(Warning: mild spoilers in this review and I wrote this while watching episodes of Cheers and Frasier. So, my egotistical and false sense of edumacation may be present in the next few paragraphs)
Realizing the Christmas season has come and gone, I still feel obligated to give my recommendation of my favorite Christmas films. It’ll start with my 2 cents on the inevitable question of the holiday season “what is your favorite version of A Christmas Carol?” My favorite take on the holiday classic is also my favorite Christmas movie…period. The film is called The Man Who Invented Christmas, and it is the story of Charles Dickens…while he is authoring A Christmas Carol. While providing insight into Dickens’s upbringing, the story plays out as a unique take on the events depicted in the Scrooge tale. The film has a brilliant script that also served as a commentary into Charles Dickens’s family, friends, associates, and by extension the characters in his novel as he frames the story and bases the characters on the people around him.
The film opens with the quiet and polite English author portrayed by Dan Stevens on an international book tour promoting his book Oliver Twist in the U.S. Needless to say there’s some commentary about American culture at the turn of the 20th century. Upon his return, he hits a case of writers’ block and therefore starts to stress about life in general. After hearing one of his chambermaids in his home tell an Irish folktale of spirits on Christmas eve, Dickens develops the loose idea for his own Christmas classic.
Throughout the film, he interacts with individuals that influence his depiction of the characters he writes about. An old miser that has to bury his business partner (COMMENT: This is the best Scrooge performance I have ever seen, and he was portrayed by the legendary Christopher Plummer), his best friend that brings the best out of himself and all that interact with him, the chambermaid that sparked his idea, his father, sister, brother-in-law, etc. Dickens comes up with these characters by determining the perfect name for them then seemingly has conversations with them in his head. (COMMENT: Chuck, there’s some pills for that sort of thing now. I hear Lithium works pretty good) But as he imagines these characters, he has to come to grips with part of his childhood that seemingly haunts him, but serves as a key part of his inspiration.
True Christmas movies usually include a theme of redemption that takes place during the Christmas season. In the case of The Man Who Invented Christmas, Dickens has to overcome childhood trauma and make amends with his parents. This is the portion of the story where history buffs will nerd out. Charles Dickens was initially raised in a social class of respect, but when is father (portrayed by Jonathan Pryce in the film) brought upon them some misfortune, Charles was sent to workhouse to work off the family debts (COMMENT: remember….it’s not child labor unless they pay them). In his case, he worked in a boot blacking factory, so he worked, ate, and slept in conditions that would usually be envisioned in a David Fincher film. This was also a time when children were frequently abused with little to no protections for them. This aspect of the story is what brings the necessary darkness for the light to shine through.
Academy Award Winner Mychael Danna delivered a beautiful Christmastime score for the film that was full of heart. The underlying Christmas bells are accompanied by ravenous strings and deliver joy and sadness throughout the film as the stories unfold. Most people would know Danna’s work in films such as Moneyball, Little Miss Sunshine, Life of Pi, and 500 Days of Summer. He is eclectic, emotional, dedicated to his craft, and all in all a beautiful musical mind.
Although Christmas is over and we’re now freezing our asses off in the January tundra (unless you’re rollin’ with Kiwis and Kangaroos), I do still recommend giving this film a watch year-round. At the very least prioritize it for your viewing pleasure next holiday season.
This next film is definitely a year-round favorite. It’s frequently overlooked as a Christmas movie. But you know what? It begins, has throughout, and ends with Christmas carols playing. But it starts with a young woman who ODs on pills and decides to try what Jenny couldn’t in Forrest Gump…fly like a bird from a high-rise and land on the top of someone’s car. (COMMENT: Whoa….drugs, suicide, and Christmas?!) Yup….I’m talkin’ about Lethal Weapon.
I’ll be one of the first to admit that I was one of the first peeps to really push the classification of Die Hard as a Christmas movie. I still stand by that analysis, but Lethal Weapon fits the definition of a Christmas movie more so. (COMMENT: No! I’m not on the sauce! Now keep reading while I finish this cocktail and grab a beer…) The 1987 classic not only defined the buddy cop concept genre that was prominent in the 90s, it also caused Mel Gibson’s Hollywood career to go full speed ahead.
With a cast that just feels like they have a natural chemistry, the storyline is of a homicide turned into a mercenary fueled drug operation that originates from the Vietnam war. The action sequences serve a purpose, however the title is a reference to Mel Gibson’s character. It does not reference a rocket launcher. It does not reference the Barretta that he carries. References the fact that Mel Gibson’s character is natural killing machine. A by the book police detective and Air Cavalry vet (Danny Glover) is paired with a total wrecking ball renegade detective (Mel Gibson) that is suffering from severe depression and PTSD in the wake of his wife’s death. Oh, and he was part of the CIA’s Phoenix Program in Vietnam. (COMMENT: Phoenix Program was supposedly a kill-squad).
Wait, why am I lumping this in as a favorite Christmas movie?! Homicide, Drug trafficking, mercenaries, CIA kill squad rejects?! (COMMENT: Uh….that sounds like my wish list for Santa every year. What’s the problem?) Not only does it take place during the Christmas season of 1987, the opening song is the classic Christmas song Jingle Bell Rock. The ending song is Elvis Pressley’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Not to mention the frequent singing and background Christmas music throughout. (COMMENT: Oh and did I mention the wife of the straight-laced Detective is none other than Darlene Love….the one who gave us the classic song “Christmas [The Snow’s coming down]?!) There’s constant references to the holiday season, everybody wishing each other a Merry Christmas, a drug sting at a Christmas tree lot, and plenty of Christmas season sales advertised in shop windows. The Christmas season is well-defined but what makes Lethal Weapon more worthy of a Christmas movie tag than Die Hard?
Lethal weapon, unlike Die Hard, has a VERY well-defined story of redemption. Mel Gibson’s loose cannon character has to come to grips with his wife’s death and realize there’s more to live for still. The bond between the two detectives evolve to a mutual respect and kind of a new brotherhood in the wake of a loss of the brotherhoods they knew a soldiers in South East Asia. (COMMENT: I’ll admit, there’s a strong bond between men and women that served in war zones. But when you meet someone that is cool with your unique form of crazy even in the real world….that’s forever.) While Die Hard has a redemption scene in the final hour or so of the film, it’s kind of glossed over. Lethal Weapon’s redemption themes are well-defined and are brought to the front and center at the end like traditional Christmas movies.
As a film, Lethal Weapon is an instant classic fusing comedy, and action with a gripping mystery in a single 2 hour thrill ride of a cop movie. It was so popular that it spawned 3 sequels (with a 4th supposedly on the way) and a TV show adaptation. (COMMENT: NOTHING beats the Lethal Weapon films, but the show is an honorable mention). However, the first movie is one to call out as special because of its well-defined Christmas sub-genre.
The Man Who Invented Christmas and Lethal Weapon are two must watches every year, but they are both amazing films that should be enjoyed year round. If humor is great medicine, than good uplifting stories must be too. Lethal Weapon and The Man Who Invented Christmas fit that definition well. As always, watch, enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!
