Video Review |
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Video Review |
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Last Updated 12/31/01
Email: robitai@our-town.com
If the Christmas spirit has eluded you so far this season, if
you're distracted by too much commercialism and not enough jollity, then you're a
candidate for a Christmas movie break. Depending on your state of mind, these movies will
diminish the "bah-humbugs."
Some of the more
recent holiday movies probably won't last forever as classics, but they offer good family
entertainment and a dose of Christmas comedy. Tim Allen's The Santa Clause (1994)
and last year's big hit starring Jim Carey as the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole
Christmas (2000) both put well known stand-up comics in the starring roles.
Tim Burton's wacky Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) has
bizarre twists and even stranger animation. Follow the antics of spidery Jack Skellington
(voice of Chris Sarandon) as the king of Halloweentown who discovers ChristmasTown.
Nobody could forget Macaulay Culkin's performance as Kevin
McAllistair in Home Alone (1990). When
his family flies to France for Christmas, eight-year-old Kevin is inadvertently left at
home to celebrate Christmas by himself and battle witless burglars.
National
Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) stars Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold. If you're
convinced that you live with crazy people, spend some time with the Griswold's, and you'll
feel normal again. This is high-pitched hilarity laced with a satiric edge that Chevy
perfected in all those Saturday Night Live skits. Between exploding turkeys and the
arrival of the swat team, you'll hardly have time to ask, "Does anybody need 25,000
Christmas lights on their roof?
Scrooge
(1951) always gives me a blast back to my childhood.
This is the version baby boomers grew up with. We've been treated to
multiple movie and TV versions of Dickens' Christmas classic A Christmas Carol, but
this early black and white one captures the essence of Scrooge in ways the glossy,
snappier versions don't. Alastair Sims expertly manages the miser to benefactor
transformation with grace, and epiphany comes to the Scroogiest of Scrooges.
The holiday season wouldn't be complete without watching It's
a Wonderful Life (1946). Directed by
Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, this movie provokes nostalgia for times long since
passed, but the movie's message is timeless. When
George Bailey's life seems wasted and futile, a Christmas Eve angel arrives to save him
from himself. George learns a lesson about personal sacrifice and human worth. This
movie's calculated to inspire and to remind us to be grateful for what we have and who we
are.
I could go on, but I have presents to wrap. When the shopping
frenzy finally reaches its peak, make your spirits bright, pour the eggnog, and settle
into your easy chair. After all, videos are cheaper than therapy.
All titles available in DVD and Video
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