It’s a Wonderful Holiday Movie List

The weather is slowly getting colder, the semester is winding down, Starbucks has broken out their seasonal drinks, and Boston is ablaze with twinkly lights and Christmas store displays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, so what better way to get ready for it than by watching some Christmas films? The list below is by no means exhaustive, but it should be enough to whet anyone’s Christmas appetite and get them sufficiently in the mood for some holiday cheer.

The Obscure Film: The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

This 1940 classic film can probably be known as “the other James Stewart Christmas film.” The Shop Around the Corner follows no-nonsense Alfred Kralik (James Stewart), a lonely shop clerk who works in a gift store in Budapest. One day, Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) walks in the store, asking for a job. She is immediately hired by the store’s owner, Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan) and Alfred and Klara quickly become rivals. Unbeknownst to them however, they are each other’s pen pals, and have been slowly falling in love with each other through their correspondence. In real life they remain oblivious to each other’s real identity and continue to bicker and fight.

Known for his wit and playfulness, director Ernst Lubitsch infuses The Shop Around the Corner with his trademark “Lubitsch touch.” The whole film is both charming and very humorous at the same time (there is a subplot concerning novelty cigar boxes that Matuschek wants to stock but no one will actually buy), as the narrative glides along in a leisurely way. As with most romances, it is more about the process of getting together rather than the moment that they get together. Lubitsch gives this screwball rom-com his usual graceful treatment, and it makes for a nice change from the usual It’s a Wonderful Life reruns on TV.

And here’s a fun fact: 1998’s You’ve Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks was based off of The Shop Around the Corner, but with a digital age twist.

The Comedy: Elf (2003)

Elf is one of those films that appeals to everyone’s inner child. When Buddy (Will Farrell) was just a child, he accidentally crawled into Santa’s sack as he was delivering presents to an orphanage. Having grown up as a elf learning all the tricks of the trade from his Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), Buddy has never questioned why he is so different from his fellow merry workers. Turns out though, Buddy is not very good at making toys, and there isn’t much for him to do in the North Pole, so Papa Elf tells him the truth about his real family: his mother Susan has died, but his biological father, Walter, works at a children’s book company in New York. Buddy then sets out for New York City, and gets into all kinds of adventures with his newfound family and Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), a girl he befriends at Gimbel’s and later falls in love with. Full of light-hearted comedy, Elf has a kind of purity that makes it a perfect Christmas staple. Will Farrell puts on a memorable and hilarious performance as the wide-eyed Buddy, making Elf a delightful Christmas comedy that can be enjoyed by both the young and the young at heart.

The Drama: Scrooge (1951)

Everyone knows the story: Ebenezer Scrooge, a lonely, bitter miser is given a chance to change his selfish ways on Christmas Eve when he is confronted by three ghosts in Charles Dickens’ classic tale of redemption. For even the most hard-hearted of cynics, the story can’t help but make us smile at the end of the film when Scrooge finally sees the error of his ways and becomes a man who embodies the spirit of Christmas.

Poster Courtesy of United Artists

With so many adaptations of this famous Christmas tale, why is this particular version worth watching? The best answer for this is Alastair Sim’s exceptional performance as Scrooge. His transformation from tight-wadded cheapskate to a happy, generous man is a delight to watch. At his most despicable, you want to slap the man for being so cruel, but he makes up for it at the end with his infectious glee. This is also one of the most accurate adaptations of Dickens’ novel and at 86 minutes, it is compact enough to not make it slow and cumbersome to watch. If anyone needs a reminder of the true spirit of Christmas, Scrooge is the film for them.

The Animated Film: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

For movie viewers disillusioned with the over-commercialization of Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas will help those who are looking for the true meaning of Christmas to regain their love for the holidays. Charlie Brown, who becomes depressed over his friends’ obsession with holiday gifts, tries to discover what Christmas really means by directing the school play about the Nativity. After becoming increasingly frustrated when his friends only want to use modern music and dance in the play, Charlie Brown sets out to find a Christmas tree to get them all in the “proper mood.” There, he finds many big, shiny aluminum trees, but decides to go for the only real tree there, even though it is small and slightly pathetic. His friends make fun of him for choosing such an ugly tree, but they soon realize how harsh they were on Charlie Brown and ends the film with a rousing chorus of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

Not only does A Charlie Brown Christmas help remind us all of what Christmas is really about, it is also a great dose of nostalgia for people who have watched Charlie Brown and the gang in their childhood. It is a clever short film that thematically, is a lot more grown up than it seems. This is a classic short that will never get old, and deserves a viewing every holiday season.

The Foreign Film: Joyeux Noël (2005)

A film about World War I probably isn’t something that would spring into mind when thinking about holiday films, but Joyeux Noël actually carries a great Christmas message. A sweeping historical film that portrays the unofficial truce of December 1914, the story is told through the eyes of French, Scottish and German soldiers as, for one evening, the fighting is put on hold and they are able to join together to celebrate Christmas.

Joyeux Noël is filled with anti-war sentiment, and does so through the camaraderie of a group of enemy soldiers, that, if the context of war was taken away, could be friends. Even amidst the bloodshed of war, they are able to bond over Christmas carols and champagne, showing the universality of humanity. For a short moment in time, the fact that they are all human beings transcends any notion of country and culture. None of them regret what took place on Christmas Eve, even under the threat of punishment because for one night the goodness of humanity outweighed the bad. The film does veer into sentimentality at times, but the poignant message helps make up for the occasional sappiness. As a war film, it is deftly shot and realistically portrayed and it is further bolstered by a strong cast that does justice to a momentous moment in history.

The Romance: Love Actually (2003)

Poster Couresty of Universal Pictures

Written by Britain’s leading rom-com funny man Richard Curtis (of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Notting Hill fame), Love Actually features an ensemble British cast and follows ten different interweaving romantic stories set in the chaotic five weeks leading up to Christmas. Each story touches upon a different aspect of love – friendship, family, young love, old love, married love, unrequited love, and love at first sight, to name a few – and how it affects all of them during the holiday season.

Love Actually is a romantic comedy on drugs. The audience gets ten times the amount of romance in a single film, but it never gets overwhelming or confusing. Curtis imbues all of his films with his characteristic quirky touch, and Love Actually isn’t any different. It is heartfelt throughout, but it never crosses the line into cheesy and has a great balance of serious passion and aloof comedic relief. Love Actually isn’t just a great romantic film, but it’s also a great Christmas film. Grab a significant other (or, for single people, it doesn’t matter if it is watched alone) and revel in the romance this Christmas.

About Ruth Chan

Ruth Chan (COM '14) is just your average moviegoer. Fortunately, she got a gig here at The Quad and is now lucky enough to write reviews for them. Shoot her a message if you ever want to discuss the geeky world of films with someone.

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