A Festive Showcase: Exploring Underrated Yuletide Movies
Something that irks concerning a lot of present-day seasonal movies is their overly self-awareness – the ostentatious decorations, the checklist music choices, and the canned speeches about the real spirit of the festive period. Maybe because the genre hadn't yet ossified into routine, films from the 1940s often explore Christmas from increasingly creative and far less neurotic viewpoints.
The Fifth Avenue Happening
An favorite discovery from exploring 1940s Christmas comedies is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 romantic tale with a great concept: a jovial hobo takes up residence in a unoccupied Fifth Avenue townhouse each year. One winter, he invites new acquaintances to live with him, including a veteran and a teenager who turns out to be the daughter of the property's affluent owner. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth infuses the film with a surrogate family warmth that numerous newer seasonal stories struggle to attain. The film expertly walks the line between a class-conscious narrative on affordable living and a whimsical city romance.
Godfathers in Tokyo
The acclaimed director's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, heartbreaking, and thoughtful interpretation on the Christmas story. Inspired by a western film, it follows a trio of homeless individuals – an alcoholic, a trans character, and a young runaway – who find an discarded newborn on Christmas Eve. Their quest to find the infant's parents unleashes a series of hijinks involving crime lords, immigrants, and seemingly fateful coincidences. The film celebrates the enchantment of coincidence often found in holiday tales, delivering it with a stylish animation that sidesteps cloying sentiment.
Introducing John Doe
Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life justifiably receives plenty of praise, his lesser-known picture Meet John Doe is a compelling holiday tale in its own right. Starring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck drifter and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful reporter, the story starts with a fictional letter from a man threatening to fall from a ledge on December 24th in frustration. The public's reaction forces the journalist to hire a man to play the fictional "John Doe," who later becomes a popular symbol for neighborliness. The narrative functions as both an uplifting fable and a pointed skewering of wealthy businessmen seeking to manipulate public goodwill for their own ambitions.
A Silent Partner
Whereas seasonal slasher pictures are now a dime a dozen, the Christmas thriller remains a somewhat underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 film The Silent Partner a fresh discovery. Featuring a delightfully vile Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank teller, the movie pits two varieties of morally ambiguous characters against each other in a sleek and unpredictable tale. Mostly overlooked upon its initial release, it is worthy of new attention for those who enjoy their festive entertainment with a dark tone.
Christmas Almost
For those who enjoy their Christmas gatherings messy, Almost Christmas is a blast. With a impressive cast that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story examines the tensions of a clan compelled to share five days under one house during the festive period. Hidden dramas come to the forefront, leading to scenes of high humor, including a showdown where a shotgun is produced. Of course, the film reaches a heartwarming ending, providing all the entertainment of a holiday disaster without any of the real-life aftermath.
Go Movie
Doug Liman's 1999 feature Go is a Christmas-adjacent tale that is a young-adult interpretation on interconnected stories. Although some of its edginess may feel of its time upon revisiting, the picture still offers several elements to enjoy. These are a engaging performance from Sarah Polley to a standout performance by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous supplier who fittingly sports a Santa hat. It captures a particular brand of late-90s cinematic energy set against a holiday backdrop.
Miracle at Morgan's Creek
The satirist's wartime comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects conventional Christmas warmth in exchange for cheeky humor. The movie is about Betty Hutton's character, who finds herself with child after a hazy night but cannot recall the man responsible. A lot of the fun comes from her situation and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's hapless Norval Jones to rescue her. While not explicitly a Christmas film at the outset, the narrative winds up on the festive day, showing that Sturges has refashioned a playful version of the birth narrative, filled with his trademark sharp edge.
The Film Better Off Dead
This 1985 adolescent film featuring John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a quintessential example of its time. Cusack's
