Within the realm of Rock journalism, there is a loose classification known as Proto-Punk, less a true musical movement and more a way to identify artists who served as the primary influence on the first wave of Punk Rock in the late 1970's. These bands spanned across their own diverse sub-genres from mid '60s British Mod Rock to the early Glam Rock bands who would reign the charts nearly a decade later. Despite their scattered origins, they are all unified in their towering influence over the Punk and New Wave revolution of the late '70s due to their simplistic, aggressive brand of Rock or utter defiance of excesses in the mainstream Rock world.
10. Roxy Music
The first entry on this list is a band whose "Punk" elements may not be as immediate as the others. Roxy Music is often summarized as a Glam Rock band that was obsessed with fashion, art and the avant-garde. While that is ostensibly true, their (even now) ahead of the times Rock blended traditional song structures with freakishly dissonant textures, with or without founding member and experimental music pioneer Brian Eno. Debuting in 1972 with a self-titled effort, Roxy Music distinguished themselves from the rest of the Rock world, retaining none of the traditional Blues influences found in contemporaries like the Rolling Stones or even the boundary-pushing David Bowie.
Toying with traces of Cabaret, early Electronic Music, Beatlesque Pop and an avant-garde approach borrowed from the Velvet Underground, Roxy forged a completely original sound from this raw material. Leader Bryan Ferry was capable of writing nearly traditional Pop songs before twisting them with dissonant and often jarring chord changes. Paul Thompson pounded his drums with a primal insistence that was aggressive yet infectious. Longtime guitarist Phil Manzanera is one of the most overlooked guitar heroes in Rock, capping off melodically challenging compositions with soaring, appropriately noisy solos. Roxy sounded unlike any other band before them and very
few artists have even attempted to tread down the edgy, sometimes frightening paths
they paved.
Along with many other artists from England's early '70's Glam Rock movement, Roxy served as the early influence for British bands to come from the Punk movement later in the decade, including straight-ahead rockers like the Sex Pistols, gloomy Post-Punk pioneers Joy Division and even pop-oriented synth artists like ABC. This extended even further, with artists as disparate as disco symbols Chic and early Alternative Rockers Faith No More citing their impact. Whether it was due to their own relatively simplistic rockers ("Virginia Plain"), their menacingly sophisticated epics ("In Every Dream Home a Heartache") or their twisted pop songs ("Love is the Drug"), Roxy Music shaped the sound of a surprising number of musical movements to come without the worldwide A-list popularity they deserve.
Recommended songs: "Virginia Plain", "In Every Dream Home a Heartache", "The Thrill of it All", "Street Life", "Both Ends Burning".
9. Faces
It's hard to imagine Rod Stewart having any sort of influence on Punk Rock, but before the "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" singer became a symbol of anything but Punk, he lent his powerfully ragged voice to some of the toughest Rock music ever recorded. Most of that music was recorded with the Faces, an iteration of the Small Faces featuring Stewart on vocals and future Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood on guitar. Together, they created a sloppy, joyous and frequently intoxicated brand of Rock and Roll rivaled only by the Stones in swagger.
Their minor chart hit "Stay With Me" says it all - direct and borderline misogynistic lyrics about a one-night stand, a hoarsely belted vocal from Stewart, a chugging rhythm guitar part from Wood and a rhythm section that sounds like it's falling victim to that last shot of whiskey. While their excessive lifestyle put them in league with the Rock star culture from which Punk defected, their pure sound and party-animal image inspired the first wave of British Punks who endeavored to bring Rock back to its basics. Outside of Punk, the Faces' hard groove-driven Rock also inspired Hard Rock icons Guns 'N Roses and early Alternative Rockers The Replacements.
Recommended songs: "Stay With Me", "Bad 'N Ruin", "Had Me a Real Good Time", "Pool Hall Richard", "(I Know) I'm Losing You".
8. Slade
Slade was one of England's definitive Glam Rock bands, famed for their outlandish costumes and deliberately trashy singles. Along with T. Rex and David Bowie, they exemplified the essence of the genre. Unfortunately, their focus on making immediate and sometimes gimmicky tunes meant they were denied the same critical acclaim as those artists. Slade never had the same grand artistic ambitions. Apart from the occasional ballad, Slade specialized in campy, sleazy and deafeningly loud Rock singles with distinctly misspelled titles like "Mama We're All Crazee Now" and "Cum On Feel the Noize".
