Being the passionate movie-goer that I am, there is nothing better I enjoy more than watching Christmas flicks back-to-back to get into the festive spirit. Stories of children, elves, and Grinches learning the true meaning of Christmas never fails to bring warmth to my heart and cause my lip to quiver. The 24th and 25th of December are the two days of the year I assign exclusively to watch Polar Express, Gremlins, Home Alone and whatever others I can fit amongst all the other festivities. As such, I tend to be very strict when it comes to indulging in movies which promote Christmas spirit – it wouldn’t sit right with me watching Polar Express in the middle of August! However, there are other films which are often regarded as ‘Christmas’ films that I would not exclusively watch in December.
Before I continue, I’d like to state that the following is purely my opinion and should only be taken as such. I simply wish to weigh in on a very important matter as an avid movie-goer – what truly makes a ‘Christmas’ movie? Currently being the festive season, I have seen a lot of films (and some TV shows) categorised under ‘Christmas’ which I would respectfully disagree with. A prime example is the very thing which sparked me to write this blog – Iron Man 3 being categorised as a Christmas movie. Iron Man 3 is ultimately the conclusion to the (red) and golden Iron Man trilogy starring Robert Downey Jr. It takes a deranged lava-man and a British actor posing as a terrorist for Tony Stark to learn his greatest lesson – if you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it (a lesson he later bestows upon Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming). It seems the reason why Iron Man 3 has been regarded as a Christmas movie is because much of the plot is set during Christmas time. As much as I love to see an Iron Man suit-up scene to a funky rendition of Jingle Bells, this does not make it a ‘Christmas’ movie. This leads nicely onto my main argument – a film whose plot itself is unrelated to Christmas, yet is set during Christmas time, does not make it a Christmas film. The most controversial example of this is Die Hard. Funnily enough being the last film I watched at the time of writing this, I would argue the same for Die Hard. As much as I enjoy Bruce Willis crawling through vents and Snape’s pre-Hogwarts crime phase, I would argue that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie simply because the plot does not actively revolve around the theme of Christmas. Ironically it took me watching it for the first time on Christmas Eve to realise this.
So what does make a Christmas movie? Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with watching Iron Man 3 or Die Hard for the sake of Christmas time. However, if you wish to get into the Christmas spirit by watching films, personally I would recommend a film whose plot is specifically about just that. Many of us spend all year counting down to Christmas; the intrinsic feeling of joy, spreading kindness, hope for the new year, and for many what is one of the few times of the year we can sit down and appreciate the comfort of our loved ones. Elf, Polar Express, The Grinch, are all staples of the Christmas season and lovingly encompass these feelings. But for me personally, an example of a Christmas film which perfectly encompasses the meaning of Christmas is Home Alone. Whilst much of the enjoyment of Home Alone come from watching Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) give Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) their comeuppance, I gain a much deeper level of enjoyment unlike any other film. The freedom and independence of being alone in a huge house, combined with the innocence and care-freeness of childhood, brought a level of escapism in Home Alone which I had never experienced in a film before. But to its core, Home Alone teaches us we often only truly appreciate something when it isn’t there. This is reflected in not only Kevin’s family leaving him, but also the sad story of Marley’s (Roberts Blossom) estranged relationship with his son. I have not once watched the ending of the film without welling up – when Kevin is reunited with his mother and sees Marley hugging his son for the first time in years. To me this is precisely what Christmas about – taking the opportunity to escape the quarrels and stresses of every day life and appreciate the things which we hold dearest. So taking it from me, if you wish to embrace the full capacity of the festive spirit, indulge in films which encompass this message and remind us to show our appreciation and kindness for those around us. That’s what Christmas films mean to me.
G does Films 