Flasz On Film

It’s Christmas so tradition dictates that with bellies full of roast turkey and guts stuffed with stuffing we descend on our sofas, shamelessly unbuckle our belts and maybe even unbutton those trousers for greater mobility of those freshly manufactured adipose cells, and we proceed to watch a Christmas classic together with our loved ones, or even on our own. 

But what is a Christmas classic anyway? This is a question I have been asking myself for decades now and also one I see “answered” in online listicles and think-pieces that crop up like mushrooms after a September drizzle during the Holiday season. Your work colleagues and friends may also instigate a conversation to that effect, too. And to be perfectly honest, I have never been completely satisfied with the way the term “Christmas movie” has been defined by popular consensus. 

As far as I can tell, a canonical Christmas movie is defined as a film set at Christmas and/or whose plot and story relate somehow to the Holidays and whose spirit overall reflects the idea of wholesome togetherness the season is all about. It also helps if it deals with elements of Christmas mythology, i.e. Santa, Elves, Rudolph etc. Therefore, if you click on an article listing a bunch of Christmas movies you should watch during the Holiday break, you’d find such classics as It’s a Wonderful Life, The Miracle at 34^th Street, Home Alone, Elf, Santa Clause, Love Actually, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (which also happens to be my very favourite canonical Christmas movie I always watch while wrapping gifts) and many others.  

Then, you have your alternative Christmas movies which have entered the discussion on the back of their setting and the fact that some television stations in the 90s broadcast them during the season as well. There’s your Die Hard and Die Hard 2, Gremlins, Ghostbusters 2 and Lethal Weapon. In fact, if the setting during the Christmas season is the most important qualifier for a movie to be considered a Christmas movie, then nearly all Shane Black movies would qualify. Think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Long Kiss Goodnight or even Iron Man 3. However, this is where you’d honestly be able to get away with including such movies as Eyes Wide Shut, The Apartment and even First Blood because they are all set at Christmas. And if the release date plays into the decision-making process in any capacity, then it complicates the matter even further because Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and Gremlins (as well as a whole bunch of undisputed Christmas classics, I am sure) were all released outside of the Christmas season. Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings movies all were. And funnily enough, some folks consider them Christmas staples too. So, you can see how a debate like this can get messy and slip out of control pretty darn quickly.  

Therefore, I have always liked the idea of differentiating between a regular movie and a Christmas movie by way of feeling: if it feels inappropriate to watch a movie well outside of the Christmas season, then it’s by definition a Christmas movie. I’d watch First Blood and Die Hard any day of the week and it doesn’t matter to me they are both set at Christmas. In fact, you have to look really hard to figure out that First Blood is Christmas-set. However, I might put on Christmas Vacation in July if I was hard-pressed for a comfort watch because I love the Griswold family shenanigans, but I will duly note that it would feel a little bit awkward. Hence, it’s always been a Christmas movie in my opinion. 

However, I am here scratching my chin and thinking whether a debate of what makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie and what the difference is between a non-Christmas movie and Christmas movie may be completely moot anyway. Null and void. And that’s because strict demarcations between microgenres are only good as a fodder for listicles nobody will ever want to read in full, or as a topic to bring up during lunch with work colleagues. In all honesty, the more I think about what makes a Christmas movie and how one is defined in a way that it both encompasses how I see movies and how others do as well, the more convinced I am that a more charitable approach is required.  

Does it matter if a movie is set at Christmas? Do you care if it was released during the season? Avatar was. Is it a Christmas movie? Maybe it is. Should I care if it’s awkward to take Elf off the shelf (sic!) in July? Is it a faux pas to watch Jimmy Stewart sing Auld Lang Syne after work in September? No. On all counts.  

What I think matters most is how a movie makes us feel. In my book, Christmas is a time of comfort. Especially in the life of someone who predominantly spends most of his waking hours in the fast lane, juggling responsibilities and struggling to find time for everything and everyone with permanently elevated cortisol levels, this is a time to sit back and unwind, even if for just one evening or two. This may be why I’ve always understood the idea of calling Die Hard a Christmas classic, because it is a comfort movie for me. By the same token, I’d be happy to watch Speed, The Crow and Congo around Christmas too and I’d have absolutely no qualms about that.  

Consequently, in my house we often watch Home Alone together, or put on one of the Harry Potter movies—movies we all like to watch as a family. And I can totally understand how some folks will be now embarking on a massive Tolkien marathon or maybe revisiting all Star Wars movies, because these are perennial comfort experiences. Christmas is a time of joy, sharing and warmth and watching great movies together is a fantastic way of doing just that—sharing joy and warmth.  

So, let the record state that a Christmas movie is a movie that we naturally think is a great movie to watch when for a little while the pressures of everyday life fade into the background and we want to do something nice and warm with our loved ones. By this definition, Halloween is a Christmas classic if that’s what you love. So is A Clockwork Orange and Jumanji. With that, I consider the debate concluded and now I am off to find my boxset of extended editions of all Tolkien movies because it’s been a long while and I’d like to show them to my eleven-year-old daughter. Yes, all six of them. After all, as I have just outlined, they all count as Christmas movies because it is the intent, the ritual and the emotional warmth that ultimately matter. 

Merry Christmas!