A Holiday Celebration: Exploring Underrated Holiday Pictures
A factor that irks me about a lot of present-day Christmas films is their excessive meta-commentary – the gaudy decorations, the formulaic soundtrack choices, and the canned speeches about the true meaning of the season. It could be because the style hadn't yet ossified into formula, movies from the 1940s often explore the holidays from more creative and less anxious angles.
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
An cherished discovery from sifting through 1940s seasonal fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic tale with a brilliant concept: a jovial vagrant winters in a vacant posh mansion each year. During one cold spell, he welcomes fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to live with him, including a former GI and a runaway who happens to be the daughter of the property's rich proprietor. Director Roy Del Ruth imbues the film with a found-family coziness that numerous contemporary holiday movies have to labor to achieve. It beautifully balances a class-conscious narrative on shelter and a delightful urban romance.
Tokyo Godfathers
The acclaimed director's 2003 animated film Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, sad, and profound version on the Christmas story. Inspired by a classic Hollywood film, it centers on a triumvirate of homeless individuals – an drinker, a transgender woman, and a adolescent runaway – who find an left-behind infant on Christmas Eve. Their quest to reunite the infant's mother unleashes a chain of hijinks involving gangsters, immigrants, and apparently magical encounters. The animation celebrates the enchantment of coincidence typically found in seasonal stories, delivering it with a cool-toned visual style that avoids overly sweet feeling.
Meet John Doe
Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life rightly receives much acclaim, his earlier film Meet John Doe is a compelling Christmas story in its own right. Starring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful reporter, the film kicks off with a fictional letter from a man vowing to jump from a rooftop on the holiday in protest. The people's embrace forces the reporter to recruit a man to portray the fictional "John Doe," who then becomes a national symbol for community. The film serves as both an inspiring fable and a pointed critique of wealthy media magnates seeking to manipulate popular feeling for political gain.
Silent Partner
Whereas seasonal horror films are now commonplace, the Christmas thriller remains a strangely underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a fresh discovery. Starring a delightfully menacing Christopher Plummer as a criminal Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank teller, the film pits two types of amoral characters against each other in a stylish and unpredictable tale. Largely ignored upon its initial release, it is worthy of a fresh look for those who prefer their holiday stories with a cold tone.
Almost Christmas
For those who prefer their holiday reunions messy, Almost Christmas is a blast. Featuring a impressive ensemble that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the movie delves into the dynamics of a household gathered to share five days under one home during the festive period. Secret problems come to the surface, leading to scenes of over-the-top farce, such as a showdown where a shotgun is produced. Naturally, the film finds a heartwarming resolution, offering all the entertainment of a seasonal catastrophe without any of the real-life aftermath.
Go
Doug Liman's 1999 movie Go is a Christmas-adjacent story that serves as a teen-oriented riff on crisscrossing stories. Although some of its humor may feel product of the 90s upon a modern viewing, the picture nevertheless boasts many things to appreciate. These are a engaging performance from Sarah Polley to a captivating performance by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous drug dealer who fittingly wears a Santa hat. It captures a particular kind of late-90s cinematic energy set against a holiday setting.
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Preston Sturges's 1940s film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek skips conventional Christmas sentimentality in favor for cheeky comedy. The story follows Betty Hutton's character, who finds herself expecting after a hazy night but cannot remember the father responsible. The bulk of the fun stems from her condition and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's lovestruck Norval Jones to rescue her. Although not obviously a Christmas film at the outset, the narrative culminates on the holiday, revealing that Sturges has crafted a playful interpretation of the nativity, filled with his signature sharp humor.
The Film Better Off Dead
This 1985 teen comedy featuring John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a prime specimen of its era. Cusack's
