Tis the season for … “Holiday” movies. Yes every year at this time we get a proliferation of somewhat related to Christmas movies. Now I am a fool for these movies, even some of the worse of them the B movies of the season. The nebulous message of family is important is indeed an important message and considering the themes of so many movies, this aspect is a least welcome. Though while I can enjoy a badly made movie purely for the enjoyment of its b-ness, I of course also enjoy the movie that is artfully made with good scriptwriting, directing, acting, etc.
Now I don’t pretend to be a movie critic or play one since my abilities are lacking in that direction and I am unable to dissect a movie as to what makes it good or bad at a high level. Regardless I will forge ahead.
I was thinking on the topic of what are the best Christmas movies and for the most part I could only really think of what are my favorite Christmas movies have little to do with the celebration of Christ being born – though there is often at least some connection however thin.
It seems that most of these movies spend more time proving that Santa is real. Writers seem to be firmly of the Santa Clause apologists camp. “Yes Virginia, Santa Claus is real.” Now interacting with myths and playacting this type of belief is no problem with me. A good imagination can enjoy the Faery Story and have fun with believing Fairies are real in imaginative playacting. Movies though in the vein of showing that Jesus is true and in fact Truth himself are rather scarce and especially scarce during Christmas.
Now for me the perfect Christmas movie would involve the very themes regarding the Christ child. Now this does not mean that it must be a movie based on the actual event of the Nativity of Christ. Advent is the season of joyful waiting for the Incarnation and the Incarnation itself something we can meditate on endlessly. God became man not to just hang out with his creation, but he came as the Messiah, a redeemer to redeem us from our sins. Redemption from our sins is the one gift nobody could give us on Christmas, but Jesus. Plus Jesus continues to give us this gift through the sacraments and the priesthood he also gave us as a gift. We are sinners and we need redemption and the Incarnation and later Crucifixion and Resurrection are the crucial events in human history. So again for me a perfect Christmas movie would involve acknowledgment of sin and our redemption and the very mercy of God that made this possible.
Maybe Dickens’ The Christmas Carol is one of the most popular Christmas stories because it touches on these themes. Scrooge the greedy sinner treats others as objects in attainment of more money. The three spirits show him the errors of his ways and he repents of his sins and becomes giving to others on Christmas Day the Feast of the Incarnation.
Every year I once again watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but it’s not the perfect Christmas movie. George Bailey the compassionate man who gives himself for others and puts aside his own ambition to help others gets caught up in the tide of events moving against him and attempts suicide only to be stopped by an Angel who shows how his life had impacted others to the good. There is much in this movie that I so love, but sin and redemption is not much of a factor.
I’ve also watch Elf on Christmas Eve every year since it came out and I always enjoy it. The six foot “Elf” who leaves the North Pole to find his father is quite funny situationally and Will Farrell really pulls of Buddy the Elf – something he is very hit and miss with regarding his characters. It is part of the Santa Clause is real and family is important camp.
One of the worst Christmas movies is “Jingle all the way” with Arnold Swartzenegger and Sinbad. This movie is so bad that of course I watch it every year and provide my own Mystery Science Theatre 3000 soundtrack. This one falls in the perils of materialism and family is important camp. Though I have my limits on bad Christmas movies and thus have not seen “Christmas with the Kranks”, “Surviving Christmas”, and “Deck the Halls.”
You might think “The Nativity Story” would place itself well having actual Christmas themes. This is one case where I am at odds with Catholic film critic Steven Greydanus who views the film more favorable then myself. I regard Steven Greydanus as the film critic whose taste most matches my own and have found his reviews to greatly inform me. The times when I have ignored his advice on a movie has always been to my detriment. I re-watched “The Nativity Story” last year and my original feelings were reinforced. The theological arguments against the movie were not the reason and I think Mr Greydanus wrote a very good article on the subject of the Virgin Mary and birthing pains. A Virgin Mary with teenage angst was a bit much for me. Plus the visuals were so underwhelming in regards to the angels, especially only having one Angel talk to the shepherds. No multitude of Angels showing the glory of God. Now I can see some argument for understating a miracle visually since you are never going to fully reflect it, still this is a scene I have meditate on and those words bring so much more to me than understated visuals in the film. I think I am more annoyed at what they could have done with the film than what was actually done. I didn’t hate the movie and some parts were nicely done such as the Visitation (though a Visitation without the Magnificat). Plus the movie’s failure at the box office ensures we will not see the story retold by someone more fully capable artistically.