Like the Faces, Slade's sound was pure, unadulterated Rock and Roll turned up to 11, complete with roaring guitars and primal beats fit for a stadium. Lead singer Noddy Holder possessed a shrill, glass-shattering howl worthy of Robert Plant at his height. Their songs were infectiously simple and specifically written to bait the audience into participating. Late '70s rock band Cheap Trick famously derived their name after seeing a Slade show, noting that they used "every cheap trick" in the book.
While they are primarily remembered in the U.S. for providing Glam Metal band Twisted Sister with a pair of hit covers, Slade was a commercial behemoth in their homeland during the early '70s. Their unhinged, pure and over the top take on Rock & Roll proved to be massively influential not only on Punk but on Heavy Metal and Alternative Rock bands from The Replacements to Nirvana. Kurt Cobain summed it up best, describing Slade as the one band that "didn't give a fuck".
Recommended songs: "Mama We're All Crazee Now", "Gudbuy T'Jane", "Get Down Get With It", "Take Me Bak 'Ome", "Cum On Feel the Noize".
7. Mott the Hoople
While they are mostly known for their definitive take on Bowie's Glam anthem "All the Young Dudes", Mott the Hoople was enormously influential in their own right, blending leader Ian Hunter's deadpan Lou Reed-style vocals with a tough Rock sound reminiscent of The Rolling Stones at their height. Mott had three albums under their belt and were on the verge of disbanding in 1972 before Bowie swooped in and offered his assistance as a producer.
While they had a similarly primal and kitschy sound - complete with barrelhouse piano and epic guitars courtesy of future Bad Company axeman Mick Ralphs - Mott lacked the commercial ambitions of Slade. Mott was never quite as catchy as T. Rex nor did they have the
androgynous sex appeal of David Bowie, but their take on Glam Rock was the weirdest and among the most enduring. Hunter's lyrics were more poetic and cryptic, spinning tales of dead-end losers and revealing a strong Dylan influence.
It was this empathetic passion for the downtrodden street kids which appealed greatly to English Punk bands who identified with Mott's down-to-earth contrast to the pretensions of the era's Progressive Rock bands. Mott did indeed pave the way for the streetwise Punk bands that followed, with the Clash even writing a tribute entitled "All the Young Punks".
Recommended songs: "All the Young Dudes", "One of the Boys", "All the Way From Memphis", "Roll Away the Stone", "The Moon Upstairs".
6. MC5
The first American entry on this list, Detroit's MC5 defined the city's chaotic sound at the end of the 1960's, a symptom of the era's fiery sociopolitical climate, but in a louder and more aggressive manner than the average hippie band. Managed by political activist and founding member of the anti-racist "White Panther" party, MC5 played some of what is still the most aggressively decibel-breaking Rock & Roll ever recorded. Lead vocalist Rob Tyner had a menacing, baritone capable of leading the
cacophonous dual-guitar attack from Fred "Sonic" Smith and Wayne Kramer, capped off by the pummeling rhythm section of Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson.
Though they only released three albums in their heyday, their live debut Kick Out the Jams was heavier, more chaotic and volatile than anything else released in 1969, outdoing even Led Zeppelin and The Who. The title track's now-infamously shouted introduction "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" and its monstrously anarchic sound essentially served as the blueprint for countless heavy Rock bands including the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned Motorhead and Black Flag.
While the MC5's music was rooted in a crushingly loud take on Blues-based Rock music (with later albums showing more of a Chuck Berry influence) Kick Out the Jams featured passages of dissonant, metallic noise which reflected their Motor City roots and a free jazz influence learned from genre icons John Coltrane and Sun Ra. This extended their influence beyond more traditional Rock and Roll with noise-driven experimental band Sonic Youth in particular citing them as an inspiration.
Recommended songs: "Kick Out the Jams", "Ramblin' Rose", "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)", "Looking at You", "Shakin' Street".
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
"Rogue One" Goes Rogue...and Emerges Victorious
The biggest ripple in the Star Wars universe since The Phantom Menace first kicked off the much-maligned prequel series in 1999 came over a year ago when Disney released The Force Awakens, the first official sequel to the original trilogy. Its announcement and release reawakened a pop culture behemoth so great it was a bit puzzling to hear that Disney would be releasing a spinoff prequel to the original series entitled Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Its announcement provoked a mix of reactions from fans, many of whom saw it as little more than a fevered attempt to cash in on the buzz created by The Force Awakens. I was one of those fans. Was the studio actually trying to do artistic justice to the series legacy or were they trying to set and meet a very lucrative one-film-a-year quota?
Not only does Rogue One do more justice to the series than The Force Awakens, it also expands upon it in a satisfying, intriguing manner. Where the latter essentially cloned the structure of the first film of the original trilogy and colored it with aesthetics borrowed from the other two, Rogue One is bold enough to make a Star Wars film unlike any other in the series. This was evident from an intro that lacked the series' signature opening crawl to onscreen texts to keep track of the film's shifting locales.
