking sex in department store dressing rooms, their exceedingly intoxicated, "falling-down-drunk" behavior, and the puke jokes, the redeeming aspect of a real "Christmas message" peeks out at us by the end of the movie, due to the almost irrational dedication to this depraved version of "Santa" by a young boy who is a rather strange outcast himself.
Spencer
posted by Kate & Spencer @ 11/28/2007 11:45:00 AM
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