A week or two back we gave you some alternative movies for the Christmas period, but here’s a look at traditional favourites that it’s okay for a lad to love.
By Darragh Harkin
It’s not that I disagree with Emmet’s alternative movies at all – Bad Santa, Gremlins and Die Hard (which is the best action movie ever) are good flicks. But it’s just that, during Christmas, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of tradition. Sure they are schmaltzy and extremely Christmassy but don’t let that put you off as this is one of the only times of the year you can get away with watching movies that aren’t necessarily manly.
I mean it’s not like you are scared of someone seeing you watch one of them is it? Of course not, so enjoy.
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone is on TV every year, which in its own way can be a bad thing, but the reason it’s on so regularly is because it’s one of the finest and funniest family movies of all time. The plot of an eight-year-old boy getting left home alone at Christmas time doesn’t seem funny initially but throw in a few bungling burglars along with John Hughes’s writing and the laughs start to flow. Couple this with one of the finest Christmas movie soundtracks of all time and you have a winner worth checking out time and time again.
Macaulay Culkin does a great job as little Kevin McCallister and when I say great job I mean he manages to stay on screen for long periods without actually annoying you. This can’t be said for many child actors so it should be regarded as an achievement. The ensemble cast are fantastic with Joe Pesci and John Candy my personal favourites. Pesci and Daniel Stern do a great job as the burglars Harry and Marv but I think the real scene stealer is Candy as the Polka King of the Midwest, Gus Polinski. He’s not hugely popular in Chicago but very big in Cheboygan.
Home Alone is great on many levels but it’s the fact that adults, children and even teenagers with bundles of angst can enjoy it together that make it a Christmas classic. That and because it’s set at Christmas, that also makes it a Christmas classic.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Not only is Frank Capra’s timeless classic my favourite Christmas movie, it is also my favourite movie of all time. It’s a tale all too often copied these days about an everyman who needs to be shown how great his life really is before he can appreciate it. In this case the man is George Bailey (not to be confused with a bit rubbish Scottish football manager George Burley) and he lives in the town of Bedford Falls.
George has lived there all his life and despite constantly trying to leave he has never managed to get away. The movie finds him down and out on Christmas Eve, living in an old rundown house with a young family and with some stifling financial troubles. This makes George wonder if the world would have been better off without him and what follows is a story for the ages.
It doesn’t matter that the film was made in the 1940’s, it doesn’t matter that you will probably predict the ending and it certainly doesn’t matter that it’s in black in white, all that really matters is the movie’s message. It is a wonderful life and at Christmas time you can allow yourself to appreciate it a little bit more. It’s a magical movie (yes, I said magical) and I dare say it may even make you cry. Of course they would be tears of solid manliness that even Liam Neeson would be proud of, but it could still happen.
Elf (2003)
If you can’t find some humour and Christmas joy in Elf then you very may well have the surname Scrooge.
Elf is just plain Christmas fun and in Will Ferrell they have the perfect performer to get the most out of a slightly ridiculous plot. He plays an elf named Buddy who is not like other elves as he is actually human, and was raised by them after sneaking into Santa’s sack as a baby. Of course Buddy couldn’t think he was an elf forever so he finds out about his real dad and goes to New York in search of him. Right, so this plot doesn’t make the movie sound as good as it really is but the clip below should help you get in the mood for it.
Those who have watched Elf will surely watch it again and for those of you who haven’t, you should. You won’t regret it.
Scrooged (1988)
This Bill Murray movie is not exactly what you would call a quintessential Christmas movie but it still manages to tick all the right boxes. It has the lovable yet devious protagonist who needs to learn what Christmas is really about and the only way he can learn this is to be visited by three ghosts. Sound familiar? Of course it does as this is an 80s take on the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol”.
In this version Murray is a television station president named Frank Cross. He’s the kind of guy that will send his brother a Christmas present of a towel instead of a VCR and something needs to be done about him. So cue the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future to teach him what’s what but because it’s the 80’s these ghosts are slightly different. They will scare you, punch you in the face and smash a toaster off your head while at the same time trying to help you. It’s a film full of dark humour and comical moments yet manages to round the whole thing up with an extremely Christmassy ending.
If you haven’t seen Scrooged before the clip below comes with a spoiler alert as it’s the movie’s final scene. But you’re still going to know the general outcome of the story, right?
A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Ok so it has to be said that this is the weakest movie on my list and a large reason it’s on here would be loyalty to the younger version of me. When I first got to see this movie I was still in primary school and ever since I’ve enjoyed watching it at Christmas time. No it’s not the greatest movie of all time but it is Christmassy and it has Muppets so that’s enough for me. It’s another version of “A Christmas Carol” and though it’s slightly more traditional than the Bill Murray one above, it can’t be too straightforward when Muppets are involved.
The good thing about a Muppet movie is you know what you are going to get. You will have laughter, singing (sometimes too much), dancing (sometimes too much), Miss Piggy giving out (never enough), Gonzo being a legend and an overall feeling of warmth by the time it’s over. So when you combine all these great elements with Christmas you get a good holiday movie. Michael Caine does a fine job as Ebenezer Scrooge while the Muppets play the various Dickens rolls and The Great Gonzo gets to narrate as Charles Dickens.
If you don’t like the Muppets you probably won’t like this movie (you’re also probably alone – Ed.) but for everyone else it’s a nice way to spend some time with your kids, small relations or just on your own as you nurse a Pringles and Celebration hangover during the Christmas period.
If you have a suggestion for better Christmas movies you can pop them in the comment box below or get in touch Darragh Harkin on Twitter and Facebook. Reach out, he’s good craic.
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