I’ve only watched “A Christmas Story” twice. I was initially prejudiced against it since any movie Ted Turner decided should be played for 24 hours on Christmas must be problematic. The Christmas Story is hardly a Christmas story, though there are certainly some pretty funny scenes in it along with many lines that have crept into the culture. Plus I mostly like anything with Darren McGavin in it since Kolchak: The Night Stalker was one of my favorite series growing up. This one is partly in the family is important camp. I would also put National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation
as being close to “A Christmas Story” in tone and the type of humor.
The animated version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a classic for good reasons, though once again this is a movie in the family is important camp and the decrying of the materialistic aspects of Christmas. But it does contain a conversion story in it and as such like The Christmas Carol could partly explain why this is such a classic. The movie version though while touching on the same themes is just plain horrible – Anathema Sit Ron Howard
The original version of “Miracle on 34th Street” is still a good watch, but again part of the Santa is real and family is important genre. The parent of the little (Natalie Wood) will not play along with the idea of Santa since it would involve lying to her daughter. I was reminded of this because of a caller from an eleven year old to Jimmy Akin on Catholic answers. The boy asked if telling a child about Santa was a sin. Jimmy’s answers was appropriately nuanced, but he said if he ever has kids that he would not lie to them about this. Though he went on to explain that when the child was of an age to understand that playing along with it was fine. This playing along I would imagine to be at the same level when we play along with the Santa is real movies knowing the difference between the historical Saint Nicholas and the various mythical legends that arose later. This though is a prudential question for parents as Jimmy Akin also explained.
Then of course there are the Tim Allen Christmas movies “Stinkin’ up Christmas since …” Yet more movies in the Santa is real and family is important genre weakened by a divorced family. To be fair the first The Santa Clause movie was an okay film and even re-watchable. The same can not be said for the second one and the third one was disastrously bad. Luckily the series stopped, but Tim Allen did not stop making bad Christmas movies.
Secular Christmas movies are nothing new and even some great films considered Christmas movies such as “Christmas in Connecticut”, “White Christmas”, “Holiday Inn”, etc.
Even the first Die Hard is in the family is important genre as a Christmas movie.
Being a film lover, but not a film geek I wonder what are the films that have themes of sin and redemption that are connected to Jesus who made that redemption possible and what are your favorite Christmas movies?
17 comments
Being a sucker for all things Capra, I do love It’s a Wonderful Life. (Have you read Capra’s autobiography? It’s fascinating, and well worth the read.)
It’s just not Christmas in my family until we’ve watched A Christmas Story, mostly because it’s so normal. The family isn’t any better or worse than most families we know, the kids want ordinary things…it’s just kind of nice.
We have a long-standing tradition of reading A Christmas Carol out loud every year (at least, until my sister and I departed for college) and have to watch the two best versions of the film every year: the 1984 George C Scott made-for-tv version (definitely the best adaptation) and the Muppet Christmas Carol (oddly enough, the second most accurate adaptation).
Oh, I almost forgot! I also love The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Assumes the truth of the Nativity Story AND has themes of sin and redemption. 🙂
I am a Christmas movie snob, and proud of it. The movie you have to search out is an old 40s film called “The Cheaters”. It builds and builds to one of the great comic Christmas endings, which nicely ties in w the Nativity. I also greatly admire “Remember the Night”, which, while not touching explicitly about the Nativity, has altruism and forgiveness on it’s mind. For comic madness, I love The Man Who Came to Dinner and It Happened on 5th Avenue.
Nick Alexander, should have remembered The Man Who Came to Dinner which is not only a fav, but I played in the stage production of it.
The Cheaters sounds intriguing and it isn’t on Netflix unfortunately.
Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s one of a very few which mentions the nativity.
Every now and then The Cheaters plays on TCM. Or, I would recommend purchasing it.
Just remembered–The Waltons’ premiere episode (The Homecoming) has a lot of Bible talk in a number of scenes. Quite good.
My opposition to The Nativity Story has entirely to do with the movie being boring. I didn’t notice the Virgin Mary having teenage angst in that movie; I didn’t notice her having a personality. I didn’t notice anybody speaking above a mumble, either.
