5. Home Alone (1990)
This movie was a smash hit when it came out, and it's not hard to see why. 8-year-old Kevin McAllister gets left behind when his big family heads to Paris for Christmas, and unluckily for him, two burglars - Harvy and Marv, known as the Wet Bandits - having been casin' the joint and decide to break in. They realize that Kevin's around, and for some reason plot revenge on him. I guess they really wanted to rob his house. Kevin sets up an awesome Rube Goldberg-esque contraption of tricks that pretty much beats the crap out of them and scares them off until they get arrested. Kevin's mom comes home and all is well. Say it with me now: awww!
Reasons to love this movie: It's pretty much every kid's dream: being home alone and getting to do whatever you want and outsmarting a pair of adults. Add some comedic violence to the mix, and you've got yourself a hit!
Plus, there's the adorable Macaulay Culkin. This film catapaulted him into childhood stardom, and his signature hands-on-his-face-screaming-AHHHHHH! was mimicked by millions of people for years (and is still recognizable today). Kevin is likeable and smart - we, as the audience, are definitely on his side from the get-go. Plus, he's just so darn cute!
The film also packs a surprising emotional punch. It's hard not to tear up a little when Kevin is reunited with his family, and there's a sidestory of Kevin's lonely neighbour, Marley, who saves Kevin when Harvey and Marv trap him. Marley seems mysterious and creepy when we first see him, but it turns out he's lonley because of his estrangement with his son. At the end of the film, Kevin convinces Marley call his son, and sure enough, father and son are reunited, and it's all very heartwarming.
Also - John Candy has small role in the movie. RIP Mr. Candy, you were a legend.
Favourite Moment: It's hard not to love the climax, when Harv and Marv fall right into Kevin's boobytraps, but my favourite moment has to be when Kevin stages an elaborate "party" with dummies on strings and a cardboard cutout of some basketball player taped to a toy train. Smart idea!
4. Christmas Vacation (1989)
Considered a must-see at every holiday season, the movie has Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) try to bring the Christmas spirit to his slightly insane, often unappreciating family, only to be thwarted time and again. It's one of those movies that does better to be seen rather than described, so I urge you to get your hands on it, or just wait for it to be played on TV. Trust me, there's no way you can possibly miss it, since dozens of channels play it multiple times. (Not that I'm complaining!)
Reasons to love this movie: It's funny! The laugh out loud kind of funny. It has its touching moments - you just can't help but feel sorry for Clark when everything keeps going wrong, but you also can't help laughing either.
This may or may not be a reason to love the movie, but it inspired many people to put up their Christmas lights, Griswold-style (see below).
Favourite moment: There are many, but my two favourites are when the Griswolds, out to buy their Christmas tree, end up underneath an 18-wheeler (it sounds kind of gruesome when I put it that way, but it's actually a hilarious moment), and when Clark goes tobagganing. See it to believe it, folks.
3. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
I've probably seen this movie at least 50 times. I know almost all of the dialouge, and yet somehow, I love it more every time I see it. It's about a young woman named Lucy (Sandra Bullock) who lives alone and spends her days working at the subway in love with a stranger (Peter Gallagher), On Christmas day, the stranger gets pushed onto the tracks and Lucy saves his life. At the hospital, though, there's a mix up, and a well-meaning nurse tells everyone-the doctors, police, Stranger's family- that Lucy is his fiancee. The family adopts Lucy as one of their own, and since she has no family, and since Stranger (whose name is Peter) is in a coma, she goes along with it. Things get even more complicate when she meets Jack, Peter's brother, played by Bill Pullman, and realizes she's falling for him. Peter wakes up, and things get even more complicated. It ends happily, more or less, but I won't spoil it for you.
Reasons to love this movie: A lot of reasons. A great cast, a great script, a fun story. I love how every character is well developed and has his or her own voice. There are no "types" in the film: no comedically overly-sexualized grandmother, no bitchy mother-in-law. Lucy's likeable, but she's not the "oh I'm so beautiful even though I pretend I'm not, and I'm soooo perfect but like totally not aware of it!" heroine of more recent romcoms. Even the minor characters are likeable and not steretyped, which is awesome. No horny and single or gay best friend in site! Thank God!
(Note: I'm not against gay people at all. I just hate how so many romantic comedies make the heroine's bff a gay man. So not original, movie makers. Same goes with the female best friend who is horny and single and pathetically desperate. Not original.)
Anyway, there a lot of little moments that make the movie shine - the paper boy slipping on the ice, Lucy draping her cat in tinsel when she's decorating, that kind of thing.
Plus, it's a sweet movie. It'll give you the warm fuzzies, if nothing else.
Favourite moment: The scene where Lucy and Jack have to cross a patch of ice to get to her apartment. It's hilarious and always makes me laugh. It's also the moment where they fall for each other! *cue The Look of Love.
2. The Santa Clause (1994)
Ah, an old favourite. My childhood best friend and I used to watch this every Christmas Eve day and get terribly excited for Christmas. I watched it the other day for the first time in years, and I still love it.Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is kind of a jerky divorcee who doesn't spend much time with his (and I have to admit it) whiny brat of a child, Charlie. Charlie spends Christmas Eve with Scott, and in the middle of it, Scott accidentally kills Santa and has to take his place. At first Scott resists becoming the new Kris Kringle, but it brings him closer to Charlie, so he goes with it. Things turn sour when Charlie's mom, Laura, thinks Scott is being a bad parent for letting Charlie believe all this Your-Dad-is-Santa business, and Scott's vistation rights are taken away and it's pretty sad. But no worries, things turn out well in the end!
Reasons to love this movie: It's a really fun premise that just seems so cool to a kid. I mean, really. Your dad is Santa? Pretty much the coolest dad ever. Plus, Tim Allen is hilarious, and there are some really great jokes that go over kids' heads when they watch it. But there are some emotional moments, too - such as when Scott is no longer allowed to see Charlie. Have some Kleenex on standby.
Favouriet moment: The scenes where Scott has to act as Santa are pretty damn funny. Scott's grumbling and groaning, knocking trees over and essentially scarring children for life. But I also love seeing Scott and Charlie arrive at the North Pole for the first time - it's pretty magical.
And the best Christmas movie is...
1. Love Actually (2003)
Definitely my favourite Christmas movie, and one of my favourite movies, period. It's a little complicated to describe, since there are multiple plots that intertwine. But it's a comedy with pretty much every famous British person ever.
Reasons to love this movie: It's just so good! Everyone will enjoy at least one of the plots, if not all. It's funny and original, and unlike many romantic comedies, not every story ends happily. Some of them just end, period, and I love it. There are also some moments that will have you tearing up. Hell, the opening sequence does it for me.
Sorry it's a link, but every single scene had embedding turned off.
And did I mention it's funny? Because it is. I've seen this movie a dozen times and I still laugh out loud constantly throughout. And there's always something new to laugh at, too.
Favourite moment: I seriously can't choose. I can't even choose my favourite storyline. Any time Bill Nighy pops up, it's sure to be comedy gold. And there's the whole lobsters in the Nativity play thing, and Rowan Atkinson being awesome...oh, and the wedding scene, and the - well, pretty much the whole movie.
I think it's kind of awesome that I was one of the few people I know who actually saw this movie in theatres. One friend saw it as well, but she's the only one. And yet now this movie is hugely popular. I was ahead of the curve. But that's just how I roll.
Happy holidays, everyone!
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