The A-List: The Top Five Holiday Movies of All Time

By J. Don Birnam

December 8, 2014

Somehow, Nighy is the sexiest of them all.

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Then there is a guilty pleasure of mine - Bad Santa, from 2003. I debated endlessly whether to give this crude, at times ridiculous, black comedy film a spot on this list. I decided to give it at least this mention because although the Billy Bob Thornton film may not leave you in the holiday spirit until the very end, when it somewhat sardonically redeems the importance of loyalty, friendship and caring for one another, the lead character is so memorably and casually anti-Christmas (an abusive/abused drunk who has lost all faith in humanity and himself) that clearly there must be some sort of “they’re playing with us at another level” notion going on in this film.

Lest the list of also-rans become longer than the Top Five, I’ll close by mentioning 1983’s A Christmas Story (remember? Ralphie Parker wants a BB gun for Christmas, but the adults in his life know better) and Jim Carrey’s The Grinch. What’s striking about them movie is how they depict that a child’s resolve is more powerful than Christmas itself, and more powerful in many ways. I guess that’s the true spirit of Christmas in a way: to return to our faith now long-list in the innocence of Childhood.




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On to the main event.

5. Home Alone (1990)

After he was done with another great Christmas movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, John Hughes next helmed a now classic film that launched Macauley Caulkin into the iconic status I understand Justin Bieber has today, and which has landed at number five on this list. What child did not dream of having the house to himself to run amok? (Or was that just me?) If you ever felt underappreciated by your siblings and extended family and felt a desire to “teach them a lesson,” you were immediately captured by this hilarious paean to the saying: “be careful what you wish for.” And, predictably, the message is one of discovery of value in that which we had not previously appreciated, and the importance of family. As young Kevin McAllister navigates early adulthood by himself, outmaneuvering those who would harm him, he realizes that, no matter how independent and happy he may feel while alone, Christmas is a time for family, gifts, love, etc. Corny? Perhaps. But I guess I’ll take hopeful and joyous any day of the week, at least this time of year. Unlike some of the other movies I have listed so far, this one deals directly with another important theme of the holidays: forgiveness. I won’t recommend that you “watch” this movie because I assume anyone who is reading this has seen it. I cannot imagine that you haven’t. As a bonus, it features a sequel that achieves the rare feat of being at least above decent and thoroughly watchable (and repeats the Christmas theme to boot!).


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