Apart from a few quips courtesy of a droid more sardonic than C-3PO and R2-D2 combined, the film largely lacks the playful humor found in all of the Star Wars entries to date. At times, its tone verges on dark and even touching. Where The Force Awakens hashed out a rewrite of a New Hope, Rogue One spins out a more tragic, military-oriented interpretation of the underdogs vs. the machine story. As a result, it's the first Star Wars film that really feels more like a war film than an epic adventure. There are even scenes While the battle scenes hardly outdo the original series in terms of violence or gore, onscreen deaths of even new supporting characters warrant more emotion than ever before.
Like the other films, it's centered around a ragtag team of misfits who band together for the greater cause. Unlike the starry-eyed Luke Skywalker, the spunky royal Princess Leia and the lovable rebel Han Solo, however Rogue One's cast consists mainly of beaten-down warriors finding redemption in the greater good despite scheming corruption from both sides of the battle. In that sense, it's somewhat timely considering the currently volatile political world. Where the line between heroic and villainous factions were clear cut in previous films, Rogue One is the first to portray dark agendas within the Rebel Alliance.
While the two leads portrayed by Felicity Huffman and Diego Luna lack the same star power and charisma of Harrison Ford or even The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley, they portray much more earthly characters with interesting moral dilemmas. The supporting cast follows this approach, straying from the template that endured throughout the series. While there are a few familiar archetypes present from the wise force-sensitive mystic to a trigger-happy sideman with the biggest gun, there are no definitive parallels to the Star Wars universe's most beloved characters. While it's unlikely that any of the characters will have the enduring impact of say Han Solo or Emperor Palpatine, they are entertaining and charming as an ensemble, not unlike a sci-fi version of The Untouchables.
Like The Force Awakens, the appeal of a film like Rogue One is built on the legacy of possibly the most popular franchise of all time. It's almost a basic requisite in today's backwards-looking industry to pepper a box office juggernaut like this with inside jokes and cheeky nods to the series' centerpiece films. The Force Awakens was built almost entirely on them. Rogue One displays its fan service more subtly, to its great benefit. The film's shift in tone and structure might make you forget that you're watching a Star Wars film, but there are some well-earned cameos from beloved characters that serve the plot as well as they illicit applause.
On that note, Rogue One isn't perfect. There are a few moments where director Gareth Edwards chooses to resurrect characters as we knew them in 1977 via Computer Generated Imagery and while the method is impressive, it is ultimately distracting and unconvincing. The film also lacks the same epic scope of the average Star Wars film which makes its relatively long run time (at roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes) questionable in terms of pacing.
Ultimately however, Rogue One succeeds where The Force Awakens disappointed. Though it's obviously best appreciated as an entry in the Star Wars saga, it is notably one of the few films in the franchise that plays well as a solid and scenic piece of sci-fi action in its own right. It boldly strayed from the series' familiar devices and was successful in that gamble. Though it doesn't make you think or add anything truly important to the series in terms of story, it does make for an entertaining and gloomily beautiful two hours of entertainment.
Not only does Rogue One do more justice to the series than The Force Awakens, it also expands upon it in a satisfying, intriguing manner. Where the latter essentially cloned the structure of the first film of the original trilogy and colored it with aesthetics borrowed from the other two, Rogue One is bold enough to make a Star Wars film unlike any other in the series. This was evident from an intro that lacked the series' signature opening crawl to onscreen texts to keep track of the film's shifting locales.
Apart from a few quips courtesy of a droid more sardonic than C-3PO and R2-D2 combined, the film largely lacks the playful humor found in all of the Star Wars entries to date. At times, its tone verges on dark and even touching. Where The Force Awakens hashed out a rewrite of a New Hope, Rogue One spins out a more tragic, military-oriented interpretation of the underdogs vs. the machine story. As a result, it's the first Star Wars film that really feels more like a war film than an epic adventure. There are even scenes While the battle scenes hardly outdo the original series in terms of violence or gore, onscreen deaths of even new supporting characters warrant more emotion than ever before.
Like the other films, it's centered around a ragtag team of misfits who band together for the greater cause. Unlike the starry-eyed Luke Skywalker, the spunky royal Princess Leia and the lovable rebel Han Solo, however Rogue One's cast consists mainly of beaten-down warriors finding redemption in the greater good despite scheming corruption from both sides of the battle. In that sense, it's somewhat timely considering the currently volatile political world. Where the line between heroic and villainous factions were clear cut in previous films, Rogue One is the first to portray dark agendas within the Rebel Alliance.
