For cinephiles, I’m not sure that there’s a more polarizing time of year than December. While Oscar bait films and stray blockbusters excite moviegoers, cinephiles deal with a far different onslaught at home: the Christmas movie.
Indeed, after Thanksgiving, and sometimes even before, every TV channel excitedly rushes out their holiday slate of films and specials. From Christmas classics like Home Alone and Elf to the romantic comedies that Hallmark channel cranks out like cookie dough, there’s no shortage of televised Christmas joy.
But for many cinephiles, these films are the equivalent of coal in their stockings; each piece blends in with the next and offers little artistic value.
As for myself, few gifts are sweeter than Christmas films. Immediately after Thanksgiving, the Christmas viewings begin, and the antics of goofy, yet loveable Christmas characters brings everyone together.
Yet, I must admit, the cynics aren’t entirely wrong. Even the best holiday movies really do blend together. Very often, they’re about loving, but dysfunctional families trying to survive the trials and tribulations of the holiday season. This often includes frantic shopping, holiday curmudgeons, and the most difficult obstacle of all, dealing with other family members. Sometimes there’s also a romantic angle, but that rarely happens without being tied to one of the other elements.
Indeed, Christmas films are pretty cut and dry fare. As such, they should be easy to identify. Except, they’re not.
For instance, every year, movie fanatics and general contrarians bring up the decades old argument of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not. It’s an interesting argument, especially considering how lauded the film is. The 80s action flick notoriously takes place during an office Christmas party, which is crashed by money grubbing terrorists.
John McClane (Bruce Willis) must also fight to reunite with his family, which is one of the aforementioned pillars of Christmas movies. As such, the iconic action film might just be an atypical Christmas classic.
But I’m not so easily convinced. While it does take place during Christmas, I’m not sure how much that really impacts the characters. Sure, it gives Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) the perfect opportunity to make his move on Nakotomi Plaza, but that’s more of a plot device than a substantial use of the holiday.
Also, Gruber’s corrosive greed doesn't seem especially fixated on the holiday season. While misers like Scrooge and the Grinch have vendettas with Christmas itself, Hans just wants money and is indifferent to the holiday festivities.
McClane’s motives also aren’t especially Christmas driven. Though he loves his family and wants to reconcile with his wife, his motives wouldn't change if the film took place on Thanksgiving, Easter, or Labor Day. The fact that later sequels were able to succeed without a Christmas setting shows that it’s not really a crucial aspect of the film or McClane's character.
Whichever way you lean, Die Hard raises a great question: what makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie?
As mentioned earlier, there are many consistent themes throughout Christmas movies, the biggest one being family. Despite the awkward, grueling encounters we have every holiday season, they wouldn't be the same without family.
After all, family is what drives Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) crazy in Home Alone, but it's also the only thing he wants by the film's end. Family also keeps Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) going in A Christmas Carol and forces Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrel) to leave the North Pole in Elf. Christmas can be many things, but it’s always a family holiday.
Then there’s the theme of excessive greed and consumption, which often goes unchecked during the holidays. Of course, every Christmas Carol adaptation from the Patrick Stewart one to Mr. Magoo condemns greed, as Scrooge is “encouraged” to reevaluate his life.
But there’s also the greed of consumerism, an all-encompassing force that’s too often associated with Christmas. Linus first warns about mistaking Christmas for commercialism in 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, but in the decades since, Christmas has become exponentially commodified.
Unsurprisingly, this materialism rears its head in many modern Christmas tales. It’s the early claws of advertising that drives Ralphie’s (Peter Billingsley) every move in A Christmas Story and the reason why Arnold Schwarzenegger has an explosive holiday in Jingle All the Way. Commercialism is even mistaken for Christmas entirely in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but the ending finally shows the curmudgeon that Christmas means more than its physical parts.
Indeed, almost every holiday classic prioritizes family and friends over the hustle and bustle of the season. But beyond these parameters, there’s the notion that most of, if not all, of the film takes place during Christmastime. Whether this includes the weeks leading up to Christmas or just Christmas day itself, Christmas movies should be set during Christmas.
Yet, this has led to a lot of popular movies becoming near Christmas classics because they happen during the holiday season. In addition to Die Hard, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Iron Man 3, Gremlins, Carol, and Eyes Wide Shut all take place during Christmastime without explicitly focusing on Christmas themes.
Some of these are just directorial choices, as both Tim Burton and Shane Black love incorporating Christmas into their visual aesthetic. Christmas doesn’t really move the plot or characters of these films, but they take place during Christmas, nonetheless.
However, some of these are closer calls than you’d think. For instance, Gremlins is not just a family horror film, but a macabre warning about mindless shopping. In the film, the entire town has become focused on consumption. The climax even takes place in a toy store, a common source of Christmas contention. It forgoes the typical heartfelt moments for violent kills, but the message is clearly against rampant consumption, fitting into the Christmas parameters.
