Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Holiday Movies, Part Deux

Okay, so Heather already gabbed about her favorite romantic holiday movies, but I get to have my say, too. (Don't worry, there won't be much overlap.) For the sake of clarity (and my general obsessive-compulsive organization) I'll separate my choices by category.

CLASSICS

My number one, all-time favorite holiday movie absolutely has to be WHITE CHRISTMAS. I love everything about this movie--the comedy is genius, the music addictive, and the story just wonderful. It is not Christmas in my world until I've watched

Other classics I love:
  • THE BISHOP'S WIFE (A thousand times better than the Whitney Houston remake, even with Denzel Washington. I'd like to request Cary Grant as a guardian angel, please.)
  • IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Who doesn't love this classic? Although I will admit that I can only watch every other year, or so. I can only take so much super-sweet.)
  • Unlike apparently every other person on the planet, I don't love A CHRISTMAS STORY. In fact, I kind of hate it. (I watched it once as a kid and have never recovered from the tongue-to-a-frozen-flagpole trauma.)

ANIMATED

The two that I own are HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (Can't you just hear, "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch? No? Well, then click here.) and A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (I can't resist that sad little tree.)

I also adore THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Tim Burton is, quite obviously, a genius and he manages to make this dark, spooky film be totally full of the Christmas spirit.

MODERN


Here's where the choices get a bit more personal. There have been a lot of great holiday movies in the last twenty-or-so years. Some are very securely Christmas movies (Think HOME ALONE, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION, and THE SANTA CLAUSE.) While others are holiday set, but don't necessarily feel like Christmas (For me, these include LOVE ACTUALLY, THE HOLIDAY, and YOU'VE GOT MAIL.)

But my absolute favorite new holiday movie from the last few years has to be (don't laugh) HOLIDAY IN HANDCUFFS, starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. Right there you have two of the major pros: MJ and Mario. I've always been a Melissa Joan Hart fan (everything from Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Drive Me Crazy) and I think she's a charming actress. And Mario Lopez is ... well, MARIO LOPEZ. He's hot, plus you get to see him shirtless! Also, the premise is delightful. Here's the blurb from imdb.com:
A struggling artist working as waitress kidnaps one of her customers to bring home and meet her parents at Christmas.

If you didn't catch this movie when it debuted last year, or when it played on ABC Family earlier this month, then I highly recommend you queue it up in Netflix. I'm so bummed that I missed it on the DVR that I'm going to order it from Amazon--it's only 9.99!

Okay, your turn to share. Do you have any favorite holiday movies that you're almost embarassed to admit you like? Do you have any contrasting opinions on my selections? I can just hear the defenders of A CHRISTMAS STORY warming up their typing fingers. Bring it on!

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tera!

You mentioned Holiday in Handcuffs . . . I watched it last year and *loved* it! I’ve been an MJH fan since she was Clarissa Darling on Nickelodeon. Anyway, I keep missing it when they show it on ABC Family, and found out that you can watch it online. I haven’t yet, and there are commercial interruptions (even online), but it looks like the whole movie is there, if anyone wants to check it out:

http://community.abcfamily.go.com/watch

I completely agree with you about White Christmas, and am adding “The Muppet Christmas Carol” to the top of my list. Nobody does Dickens like Gonzo. :)

~Leigh Brescia~
One Wish, 2009

TinaFerraro said...

I am putting Holiday in Handcuffs on my Netflix. But my all-time favorite holiday movie is Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck and Denis Morgan. I can't see it enough...

TinaFerraro said...

Me again...Netflix doesn't have it! I guess I'll have to look for it on ABC Family.

TinaFerraro said...

Hey, all, you can watch it on the Family Channel website:

http://community.abcfamily.go.com/watch/25-days-christmas

TinaFerraro said...

Make that ABC Family Channel. (And now I'm done posting here...I swear!)

stephhale said...

I am absolutely addicted to cheesy Lifetime, ABC Family, and Hallmark Christmas movies. I have about six on my Tivo list waiting to be watched right now. I loved Holiday in Handcuffs! You are not alone, TLC!
Oh, and I like A Christmas Story too. We went to see Four Christmases (which will be a classic) and we were happy to see the little boy from A Christmas Story had a cameo (as an airline ticket agent)!

Marley Gibson said...

Another vote for CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT and also for HOLIDAY INN with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. = )

Heather Davis said...

Yes... I like Christmas Story, too! I even like the Hallmark movies and ABC stuff - I'm a sucker for the cheese, also. I like Rudolph - the one with the elf dentist and the Abominable Snowman. And -- what about Elf??? Will Ferrel's cute holiday flick? Maple syrup on everything!!

Hugs,
Heath