As always, I’m sure I will leave more than a few good ones off the list. As such, I reserve the right to amend/append at a later
date…
10.) Four Christmases/Fred Claus
I’m lumping these two together b/c it’s basically Vince Vaughn playing the same character twice. Come to think of it, every movie since Swingers has been Vince Vaughn playing the same character.
9.) Scrooged
For my money, Bill Murray was never better. That alone makes this one worthy of inclusion.
8.) Polar Express
I only saw this one for the first time a couple of years, accompanied by a friend that cries every time she sees it. I won’t go that far, but it is pretty solid animated fare.
7.) Die Hard
Not your traditional Christmas fare, but a holiday must for me.
6.) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The top 6 is pretty heavy on animated fare, for which I don’t apologize in the slightest. Anybody you doesn’t enjoy these classics clearly doesn’t remember watching them w/ glee every December as a kid.
5.) It’s A Wonderful Life
It just isn’t Christmas w/o it. Bonus points for the inclusion of Jimmy Stewart, who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Great American Actors (along w/ the Duke, Tom Hanks, and whoever wins a Robert DeNiro/Al Pacino throwdown).
4.) Frosty the Snowman
My niece would disown me if Frosty didn’t make the top-4. No other way to put it.
3.) A Charlie Brown Christmas
I recently read an article that people were trying to get Charlie Brown banned, claiming it promoted bullying and whatnot. My response was to order pizza and promptly watch the Charlie Brown Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials all in a row. (Of course I own them…who doesnt?!)
2.) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Loses a bit of luster thanks to the recent, horrific Old Navy ads, but still an all-timer. Across-the-board pantheon performances from Randy Quaid, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Beverly D’Angelo. Bonus points here for Rusty eventually becoming Dr. Leonard Hoffstadter on The Big Bang Theory.
1.) A Christmas Story
Every year it runs for 24 hours solid on TNT. Every year I watch it at least twice in its entirety. Nuff said.
Mele Kalikimaka everyone!!!
BONUS MOVIE LIST
Just to keep things interesting, I asked Miss KK from DC to offer her top-five movie list as well. As a bona fide Christmas junkie and connissuer of all things holiday, I felt she was a fairly safe choice….
5. A Christmas Story ~ Great minds. I like it.
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ~ See Above.
3. Planes, Train, and Automobiles (yea yea yea I know its Thanksgiving but it is amazing!) ~ She did go a bit off-the-books by switching major holidays, but seeing as how it includes the late great John Candy, we'll let it slide.
2. Elf ~ I must be the only person alive that just didn't generally care for this movie…
1. Love Actually/Home Alone (tie) ~ Ima be honest. This one surprises me. No less than three of my friends have said Home Alone is there favorite Christmas movie, which I find shocking. Also, I have some deep-rooted PTSD-type symptoms related to Love Actually and the Blunder of '05
