5 Best Christmas Films Ever

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176 Journalist Iain MacIntosh gives us his 5 Best Christmas Films Ever.

 

 

 

 

5 - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Easily the best of all the National Lampoon movies, Christmas Vacation is Chevy Chase at the top of his game, all bulging eyes, throbbing veins and merciless put-downs. A perfectly-paced, perfectly-pitched story of a flailing father in the centre of a Christmas storm, Chase is beset on all sides by that most implacable of adversaries; family. Slapstick, particularly the greased-up sledge scene, doesn’t come much better than this, but as those godawful Airplane-wannabe ‘Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans’ clunkers have proved of late, slapstick is nothing without a good script to hold it up. This script, of course, was written by John Hughes, the King of the 80s. Hughes used to put streaks of tippex through gags that would have been have the standout moments of turkeys like Epic Movie.

4 - Scrooged

There is a reason why all the recent interpretations of ‘Christmas Carol’ have been set in Dickensian times. It is because of Scrooged. While copies of this film remain in existence there is absolutely no point in trying to produce another modern day adaptation. This cannot be bested. Bill Murray is in sensational form as misanthropic, sociopathic TV executive Frank Cross, whose attempts to put on a live Christmas special are derailed by the arrival of three ghosts and an explosive nervous breakdown. Ex-lover Karen Allen is heart-breakingly sweet, rival John Glover is toe-curlingly slimy and Bobcat Goldthwaite is, well, Bobcat Goldthwaite. With recession sweeping the world again, as it did when this film was first released in 1988, it’s a more relevant watch than ever and if you don’t get goosebumps at the end when everyone sings, then you might as well just cancel Christmas. You’re not cut out for it.

 

3 - The Muppet Christmas Carol

Speaking of interpretations of Dickens, no Christmas holiday is complete without another viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Michael Caine plays Ebenezer Scrooge with admirable composure in the face of the complete Jim Henson arsenal, resolutely ploughing through his lines as the madness ensues around him. This is arguably Gonzo’s finest performance on celluloid, a soaring and at times breathtaking portrayal of Dickens as a vulnerable furry blue genius who, with the help of a small cowardly rat, refuses to yields to society and stands proud to tell his story. There are songs, there is laughter and there are tears and, as with all Muppet movies, the best gags will go whistling over the heads of the children, straight to the grown-ups. The shivering mice who loudly complain that their ‘assets are frozen’ being a case in point.

 

2 - It's a Wonderful Life

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. If there’s one problem with It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s that millions of bells must toll in the world every minute of every day. How was it so hard for Clarence the Guardian Angel to get promoted? Statistically speaking, surely he could have just waited for the inevitable jingle and avoided the whole ‘alternative reality’ and ‘convince your human that the world is actually quite nice with him in it’ gig? Mind you, that kind of thinking would probably have ruined one of the finest films of all time, so best not to dwell on it. Anyway, you’ve all seen it, haven’t you? I won’t waste your time with anything other than this; did you know that the New York Times gave Frank Capra’s masterpiece a bit of a panning? It’s true. Apparently, they felt it was too ‘sentimental.’ I know, I know. Too sentimental? That’s the whole point! Next they’ll be saying that ‘Christmas Vacation’ was too funny…

 

1 - Die Hard

There are those who claim that Die Hard cannot be classified as a Christmas movie, but they are wrong. It’s set at Christmas, it’s filled with Christmas songs and the sticky tape that supercop John McClaine uses to lash a pistol to his shoulder has pictures of Father Christmas on. What else do you need? Besides, nothing says Christmas like a barefooted New Yorker single-handedly foiling the plans of a gang of German super-criminals with a combination of biting wit and small arms fire. Goodness me, McClaine even stops to dress a corpse up in a Santa hat and scrawls ‘Now I have a machine-gun, ho ho ho!” on his chest. The only way this film could actually be more Christmassy is if Rudolph was one of the hostages. Actually, that would be awesome. But I digress, perhaps the most poignant moment comes at the end when tubby desk-jockey cop Sgt Al Powell finally learns how to kill again. And isn’t that what Christmas is really all about?

 

From all of us at thecallsheet.co.uk, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful, happy and prosperous New Year

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Iain MacIntosh is a journalist and author living in London. He is a football writer for The New Paper, ESPN, Mirror Football, Unibet and others. Co-Author of 'Football Manager Stole My Life.'