I appreciated the mostly accurate reconstructions of the architecture, but really didn’t appreciate the gutless, milquetoast depiction of everything, apparently designed to make it appeal to the broadest possible audience, with the result that it could not possibly appeal to anybody.
I do remember that particular weekend in movie history, my choices came down to The Nativity Story and Eragon. Slim pickings indeed.
Well, let’s see, in the Die Hard vein you could add Lethal Weapon, which is set at Christmas time and actually has sort of a redemption story in the Mel Gibson character – I haven’t seen it in ages, but the original The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant was a favorite of my mom’s – There’s not much redemption or family in Gremlins, but I suppose it could work as a lesson against concentrating on presents at Christmas time – The Ref is probably a bit too top-heavy with vulgarity, but the married couple do move towards redemption and reconciliation by the end – and then there’s always the Star Wars Holiday Special, which has no redeeming qualities in itself, but will have you praying for the redemption of George Lucas’ soul by the time it’s over.
We enjoy The Bells of St. Mary. While it isn’t a “Christmas movie”, it is solidly Catholic. There is a scene where the wee ones are putting on a Christmas pagent in the classroom (that they put together all by themselves). To honor the Christ-child, they sing “Happy Birthday” and at the Holy Name, everyone of them bows their heads. Pure awesome! It also has wonderful themes of change, redemption, and obedience. Not to mention Ingrid Bergman giving boxing lessons in a nun’s habit and Bing Crosby singing “O Sanctissima”. ^_^ Love it!
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe of course!
My favorite is the old Loretta Young Movie Come to the Stable. Does Ignatius Press have a copy available?
My favorite movie is “The Fictional Reality Santa” and “IT” starts off after The second World War and we follow this guy into the eighties and later years where he going into church basements with his shadow and tries to convince people that he’s the real Santa. He later starts to realize that future generations will soon need another spiritual santa because his time as almost come to an end cause no one really believes in him. “IT” goes on to where we see him playing Santa and there’s one seen where he does such a great job that a couple of Vietnamese children who’s parents had gotten off a boat years earlier asked him if he was the real santa and “IT” was kind of sad when he looked them in the eyes and had to tell them “NO” because of their lack of faith.
I’ll close by saying that we God’s Children all should know that Santa lives in the vast dimention of all our loving heart of hearts and leave “IT” at that for now.
Merry Christmas to all
Blazing Saddles. Yes, Blazing Saddles!
Sheriff Bart is a man unjustly condemned to death. He comes to the people of Red Rock, by whom he is a man scorned and despised, yet he pours himself out body and soul to help the townsfolk. Despite their hostility, their racism, their pettiness, with the help of Sheriff Bart, they are redeemed and rescued – and they learn, in the process of their redemption, to welcome the outsider, the foreign, and even the Irish.
No doubt about it, Blazing Saddles is the perfect Christmas movie.
One undersung program is the Garfield Christmas special. The lesson about family and togetherness learned isn’t shoved down my throat, just letting the usually grumpy cat find he enjoys being with his people during the season. “It’s not the getting, or the giving, it’s the loving.” Maybe not explicit about some things, but a good thought for us all. I always put this next to a Charlie Brown Christmas in its impact.
“A Muppets Christmas Carol” is one of our family favorites. Michael Caine does a nice job as Scrooge, and except for one really cheesy song, it’s a nice adaptation of the story.
“The Shop around the Corner” a very old movie with a young Jimmy Stewart. Sweet love story, funny scenes, set around Christmas
At one time I enjoyed Scrooged, though nowadays not so much; Bill Murray isn’t my favorite Christmas ham. They used to play the musical Scrooge every year, but it’s now been a very long time since I’ve seen it. The George C. Scott version isn’t bad, but I now tend more towards the one with Capt. Picard—er, Patrick Stewart. I’d love to see The Bells of St. Mary again! Bad Santa is appropriately titled. I never could see what everyone else saw in A Christmas Story, just as I couldn’t make myself laugh at Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. (I know I have a funny bone somewhere …?) Tim Ferguson, I never thought of Blazing Saddles that way; I’m sure if Mel Brooks thought for a second that he’d made a Christian movie, he’d rend his garment. (The Yiddish-speaking Indian chief never fails to break me up: “Schvartzers! Nayn, zi gayts meshuggeh! Lass ihm gay!”)
But you’re right, Jeff, someone should write and produce a movie which brings out the Christmas theme without being a re-tell of the Nativity.