BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) A VERY SUNNY CHRISTMAS
This is newish, but it’s already a classic within my Holliday heart. It’s basically a few uncensored episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, but it’s a great Christmas movie-slash-special. It’s vulgar and hilarious, but it’s also pretty heartwarming come the end. In future years, I think this will become a tradition.
(THREE) SCROOGED
Bill Murray being crazy Bill Murray is always fun. It’s a modern take on the Christmas Carol, but it’s Bill Murray and the man can really do no wrong. I remember certain parts of this movie like an old guy freezing to death, Bobcat Goldwait shooting at people, and some big musical number started by Bill. I probably prematurely listed this one, but I sorta wanna watch this again now.
(TWO) HOME ALONE
This is a great movie. I caught some of it last year and it was awesome. It holds up because it was made with a timeless sensibility. Basically, the movie doesn’t flaunt a “hey, look how obvious it is 1991 because of THIS reference” thing. Macaulay Culkin put out one of the best kid performances of all time. I mean that. He CARRIED this movie. The story was light, funny, and out there enough to not be taken too serious. I think that’s why there’s no big problem with anyone when it comes to two burglars trying to break into a house and attack a small child. It was the early 90’s. Things were different back then. (See what I did there? Ha!)
(ONE) NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION
Some people will swear by Christmas Story and the more wholesome ones, but I like the darker ones. Don’t get me wrong, my holidays aren’t complete until I catch the same ten minutes of Christmas Story during the annual marathon. I always dug this Vacation movie more. It was the third of the bunch, but arguable the second best of the bunch. The cast was great and we got to experience a whole bunch of characters we never got to before. The stuff with Chevy Chase going COMPLETELY nuts with the rant towards the end was one of the many things that blew my mind in my youth. It was like poetic vulgarity at its finest. That’s Christmas to me…
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