Everyone has a favorite holiday movie. For many, it’s the Frank Capra 1946 classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” George Bailey stands on a bridge on Christmas Eve, preparing to take his own life. By the end of the film, he realizes not only how blessed that life is — but how cursed his community would have been without him.
Others vote for the 1954 “White Christmas,” with Bing Crosby singing the title song. Still others prefer a more contemporary tale: 1983’s “A Christmas Story,” in which little Ralphie spends the season wondering how to get Santa the message that he really, really wants a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree.
My cousin’s favorite holiday flick, on the other hand, is “The Ref.”
Wait a minute. A movie starring a foul-mouthed Dennis Leary can be counted a Christmas classic? When it’s as funny as this, yes. The 1994 dark comedy takes place on Christmas Eve, a perfect time to commit a crime: Rich women don’t take all their jewelry with them to family gatherings. But Leary’s getaway driver disappears, so he forces a couple to give him shelter. But listening to Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis bicker as they decide whether to give up on counseling and just divorce might be worse than spending the holiday in the slammer.
There are plenty of other unlikely “Christmas classics,” movies you don’t immediately associate with holiday viewing — but that can be just as fun to watch. Let’s face it: You’ve seen “A Christmas Story” countless times anyway.
Watching “Brazil” would make for a more thought-provoking evening. The plot of the 1985 masterpiece of dystopia begins when a man is mistakenly arrested — and killed — on Christmas. In “Brazil,” as in George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” a civil servant begins to break out of the bureaucracy because of his love for a woman.
“Eyes Wide Shut” features a very different take on love. Stanley Kubrick’s final work is a rather festive film: Tom Cruise wanders the streets of New York, where Christmas trees are in full bloom, department stores offer over-the-top displays, and “Jingle Bells” merrily plays. It’s a holiday party he attends with wife Nicole Kidman that gets the couple talking about fantasy and infidelity — and goads Cruise into his strange holiday quest.
“In Bruges” is another dark comedy, one of the best of the last few years. Hit men Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson spend the holiday in the picturesque Belgian town as they await instructions after bungling a job. “L.A. Confidential” is just dark — but features Russell Crowe giving one of his best performances, as a 1950s cop in Christmastime Los Angeles. But if you want full-on horror, you’ll want to revisit “The Shining.” The 1980 film, also directed by Kubrick, stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance (no relation), a writer out to make some extra cash by becoming the caretaker of an isolated hotel during the quiet holiday season.
But if you want a Christmas classic that’s a little more traditional — but only a little — you’d best watch “Die Hard.” It’s the heartwarming story of a man reuniting with his estranged wife on Christmas Eve — after he disposes of a few terrorists. Now that’s productive holiday.
Kelly Jane Torrance is The Washington Examienr movie critic. Her reviews appear weekly and she can be reached at [email protected].