While the two leads portrayed by Felicity Huffman and Diego Luna lack the same star power and charisma of Harrison Ford or even The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley, they portray much more earthly characters with interesting moral dilemmas. The supporting cast follows this approach, straying from the template that endured throughout the series. While there are a few familiar archetypes present from the wise force-sensitive mystic to a trigger-happy sideman with the biggest gun, there are no definitive parallels to the Star Wars universe's most beloved characters. While it's unlikely that any of the characters will have the enduring impact of say Han Solo or Emperor Palpatine, they are entertaining and charming as an ensemble, not unlike a sci-fi version of The Untouchables.
Like The Force Awakens, the appeal of a film like Rogue One is built on the legacy of possibly the most popular franchise of all time. It's almost a basic requisite in today's backwards-looking industry to pepper a box office juggernaut like this with inside jokes and cheeky nods to the series' centerpiece films. The Force Awakens was built almost entirely on them. Rogue One displays its fan service more subtly, to its great benefit. The film's shift in tone and structure might make you forget that you're watching a Star Wars film, but there are some well-earned cameos from beloved characters that serve the plot as well as they illicit applause.
On that note, Rogue One isn't perfect. There are a few moments where director Gareth Edwards chooses to resurrect characters as we knew them in 1977 via Computer Generated Imagery and while the method is impressive, it is ultimately distracting and unconvincing. The film also lacks the same epic scope of the average Star Wars film which makes its relatively long run time (at roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes) questionable in terms of pacing.
Ultimately however, Rogue One succeeds where The Force Awakens disappointed. Though it's obviously best appreciated as an entry in the Star Wars saga, it is notably one of the few films in the franchise that plays well as a solid and scenic piece of sci-fi action in its own right. It boldly strayed from the series' familiar devices and was successful in that gamble. Though it doesn't make you think or add anything truly important to the series in terms of story, it does make for an entertaining and gloomily beautiful two hours of entertainment.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Ziggy Played Guitar...Remembering Bowie
Happy New Year! We've officially said goodbye to a year filled with seemingly nonstop worldwide violence, divisive political upheaval and a surprising number of celebrity deaths. The latter especially led many on social media to demonize 2016 as a particularly horrible year. As a fan of many of the Baby Boomer era icons to leave us this year, I'd be inclined to agree. One of the heaviest losses from my perspective was someone I consider to be my all time favorite musician; David Robert Jones, known more widely as David Bowie.
I can remember hearing his name and seeing Jimmy Fallon doing an appropriately off-kilter impression of this strange, almost devilish yet charismatic character on Saturday Night Live as a child. Even as a proponent of the bizarre, I was more frightened than interested in this vampire of a musician. Many years later as a teenager, I was finally swayed to buy his albums after reading about his unequaled role in the development of glam rock, punk rock and countless other musical sub-genres. Almost all of his albums from the '70s earned perfect or near-perfect ratings on allmusic.com. Musicians from all across the board from Madonna to the Pixies cited him as a major influence. I was properly intrigued.
The fact that everyone has a different favorite album or phase in Bowie's career is a true testament to his boundless creativity and versatility. Bowie's massive oeuvre was marked by wildly different musical excursions ranging from his beginnings as a hippie-ish folk songwriter in the '60s to his dabbles in Industrial music three decades later. He managed to touch upon just about every disparate musical movement in between including glam rock (which he pioneered), English music hall, early heavy metal, progressive rock, soul, German-influenced electronic music and synth-pop. Only fellow 2016 departed Prince can claim a musical resume so diverse.
Not only did Bowie influence countless musical movements, but he was also a lightning rod for the latest trends, often taking great influence from another artist while influencing them. He had such a dynamic of respect with younger artists who looked up to him and ended up touching him with their own music. The most notable examples include the Pixies, Trent Reznor and Sonic Youth. In the '70s, Bowie also found time to revive the then-dormant careers of his own heroes, producing and writing albums for Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Mott the Hoople in addition to his own fledgling career as a superstar. Even shortly before his death, Bowie was still gleaning inspiration from this generation of music in Kendrick Lamar for his swan song Blackstar.
Bowie is perhaps remembered most widely as not one but several visual icons. Lady Gaga and Lana del Rey toy with these concepts in today's pop culture landscape, but Bowie was the first rock star to successfully create and live out his own creations with their own complex backstories. The most notable is Ziggy Stardust, the alien rock star who brings rock music to save Earth from death. Then there was the Thin White Duke, a cocaine-driven white soul singer who managed to blend a steely personality with the most lively and vivacious music known to man. Sometimes he was just "David Bowie", but was this the David Bowie who donned a dress and played what would soon be known as heavy metal or the David Bowie who lived in Berlin and made among the first widely known electronic music?
