MOVIE OF THE WEEK December 15, 2023: HO HO HOLIDAY VIEWING
December — and especially this December — is a very good time to seek a bit of seasonal levity in the form of favorite flicks for a bit of respite from the world’s worries. And so we present for your enjoyment AWFJ’s wonderfully varied list of recommended movies for your ho ho holiday viewing. The roster features romance, comedy, thrills and lots of food. Team MOTW has selected films that are upbeat, inspiring and spirited, although not all are directly connected to traditional celebrations. Read our mini reviews of all the titles, punch up the trailers and watch them all. Here’s what’s in store?
Team #MOTW’s Picks for Holiday Viewing:
ANNA AND THE APOLCALYPSE — Leslie Combemale
This 2017 Christmas zombie musical from director John McPhail is based on Ryan McHenry’s screenplay, which expanded on his 2011 short film. When McHenry died of cancer before the feature was completed, McPhail finished Anna and the Apocolypse, whose dedicated cast and crew dedicated to his memory. Though the film has heart to spare, as you might imagine, this isn’t the usual warm fuzzy holiday fare. The plucky, relatively unknown cast headed by Ella Hunt as Anna, earworm songs like Hollywood Ending and and Break Away that will stay with you for days, and the surprising optimism in the midst of death add up to a flick that’s perfect for folks who want a little something different. Sometimes people who have gone through hard times and darkness don’t want cheer and the same old Christmas stories. For them, a little gore courtesy of a sharpened oversized candy cane might be just the thing. Watch the trailer.
BABETTE’S FEAST — Jennifer Merin
Athough it’s not specifically themed for the holiday season, I crave Babette’s Feast at this time of year. Gabriel Axel’s 1987 femme-centric cuisine classic is a marvelous celebration of the spirit of giving. The scenario is set in a small, isolated and repressively religious Danish village where Babette, a French emigree who is fleeing difficult circumstances, comes to work. The restrained yet discernible clash of cultures is resolved in a glorious and transformative act of material and spiritual generosity. Without being preachy, the story advocates for us to welcome ‘others’ to our table to partake of the bountiful pleasures of life. What a beautiful and meaningful message for the holiday season — or for any time of the year. Watch the trailer.
Carol begins in the days leading to Christmas — all those reds and greens!— because the lonely season is a fitting time for two longing souls to meet and fall in love. Todd Haynes’s 1952-set film, from Phyllis Nagy’s script adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel, starts with Therese (Rooney Mara), wearing a company-issued Santa hat, working the toy counter at Frankenberg’s department store in Manhattan. What’s certainly the highlight of her day arrives from across a crowded room in the form of fur coat and scarlet lipstick wearing Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) who at Therese’s suggestion buys a train set for her daughter and leaves her leather gloves, accidentally or not, on the counter. (“I love Christmas; wrapping presents and all that,” Carol says. “Then somehow you end up overcooking the turkey anyway.”) Read the full review. Watch the trailer
COMFORT AND JOY — Pam Grady
There are plenty of shows and movies not to be missed during the holiday season: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the 1966 animated classic with the sublime Boris Karloff–accept no substitutes), A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, Elf, and the dazzling 1954 Technicolor musical White Christmas are among them. But if I have to go with one (sigh…), it has to be this Yuletide miracle: Comfort and Joy, Local Hero writer/director Bill Forsyth’s 1984 tale of a midlife crisis playing out amidst the holidays. Morning drive-time DJ Dickie Bird’s (Bill Paterson) ennui is something that his brand-new red sports car just can’t fix. Not with him feeling constrained by the forced jocularity of his job and saddened by his much younger girlfriend leaving him to spend Christmas alone. But then he stumbles upon battling ice cream truck vendors in the streets of Glasgow and throws himself in the middle of the cone wars in this charming and absurd comedy. Watch the trailer.
ELF — Sandie Angulo Chen
Every year, a slate of new holiday-themed films hits theaters and streaming services, but few of them join the ranks of the revered Christmas classics that families enjoy re-watching every season. Director Jon Favreau’s 2003 holiday comedy Elf, starring an excellent Will Ferrell, managed to do just that. Ferrell, the epitome of comedic man-child, is perfectly cast as a guileless Buddy, a human brought up by Santa’s elves on the North Pole. Buddy treks to New York to find his biological father (James Caan) and ends up making new friends, including the beautiful and talented Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). An instant hit, the movie isn’t just hilariously quotable (“You sit on a throne of lies!,” “I just like to smile; smiling’s my favorite,” “Does somebody need a hug?”), it’s also a lovely reminder of love, laughter, and joy the holidays bring. Watch the trailer.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE — Cate Marquis
It seems like an obvious choice but my favorite Christmas movie is one of my favorite movies of any season: It’s a Wonderful Life. There are many reasons why this film is a perennial holiday favorite, starting with the fact that it is a great Frank Capra classic. Another reason is that it has one of the greatest movie heroes, played by Jimmy Stewart at his best. On top of that, the film has one of the best villains of all time, Mr. Potter, right up there with Scrooge. And then there is the script, with elements of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and resonance with the ideals that drove soldiers during WWII, like democracy and a chance for everyone to succeed, no matter how modest their beginnings. But in this version, it is not the Scrooge character but the hero who goes through a crisis, questioning his choices, choices that benefited his community, not just himself. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, it is still a delight, like other great films like Casablanca or Keaton’s The General. It is a celebration of the American tradition of the underdog, rooting for little guy, in this case someone doing the right thing for everyone, something that resonates even now in the era of growing income inequality. It is a modern A Christmas Carol for the last century and this one. Watch the trailer.
