You Know What I Mean?

Some of the movies on this list were instant hits. Home Alone , White Christmas , and Miracle on 34th Street were among the highest grossing movies the years they were released. Others like A Christmas Story and Planes, Trains and Automobiles took some time to find their audience and take their place among the classics. It's a Wonderful Life is considered  to be not only a classic feel good Christmas movie but is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made (#20 on the American Film Institutes top 100 movies). But, when it was released in 1946 it was a box office flop and looked to be destined for obscurity.  Fate had a different plan. A clerical error caused the movie's copyright to lapse which made it inexpensive for local televisions stations to broadcast, This resulted in stations airing it repeatedly especially during the holiday season and bringing the movie back into the public's consciousness. What they discovered was not a corny, lighthearted fl...

Andy Bauer  weigh in on movie #2 on our list. I’ve written about  White Christmas  in this space a  couple  of  times , and truth be told, could probably fill a substantial volume writing about all it’s awesome sauce.  It’s one of those movies I’ve seen so many times I don’t even really pay attention to the plot anymore.  I spend my time looking in the background for all the little things I missed on the previous 100 viewings.  And boy is there some great stuff in the background.  Whether you’ve seen it dozens of times like I have or if this is the first time you’ve ever heard of it, do yourself a favor and watch the backup dancers during the  Mandy  routine.  It’s solid gold. For the ones that somehow aren’t familiar with this Christmas gem,  White Christmas  is the story of army buddies Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) who team up after WWII to become a “boffo” song and dance act. ...

Do you remember that one Christmas gift you wanted more than any other? Maybe it was a bike or a Cabbage Patch Kid. Depending on when you grew up it might have been a video game system (Atari, Nintendo, Playstation...) or an Erector Set.  The specific gifts may differ from person to person and time to time but the dream is the same. We all went to bed on Christmas Eve hoping the morning would bring us joy tied up with ribbon. A Christmas Story taps into this universal longing with protagonist Ralphie's quest to get  a   Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model BB gun for Christmas. He seems to be thwarted at every turn. Whether it's his mother, his teacher or even Santa Claus himself he always hears the same refrain, "You'll shoot your eye out". Sprinkled throughout his pursuit are views into his everyday life.  We get to watch as Ralphie and his friends try to survive encounters with the school bully. We meet his parents (in particular The Old Man). We eve...

Here is  Andy Bauer's  thoughts on our #4 movie. As a 13-year old, I saw  Home Alone   in the theater when it was released in 1990.  For reasons explained  elsewhere , I did not go to the movies much as a kid, and persuading my mother to let me see the hottest new movie amongst my demographic in the theater was something of a coup. Some time later, a family member informed my mother, who still had not seen  Home Alone , about the bad attitude Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) has toward his family and how disrespectfully he speaks to his mother (Catherine O’Hara).  Mom pointed this out to me, as if I had been keeping it a secret from her.  I assured her I knew Kevin’s attitude was not acceptable, as I probably rolled my eyes while she wasn’t looking. A parent myself now, I can of course understand a little better Mom’s concerns about how a Hollywood movie might influence her child.  But, Kevin’s terrible attitude is of course ce...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a human, raised by elves at the North Pole, traveled to New York City to meet his long lost father? I know I have. Luckily the next movie on our list lets us know. Elf (starring Will Ferrell in the title role) tells the story of Buddy. He was a baby living in an orphanage when one Christmas Eve he crawled unseen into Santa's (Ed Asner) sack and ended up stowing away to the North Pole. There he was raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) and grew up believing that he was an elf himself. The elves loved and accepted Buddy as one of their own but eventually his 6'3" frame and lack of toy making skills lead to his discovery that he is actually human.  On top of this shocking revelation he also finds out that his real father (James Caan) is on the Naughty List.  Having learned his true identity Buddy heads to New York to meet his father and find his place in the world. What ensues is what one might expect when a large elf-man armed ...

Andy Bauer  gives his take on our #6 movie. P oor Clark Griswold.  All he wanted was the perfect good time, old fashioned family Christmas.  The lights, the tree, the carols, sledding, the perfect Christmas dinner, and of course that big Christmas bonus. What he got was frustration, a squirrel infested Christmas tree, Cousin Eddie, a cat food jello mold, a SWAT team invasion, and the Jelly of the Month club. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation  takes all of the elements folks come to dread about the Christmas season and puts them on steroids.  Chevy Chase’s well-intentioned family man Clark Griswold does his best to give his family a Christmas to remember.  It certainly will be, but for all the wrong reasons.  His wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and kids, Rusty (Johnny Galecki) and Audrey (Juliette Lewis) do their best to stay encouraging as the wheels start to come off the closer the big day gets and the house fills up with more cantankero...

The only reason this movie is not higher on our list is because it is not a Christmas movie. It is a Thanksgiving movie and it is maybe one of the two or three funniest movies I have ever seen.Written and directed by John Hughes (who was involved in two other movies on this list and the '94 version of Miracle on 34th Street) it stars two of the all time great comedic actors, Steve Martin and John Candy.  It is a shame that this team never collaborated again because when they did, it resulted in pure gold.  Martin plays Neal Page, a straight laced, sort of uptight ad executive who is on business in New York City. All he wants is to get home to his family in Chicago in time for Thanksgiving. His path crosses with Del Griffith, played by Candy, a friendly but uncouth shower curtain ring salesman. When bad weather strands them in Wichita this unlikely pair teams up to try and make it back to Chicago in time for Neal to get his turkey. Thus begins the road trip from hell. Neal ...