A Diet Of Christmas Films

As I write this, it is Friday 12th December and I have just begun my diet of watching as many Christmas films as I can before the big day.

Below are a list of the movies I have watched in the past few weeks with my comments about them.

DECK THE HALLS (2006)

This isn't so bad, actually. It stars Danny Devito and Matthew Broderick as neighbours who don't get along. Their relationship reminded me of John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Devito playing the annoying-yet-likeable, Buddy Hall. Broderick plays his easily frustrated foil, Steve Finch.
The film centres around Hall's attempt to decorate the exterior of his house with enough lights so he can be viewed from space. It obviously annoys his neighbour which creates the animosity between the two.
I guess the theme is all about wanting to be something and doing everything in your power to achieve a dream or goal.

ROAD TO CHRISTMAS (2006)

I also liked this one.
Jennifer Grey (from Dirty Dancing) plays the part of an engaged photographer who is attempting to get to Aspen to marry her Italian lover for Christmas. She ends up delayed and having to make do with travelling by road. Along the way, she gets a ride from a father and his daughter.
As you've probably guessed - the father (Tom Pullman) and Claire fall in love despite bickering for the majority of the film.
They set up the end well. There are countless moments in the film where people ask Claire why she was marrying an Italian. The stereotype of them being love rats was played perfectly. So perfectly that I was anticipating her walking into the house and finding him with another woman. When she does arrive home, she finds him in bed with another man!
The movie ends with Claire returning to the Pullman's home and spending Christmas with the father, daughter and grandmother.
Yes, it was one of those soppy made-for-television Christmas movies but I seriously enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it again, though.
Once you've seen it - there's little point watching again.

MR ST. NICK (2002)

Kelsey Grammer plays Nick St. Nick, Florida's most eligible bachelor. This is his public persona as he is actually son of Santa Claus.
The film sees Nick St. Nick refuse to take the torch from his father when the magical powers begin to be passed on.
Along the way, St. Nick gets deceived by a con artist, gets caught up in an online scam and falls for his housekeeper.
Oh, and he manages to decide to become Santa at the end.
It's okay. Nothing special. A typical cliched Christmas movie.

SANTA, Jr. (2002)

2002 was evidently the year of the Santa heir movies.
This film is about Chris Kringle Jr. who gets mistaken for 'The Christmas Bandit' and is sentenced to house arrest.
Kringle is the son of Santa Claus and has to make his lawyer and two detectives realise he was innocent as well as prove that he is the actual son of Father Christmas.
The story ends with a showdown between the babyface and heel Santa Clauses (I had to put a wrestling analogy in somewhere!).
It was alright, I suppose. Not as good as the Kelsey Grammer Santa's son film, though.

WILL YOU MERRY ME? (2008)

You would think that I am trying to link each film in relation to each other but that isn't the case. I'm watching them not knowing what they are about and then writing about them in the order of how they appear in this post so it should come as a surprise that the main character in this film also has the surname of 'Kringle'.
The movie is about an engaged couple - who are both from differing religions - whose respective families meet up for Christmas/Hanukkah.
Predictably, the families find it hard to get along at first and then the couple start having doubts about their union.
It all ends up well in the end, though.
I thought it was fairly good but it's one of those films that I'm not sure whether I would watch a second time.

THE CHRISTMAS CARD (2006)

This one tested me.
It is about a soldier who receives a Christmas card from a young lady who writes cards to people serving overseas. Cody is in Afghanistan and ends up being placed on leave after one of his colleagues is killed on tour. He decides to head off to the town where Faith lives. He meets her and falls in love with her but she is in a relationship. The guy she is dating isn't compatible with her.
You know the rest of the story.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph - I found this hard to enjoy. Too slushy for my liking.
And the acting is terrible!

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING (2005)

After the last movie, I wasn't looking forward to this one. Surprisingly - I found it better than I anticipated.
It was a weepy and I admit I had a tear in my eye near the end of the film.
The story is of a doctor who fails to save the life of a young patient during an operation and he decides to return home for Christmas. Christmas holds some bad memories for him as his mother passed away on Christmas Eve when he was still young.
A pair of shoes that he bought for her plays an integral part of the this story as they are used to link the subplots together.
It was a really good story even though it was not one of those jolly tales I was intending to watch for this post.

A CHRISTMAS VISITOR (2002)

This was another one of those American patriotic festive films but I liked it.
It''s about a family that lost a son during the first Gulf War and they haven't celebrated Christmas as news of his death reached them at Christmas. This year, however, their daughter has undergone a biopsy for breast cancer and they decide to celebrate it again. The fear that this could be her last Christmas prompts this.
Anyway, the Father makes his regular visits to the war memorial in the town centre and prays to his son to send a message of hope. A number of days later - he is in his truck and he swerves off the road, he is helped back onto the road by a stranger who ends up going back home for the night as a guest. The guest is a war veteran who says to the two females of the family that he was in the same unit as the son and that he had always talked about them.
By the end of the film, the father realises that it's the ghost of the son who has returned for one final Christmas.
In hindsight, I probably should have hated this film but there was something about it that I found nice and enjoyable. In fact, it's a title I may be tempted to watch again.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DRAKE & JOSH (2008)

I always get roped into watching episodes of Drake & Josh when my Nephew is staying over so it comes as no surprise we both had to sit and watch their Christmas film.
As part of a plea bargain, the pair have to make Christmas special for a bunch of foster children otherwise they will be sent to prison.
I don't need to tell you the rest, it's very predictable.
One of the most interesting appearances was by Kimbo Slice. He played the part of Josh's inmate at the prison and returns at the end.

JACK FROST (1998)

I had always wanted to see this film and when I noticed it was on Sky a few nights ago, I recorded it.
It's a good family film.
The story is of a musician who ends up getting killed on the road travelling home to be with his wife and son. He comes back to life a year later as a snowman. and gets to bond with his son for one last time.
It was one of the better movies I have seen this Christmas due to the special effects that were used.

PRANCER RETURNS (2001)

This was another film I didn't expect much from and was surprised at how much I ended up liking it.
It's about a young boy - Charlie -whose parents have split up and he lives with his mother and brother back in the town where the mother grew up.
The town's legend was that a young Prancer was found by a little girl and he was given back to Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Charlie ends up finding a reindeer and believes it to be Prancer's son and he decides he too must return the reindeer to Santa.
There were a few fun parts in the film with Charlie trying to hide the reindeer from his mother inside the house as well as seeing the evil school teacher get his comeuppance at the end when he attempts to get the reindeer put down by the pound.


Final Thoughts

It's now after 10pm on Christmas Eve and I've just finished watching the final film on my recorded list. I timed it well, huh?
I think it was a fun thing to do writing about the films as I saw them although I do feel full-up from Christmas themed movies. With all that said, by Boxing Day I'll probably be looking for more to watch.
Merry Christmas.