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS — Liz Whittemore
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a film I watch from Halloween through the entire rest of the holiday season. The songs are iconic, as is most of the music from composer Danny Elfman. But in this particular film, Elfman voices the main character Jack Skellington. Combined with Burton’s stylistic stop-motion world, this fun and totally out of the box holiday film has a cult following that has even affected the way Disney operates their parks from Halloween to New Years. The Haunted Mansion attraction gets a thematic overhaul in black light, oversized gifts, and outfitted with all the characters from the film every year now. Every first snow, all I can hear in my head is, “What’s this? What’s this? There’s color everywhere. What’s this? There’s white things in the air! What’s this?” Watch the trailer.
PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT — Nell Minow
I watch at least two or three versions of A Christmas Carol every year, with the Alastair Sim and MGM versions my favorites. But the movie I want to recommend is the lesser-known gem, Period of Adjustment, Tennessee Williams’ only comedy, the story of two couples having some marital problems at Christmas time, one just married, one separating after five years. It is beautifully filmed in black and white by George Roy Hill with an outstanding cast that includes Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton, Tony Franciosa, Lois Nettleton, John McGiver, and the only joint appearance of two of the all-time great character actors who were brother and sister, Jack and Mabel Albertson. It is smart, heartwarming, fun, touching, and romantic, and one of the all-time great examples of dramatic structure. Watch the trailer.
THE PREACHER’S WIFE – Sherin Nicole
I’m slightly bitter. When we were asked for our holiday recommendations, my thoughts immediately went to Babette’s Feast. But since Jennifer wrote so lovingly about that glorious film, I made an unconventional choice. Classic Movieland is one of the playgrounds I grew up on. My crush on Cary Grant was legendary. His movies were my Pokémon. I had to catch them all. Later, Denzel Washington showed up on my screens and a new crush began. So, Touchstone Pictures won me over when they announced their remake of The Bishop’s Wife, the 1947 holiday movie starring Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young. With Denzel in the role of Dudley the Angel (originated by Grant), I was giddy. Especially since Penny Marshall took the helm, with Whitney Houston and Courtney B. Vance rounding out the leading trio. The Preacher’s Wife is a slight but warm rom-com in reverse. Denzel’s Dudley is sent to help The Preacher (Vance) with his daily woes, but when Dudley meets Julia (Houston) a chaste, Christmas-Star-crossed romance begins. Miracle of miracles, this near miss teaches The Preacher to cherish the love of God while showing gratitude for the love of a good woman. It’s a sweet, sing-along story with a soundtrack that sold 6 million copies worldwide. Rather than tree topping, the chart-topping makes this Christmas movie merrier. Watch the trailer.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC – Nikki Fowler
The Sound of Music is a staple feel good holiday film and one of my favs watched each year during the holiday season. What more can you ask for in a feel good film including young love, family, an amazing score and sing-along music, as well as the budding romance of the seemingly mix matched Captain Georg von Trapp, played by the charismatic and most handsome Christopher Plummer, and Maria, played by the one and only Julie Andrews. If that’s not enough the film gets political by throwing jabs at the German occupation of Austria and the Captain’s firm resistance to the Nazis. With an unforgettable and legendary sound track, gorgeous costumes and cinematography, along with famous scenes with the entire family of von Trapp children breaking into song and the drama of the Captain tearing down a Nazi flag when he returns from his honeymoon after he has been torn between two women. Yes, drama. You will be consumed with the Sound of Music. It’s the perfect film to add to your playlist when trimming the tree. Watch the trailer.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING — Betsy Bozdech
While You Were Sleeping. Sure, it’s pretty corny and has an offbeat premise, but this ’90s romcom starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman is also sweet, funny, and charming, with a great ensemble cast (like the amazing Glynis Johns!). The scenes around the family dinner table — which are full of realistic, free-associated, non-sequitur cross-talk — have become a touchstone for my own clan, especially when we’re seated cheek to jowl during holiday meals. And anyone who’s ever felt lonely at this time of year will sympathize with Bullock’s yearning Lucy. The perfect holiday comfort movie. Watch the trailer.
Team #MOTW wishes you all the happiest of holidays!
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Betsy Bozdech, Sandie Angulo Chen, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore,
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
