Every Christmas, I'd stay up watching TNT's 24 hours of A Christmas Story until I knew my parents were in bed, I'd sneak upstairs and start scoping the joint out. How big were the gifts? Who got the most? If I shake this is it obviously LEGOs? At some point, I'd awaken the brothers to partake in the shenanigans. At some point, we'd all go to bed, only to wake up at 5 am, pull the groggy parents from bed, and just about throw up from anticipation while my dad had his first cigarette and coffee and my mom made omelets.
Some of these may not feel inherently like Christmas movies, but trust me, fire the film up on a cold day, wrap a blanket around you, and lose yourself for a few hours.
10. Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
The Muppets are magical creatures. These little puppets are able to express emotion in ways that put daytime soap actors to shame.
And Kermit the frog as Bob Cratchit, come on, there's no better casting in the world.
And Kermit the frog as Bob Cratchit, come on, there's no better casting in the world.
9. Die Hard (1988)
Har har har, the internet joke that has been beaten to death. Yes, I do consider Die Hard a Christmas movie. The whole premise is based around a holiday party gone bad. One of the best scenes is when John McClain sends the dead terrorist to the rest of the baddies with the "Now I have a Machine Gun, Ho Ho Ho" message scrawled on his shirt.
It would be hard to do the same Die Hard with cell phones now, but the expert way the writers were able to explain the isolation John McClain feels is perfect.
8. Four Brothers
They came to bury their mother... and her killers.
I went and saw this in theaters as a sort of joke. Andre 3000 and Marc Wahlberg in a revenge, action film. This is going to be dumb.
Well, there are parts of it that are dumb, but overall this movie is awesome. And it all takes place in the winter in Detroit, so lot's of snow, hockey, and guns.
I went and saw this in theaters as a sort of joke. Andre 3000 and Marc Wahlberg in a revenge, action film. This is going to be dumb.
Well, there are parts of it that are dumb, but overall this movie is awesome. And it all takes place in the winter in Detroit, so lot's of snow, hockey, and guns.
7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Say what? The template for the Christmas movie is only at number 7? Sacrilege.
Well, have you watched it recently? Still a classic, still insanely well acted, but the thing working against It's a Wonder Life is the run time. 2 hours and 10 minutes is too much for this Christmas film. We're not looking for Lord of the Rings, we're looking for snow and a little magic.
6. The Night Before
I would've never watched this movie if Amazon didn't have it for sale for $2 a couple years ago. A stoner Christmas movie is one of those things where they usually throw a bunch of pop-culture jokes at you. Things that don't make sense after a few years.
What you have is a hilarious take on Christmas traditions with three adult best friends. A Christmas miracle through-line. And honestly, it has one of my favorite church scenes in any movie. Seth Rogen, on a lot of drugs, in church for Christmas mass, having a freak out about being Jewish.
I would've never watched this movie if Amazon didn't have it for sale for $2 a couple years ago. A stoner Christmas movie is one of those things where they usually throw a bunch of pop-culture jokes at you. Things that don't make sense after a few years.What you have is a hilarious take on Christmas traditions with three adult best friends. A Christmas miracle through-line. And honestly, it has one of my favorite church scenes in any movie. Seth Rogen, on a lot of drugs, in church for Christmas mass, having a freak out about being Jewish.
5. Scrooged
Pretty much anything Bill Murray is in, I'll watch. He had this sort of underrated late 80s, early 90s where he did a bunch of comedies that were sort of overshadowed by his previous work in Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, and Stripes.
We rented this from the grocery store at least once a year, but many of my friends had never seen it. It's a fantastic 80s take on the Christmas Carol.
4. A Christmas Story
Like I said, this was a staple in my house. I'd watch it for 6 hours straight on TNT. I owned it on VHS and would watch it in the summer. We had a freakin' leg lamp in the house for god's sake.
I don't know if another Christmas movie has created so many quotable lines or scenes. Fragiiiiiileeee, the tongue on the pole, the Chinese Christmas dinner, Santa kicking him down the slide, and of course the Red Rider BB Gun.
Pretty much anything Bill Murray is in, I'll watch. He had this sort of underrated late 80s, early 90s where he did a bunch of comedies that were sort of overshadowed by his previous work in Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, and Stripes.
We rented this from the grocery store at least once a year, but many of my friends had never seen it. It's a fantastic 80s take on the Christmas Carol.
4. A Christmas Story
Like I said, this was a staple in my house. I'd watch it for 6 hours straight on TNT. I owned it on VHS and would watch it in the summer. We had a freakin' leg lamp in the house for god's sake.
I don't know if another Christmas movie has created so many quotable lines or scenes. Fragiiiiiileeee, the tongue on the pole, the Chinese Christmas dinner, Santa kicking him down the slide, and of course the Red Rider BB Gun.
3. White Christmas
It took two tries to get White Christmas right. The original film, Holiday Inn, didn't quite hit and it's especially tough to get through with ... well... the black face... nowadays.
And then a few years later, Bing Crosby got another chance to release his White Christmas single in a near perfect Christmas movie. It has the perfect sentimentality for a Christmas film. It'll make you cry, laugh, and sing along.
It took two tries to get White Christmas right. The original film, Holiday Inn, didn't quite hit and it's especially tough to get through with ... well... the black face... nowadays.And then a few years later, Bing Crosby got another chance to release his White Christmas single in a near perfect Christmas movie. It has the perfect sentimentality for a Christmas film. It'll make you cry, laugh, and sing along.
2. Love Actually
On paper, this British film should bomb terribly. It's got too many actors, too many stories, and tries to cram too much love into a movie that culminates on Christmas.
Instead, the movie leaves you feeling uplifted. It's funny, it's sweet, it's raw, and about every 2 years another movie comes out claiming to be the next, "Love Actually."
On paper, this British film should bomb terribly. It's got too many actors, too many stories, and tries to cram too much love into a movie that culminates on Christmas.
Instead, the movie leaves you feeling uplifted. It's funny, it's sweet, it's raw, and about every 2 years another movie comes out claiming to be the next, "Love Actually."
1. The Family Stone
I went and saw this with a girl I had a huge crush on in high-school because her little sister wanted to see it in theaters. Us being too cool for school, thought we were about to have a new movie we could make fun of with endless inside jokes everyone else would hate.
Instead we both left the theater bawling our eyes out, trying to hide our faces from the other one.
I went and saw this with a girl I had a huge crush on in high-school because her little sister wanted to see it in theaters. Us being too cool for school, thought we were about to have a new movie we could make fun of with endless inside jokes everyone else would hate.
Instead we both left the theater bawling our eyes out, trying to hide our faces from the other one.
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