Then there are movies with Christmas scenes in them that aren’t holiday centric. These movies often follow characters over a span of several years and range from classics like The Godfather to recent comedies like Mean Girls.
The consensus would say that these obviously aren’t Christmas movies, but I wouldn’t agree so swiftly. The Godfather is indeed about family, one of the pillars of Christmas. Also, unlike other films, it's Christmas scenes are important to the plot, as they force Michael to join his family's shady business. Despite it being the season of giving, violence and corruption enclose the Corleones, showing that even the holiday offers no reprieve in the criminal underworld.
Then there’s also the case of Meet Me in St. Louis. Despite being considered a Christmas classic, only one extended sequence takes place during the holidays. Of course, this includes the tear wrenching “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which is sung by Judy Garland in the film. Because the song is now a radio classic, Meet Me in St. Louis resides on many Christmas movie lists, even though most of the film doesn't take place during the holiday.
Perhaps the closest call belongs to Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, which features multiple scenes set during Christmas. The plot is not primarily focused on the holiday, but Christmas plays a large role in both Frank Abagnale Jr. (DiCaprio) and Carl Hanratty’s (Tom Hanks) character development. Abagnale Jr. only begins his life of crime after his mom and dad’s marriage dissolves.
At the beginning of the film, we see a happy Abagnale enjoying the holiday with his dancing parents. Later though, after Abagnale has become a fugitive, he calls Hanratty on Christmas night. It doesn't take long for Hanratty to discern that Abagnale is alone. by the time Abagnale is captured one Christmas in France, it’s clear that his cons are just attempts to fill the void left by his parents many Christmases ago.
Only through the lens of Christmas do we see that Abagnale is chasing the one thing he can never buy or con his way into: a family. As such, Catch Me If You Can certainly feels like a Christmas film, complete with Christmas scenes, holiday songs, and a character study about family.
In consequence, there are Christmas movies, movies that take place during Christmas but don’t feel like Christmas movies, and movies that barely take place during Christmas but have strong Christmas undertones. A little confusing, eh?
So, what do we do then when determining what belongs in the Christmas canon? Well, I once read an article on The Mary Sue that supposes Christmas movies are any movies that, regardless of their content, put you into the Christmas spirit, and I find it hard to disagree. For most people, Home Alone and It’s A Wonderful Life will do this with ease. But if Die Hard or Bad Santa fills you with cheer, then watch them as many times as you want.
However, for anyone who is a stickler and wants a concrete answer about which movies are and are not Christmas movies, I have devised a simple test. I call it the Movie Poster test.
Simply put, if a movie’s poster has any inklings or references to anything Christmas related at all, then it’s a Christmas movie. This can be an ornament, Christmas lights, wrapping paper, ribbons, reindeer, Santa Claus, or any of the other holiday images.
If a poster doesn’t include any of these things, that means Christmas isn't important enough to the story to be part of the advertising and it is not a Christmas film.
Obviously, movies with Christmas in the title get a pass, so Four Christmases and Christmas in Connecticut are safe. Holiday song titles also get in, ala Jingle All the Way and Deck the Halls.
Then there are the multitudes of Christmas classics exuding holiday imagery. These include Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) electrocuting himself with Christmas lights on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Kevin screaming in front of his favorite Christmas tree in Home Alone, and a red ribbon tying together the various stories of Love Actually.
Sadly, this means many of the borderline movies don’t make the Christmas canon. Iron Man 3, Batman Returns, and Eyes Wide Shut have no signs of Christmas whatsoever on their posters. Even the close calls like Meet Me in St. Louis, Catch Me If You Can, and The Godfather fail the test, meaning Christmas is more of an effectively used device than inherent part of the film.
Carol, Edward Scissorhands, and Gremlins are the closest, with the former two having snow and the latter having a gift box. I'm not sure any of them are explicitly Christmas centric, but there's certainly room for debate.
Finally, we arrive at the movie that started this debate, Die Hard. If you pull up its official poster, you’ll notice that there’s nothing Christmas related at all. There’s just a steamy picture of Bruce Willis on the front with Nakatomi Tower exploding behind him.
Some versions even have a short synopsis on the front; it does not mention Christmas. As such, Die Hard wasn’t marketed as a holiday film because Christmas doesn't matter in the film. Perhaps this makes me a Scrooge or Hans Gruber level hater, but Die Hard is officially not a Christmas film in my book.
But just as a rainy day is a great time to watch Jurassic Park, Christmas might be the best time to watch Die Hard. It is a great movie, and everyone deserves some extra greatness this time of year. So go ahead and play it, invite your friends and family over, and enjoy the greatest Christmas battle of our time: debating whether it’s actually a Christmas movie or not.
