It's once again time to break out the holiday movie collection. For some reason, Diana and I managed to build this routine within maybe one year of cohabitation, and it has stuck with us ever since. It's not a long list, because it doesn't have to be considering these get watched inside of a four week-ish period. What's surprising about it is that every year I fully commit to watching. I don't mess around with my phone, and I just turn off my brain in a way that's unusual for me.
So here's the list, in no particular order.
I would have never guessed that a goofy Will Ferrell movie would become a classic. I suppose part of it is that it I see it differently now that I have a child. Simon laughs out loud at it every year. Also, every year, I'm shocked to see Zooey Deschanel with blonde hair. Also, at the time it came out, I never thought she, or more appropriately, She & Him, would have a Christmas album I listened to every year.
This is probably my favorite, in no small part because I absolutely had the worse celebrity crush on Kate Winslet and to some degree Cameron Diaz back in the day. That's why I always find it implausible that Jack Black would hook up with Kate. It's not that I hate Jack, I'm just protective of Kate because of his character in Orange County. Because, you know, part of me still pretends these are real people and not characters. Diaz has insanely good comedic timing, and I'm sad that she's not acting anymore. She's more talented than anyone gave her credit for. I also adore the old Jewish screenwriter neighbor.
This is such a fantastic ensemble cast. There isn't a single actor I dislike, which is a huge credit to Sarah Jessica Parker because I don't care for anything else that she has done. That she plays the unintentional homophobe and racist is satisfying. Rachel McAdams and Luke Wilson in particular are fantastic. But I like the idea of this huge family coming back to this old house full of history, and the subplots. It's also kind of sad, and I like that too.
I suppose I'm kind of a sucker for this because of its quotability and the scenes in Cleveland. I actually saw this in the movie theater, as I think many people around town did. In true cable TV fashion, even though we don't have cable TV, I like to save this for Christmas day, and I'm not ashamed to let it play twice. Or more.
I don't generally care for old movies, but I don't mind White Christmas. We inevitably do the various claymation classics at some point, too. I'm wondering if Noelle may make it into the rotation again this year on Disney+, because I'll watch Kendrick in anything. We end up watching Muppet Christmas Carol too, even though it's probably the weakest of their movies. A Bad Moms Christmas is also one I've grown fond of, because you can't go wrong with Bell, Kunis and Hahn. That's comedy gold. I probably need to include Bridget Jones's Diary in here even though it's not strictly a Christmas movie.
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