Have a holly jolly Christmas with our ten atypical festive flicks to check out this Holiday season….
This Christmas, skip the classics. Sure, you could watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the twentieth time (and yes, you will no doubt cry again) but if you’re looking for something a little, shall we say, atypical -check out our top ten unconventional Chrimbo treats:
Cause nothing says Christmas like… Batman Returns
The Batman films made by Tim Burton weren’t as good as the two most recent films, to be sure, for a variety of reasons. But they were very well made nonetheless, and still have a great deal to recommend them. This, the second one, happens to take place at Christmastime, providing for a good scene in which the Penguin disrupts the lighting of Gotham City’s Christmas tree.
Cause nothing says Christmas like… Mean Girls
You didn’t think Regina George would let a holiday go by without making it all about her, did you? Even though this scene is probably a perennial favourite for Lindsay Lohan fans nostalgic for the good old days, but it’s also just straight-up hilarious on its own terms, like the rest of the movie.
Cause nothing says Christmas like… Bad Santa
A foul-mouthed little black man and a crotchety, horny white old man make up the odd couple who scheme to pull a heist in a mall. Enter a hot waitress who likes her Bad Santa and you’ve got a black comedy worthy of the title “Most Offensive Christmas Movie – Ever!”
Cause nothing says Christmas like…The Ice Harvest
Another black comedy featuring Billy Bob Thornton, “The Ice Harvest” again features a couple of guys trying to rip off another couple of guys around Christmas. Hijinks and murder ensue as the body count piles up and the situations turn more hilarious as time proceeds. Fortunately, John Cusack and Thornton are the go-to-guys for these kinds of oddball comedies, making this film more memorable.
Cause nothing says Christmas like… Die Hard” and “Die Hard 2
What says Christmas more than a hostage situation at an office building or airport? If John McClane has anything to say about it – Yippie Kiyay! – then it will be a Merry Christmas indeed. With Santa, err, McClane toting guns and guts, he takes on two different armies in these movies to try to woo back his estranged wife. While you’d like to think risking life and limb continually to save the damsel in distress would work, it doesn’t for our boy Bruce who loses his wife by the fourth movie…
Cause nothing says Christmas like… The Long Kiss Goodnight
Another movie that haphazardly takes place during the Christmas season, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” features Samuel Jackson as he repeatedly gets beat up by a blonde Geena Davis – a CIA assassin with amnesia. While it is not as memorable as “Lethal Weapon” or “Die Hard,” this flick still has its snowy charms.
Cause nothing says Christmas like… The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton has become the unprecedented king of off-the-wall movies with a very unique sense of style. Unfortunately, once you see that style, you will automatically recognize every single film he’s ever directed or produced. That said, Jack Skellington and his cheery residents of Halloween Town turn Christmas on its collective ear in a well-written, well-executed and supremely enchanting movie. What could be better at evoking the true spirit of Christmas than the song “Kidnap the Sandy Claws?”
Cause nothing says Christmas like… Meaning of Life
Monty Python never really requires any introduction, and that goes double for Meaning of Life, the irreverent troupe’s attempt to explain what it all means in their own terms. So just look below to revel in the film’s grand finale, which explains that in heaven, it’s Christmas every day, and the women have giant fake breasts that are literally made of plastic. Joy to the world, indeed.
Cause nothing says Christmas like… America Psycho
Ok so it’s not really a Christmas flick but it does feature at least one Christmas scene and what is Christmas without a bit of merry murder??? In American Pyscho it looks like the perfect Christmas party– everyone’s well-dressed, there’s lots of food and drink, and that handsome Wall Streeter is even getting into the spirit by wearing a pair of reindeer antlers on his head. But, uh, the Wall Streeter is Patrick Bateman, he’s a killer yuppie, and all you have to do to figure that out is listen to his amazingly hollow “Have a holly jolly Christmas.” I don’t care how fun this party looks, or how hilarious that pig is– that guy is creeping me out. I recommend we get outta here…