Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Visions of Sugarplums...tonight at 8/7 central

The kids are out of school all week for Thanksgiving, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be watching a butt load of movies this week. I thought I’d put together a few of my favorites. I love everything about Christmas, so as soon as it starts getting chilly outside, I start looking these classics on TV. WARNING:  Some of these aren't your warm, fuzzy Christmas movies with granny!

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation


Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, you haven't lived! It's got everything rednecks love about Christmas, but it's set up north so it can relate to anyone. Relatives that show up out of nowhere, explosions, holiday disasters, injuries, and crazy old people...what's not to love?! This is one of those movies that is as funny the 100th time you watch it as it was the first.

Favorite Quote: "Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"


Four Christmases

This is pretty new classic, but we've watched it I don't know how many times since we watched it. Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) look forward to leaving town each Christmas to avoid spending it with their dysfunctional families, but this year, their trip is cancelled and they can't get around making appearances at their parents' homes. How can a movie not be fantastic when Vince Vaughn's parents are Sissy Spacek and Robert Duvall, and Reese Witherspoon's parents are Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen? You will laugh your butt off at this one, and you just might find yourself saying "Hmmm...maybe mine isn't that bad!"

Favorite Scene: I honestly can't pick one. From the family playing 'Taboo' around the kitchen table to the white trash in-laws and their spray cheese, the whole movie is hysterically funny!

Mixed Nuts

This classic with Steve Martin and Madeline Kahn celebrates the Christmas season inside the headquarters of a crisis center hotline. From Adam Sandler serenading Rita Wilson with his ukulele to the endless stream of nutcases and whack jobs, this one brings holiday dysFUNction to a whole new level! 

Favorite Line:  "May I put you on hold while I run to my desk? Uh...you're not calling from a bridge or holding a weapon, are you?"


Home Alone

I think every American family has seen this one before, and there's a good reason for that. This kid reminds me so much of my own with the stuff he gets into. I'm pretty sure my kids could've given him some pointers, though. The climax of this movie is when the two idiotic criminals (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) break into his house, only to fall victim to this monstrous kid. No matter how many times we see it, we laugh out loud every time.

Favorite Line:  "This house is so full of people it makes me sick. When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone. Did you hear me? I'M LIVING ALONE!"
It's okay, Kevin. We all feel that way at some point during the holidays.

Elf

Two words:  Will Ferrell. He plays an over-grown elf from the North Pole that comes to New York in search of his biological father. James Caan plays his grumpy dad that wants no part of his reindeer games. This one's rated PG, so it's a good one for the kids to watch, too. Lots of clean humor, and did I mention it has Will Ferrell in it?

Favorite Quote:  "This place reminds me of Santa's Workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms, and everyone looks like they want to hurt me."




The Polar Express


I admit, I grew up reading the book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg, so it had a spot on my list before I ever saw it. The book had the most beautiful illustrations EVER. While it's not action packed or nonstop jokes, it is one of the most beautiful movies you'll ever see. This one is definitely safe for the kids, and it's one of those that just gives you the warm fuzzies when you watch it. I highly recommend watching this one with a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of warm cookies. 

Favorite Part of the Movie:  The story of the jingle bell. You'll never look at or listen to a jingle bell the same way again.


How The Grinch Stole Christmas- The Original

I've seen the remake with Jim Carrey as the heartless beast of Christmas, and I'm sorry, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original cartoon version with Boris Karloff.  Seeing little Cindy Lou Who holding up that big red Christmas ball just gets me right in the ticker every time.

I'll put it this way:  I love it so much, my daughter went as Cindy Lou Who for Halloween when she was three. (And yes, that IS a yogurt cup in her hair!) I've seen this one on DVD in recent years, but it's just not the same as when it's recorded on VHS with the ice-skating Ronald McDonald commercials. I think we still have that copy at my mom and dad's house!



Frosty the Snowman


This is another classic that just can't be beaten. When Frosty gets locked in that greenhouse, it makes me want to punch somebody in the liver every time. I just love Jimmy Durante in this version, and the animated characters are so stinkin' cute they make you wanna puke. This is probably my very favorite Christmas cartoon of all time. Again, if you can watch it in the original form without touch-ups and digital conversion, I highly recommend it. Great one to watch with the kids!



A Charlie Brown Christmas


Another classic, and one of the few Christmas shows on TV that actually tells the Christmas story from the Bible. The simple Christmas carols, the sweet characters, and the infamous Charlie Brown christmas tree...it can't be beat! And did I mention that it actually tells the real story of Christmas? Charlie find himself upset over the commercialism of Christmas, so Lucy asks him to help run the kids' Christmas program. This is a must see with the kids. 



Just Friends

I can't believe I almost forgot this one! This has to be one of the funniest movies ever. It's the story of the unpopular guy in high school (Ryan Reynolds) that is best friends with the girl everybody loves (Amy Smart). After graduation, he gets the heck out of dodge, but finds himself back in Jersey for Christmas a decade later sans the fat suit and the afro. The interaction between Reynolds and his younger brother is absolutely hysterical and so reminiscent of real life siblings. Add in an ice hockey mishap, a brawl at the kids Christmas sing-a-long, and the unraveling of a holiday lawn, and you've got a classic that will have you in stitches!


Of course, there are many, many others that need no introduction that I can't wait to see on TV! Do you have any favorites that haven't been mentioned here? It's the holidays, and you know that time's coming when you wanna hide in the closet with a DVD player and a fifth of, um, Kool-Aid.

  

2 comments:

  1. My girls like Rudolph and the Santa Clause. We haven't seen Elf so we may have to try it this year. Happy Thanksgiving.

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  2. Those are good ones, too! I really liked the first Santa Clause, not so much the sequels. Elf is really good for kids. Hope you and your family enjoy it! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. <3

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