His music itself was rich and too diverse to describe in one thought. Interestingly enough, there is a widely supported critical consensus that his work had a certain depth to it, even if he was dabbling in a genre as consciously trashy as glam rock or in the excesses of '70s music in general. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bowie could augment one of his songs with a five minute guitar solo from the great Mick Ronson or sing of monsters and aliens doing the boogie without having it sound kitschy or pretentious. It was all art from his pen.
While he continued to make critically well-received music even years after retiring from live performances in the last decade, his commercial peak was 1983's Let's Dance, which is how most casual fans became familiar with him. Artistically however, he created his most memorable and lasting works in the 1970's, including his glam rock masterpieces Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. He closed out the era with a trio of forward-thinking electronic albums known as his Berlin Trilogy after dabbling in his own strain of R&B music he would dub "plastic soul". Most amazingly however, seemingly wandered from one genre from the next, bridging the most disparate styles in the previously unimaginable ways.
He was always a personal hero of mine as a musician and an artist in general, as he refused to be defined or characterized by one single thought. He's a musician who requires a complicated description, and in the process he consciously forged out a large output of art which will be dissected and honored decades after his death. Upon his passing, musicians as diverse and young as Lorde, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake all flocked to sing their praises. One word that fans and foes (if they exist) alike seem to agree upon as an appropriate one-word description would be "weird". David Bowie was anything but normal and the world will be notably less interesting without him.
I can remember hearing his name and seeing Jimmy Fallon doing an appropriately off-kilter impression of this strange, almost devilish yet charismatic character on Saturday Night Live as a child. Even as a proponent of the bizarre, I was more frightened than interested in this vampire of a musician. Many years later as a teenager, I was finally swayed to buy his albums after reading about his unequaled role in the development of glam rock, punk rock and countless other musical sub-genres. Almost all of his albums from the '70s earned perfect or near-perfect ratings on allmusic.com. Musicians from all across the board from Madonna to the Pixies cited him as a major influence. I was properly intrigued.
The fact that everyone has a different favorite album or phase in Bowie's career is a true testament to his boundless creativity and versatility. Bowie's massive oeuvre was marked by wildly different musical excursions ranging from his beginnings as a hippie-ish folk songwriter in the '60s to his dabbles in Industrial music three decades later. He managed to touch upon just about every disparate musical movement in between including glam rock (which he pioneered), English music hall, early heavy metal, progressive rock, soul, German-influenced electronic music and synth-pop. Only fellow 2016 departed Prince can claim a musical resume so diverse.
Not only did Bowie influence countless musical movements, but he was also a lightning rod for the latest trends, often taking great influence from another artist while influencing them. He had such a dynamic of respect with younger artists who looked up to him and ended up touching him with their own music. The most notable examples include the Pixies, Trent Reznor and Sonic Youth. In the '70s, Bowie also found time to revive the then-dormant careers of his own heroes, producing and writing albums for Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Mott the Hoople in addition to his own fledgling career as a superstar. Even shortly before his death, Bowie was still gleaning inspiration from this generation of music in Kendrick Lamar for his swan song Blackstar.
Bowie is perhaps remembered most widely as not one but several visual icons. Lady Gaga and Lana del Rey toy with these concepts in today's pop culture landscape, but Bowie was the first rock star to successfully create and live out his own creations with their own complex backstories. The most notable is Ziggy Stardust, the alien rock star who brings rock music to save Earth from death. Then there was the Thin White Duke, a cocaine-driven white soul singer who managed to blend a steely personality with the most lively and vivacious music known to man. Sometimes he was just "David Bowie", but was this the David Bowie who donned a dress and played what would soon be known as heavy metal or the David Bowie who lived in Berlin and made among the first widely known electronic music?
His music itself was rich and too diverse to describe in one thought. Interestingly enough, there is a widely supported critical consensus that his work had a certain depth to it, even if he was dabbling in a genre as consciously trashy as glam rock or in the excesses of '70s music in general. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bowie could augment one of his songs with a five minute guitar solo from the great Mick Ronson or sing of monsters and aliens doing the boogie without having it sound kitschy or pretentious. It was all art from his pen.
While he continued to make critically well-received music even years after retiring from live performances in the last decade, his commercial peak was 1983's Let's Dance, which is how most casual fans became familiar with him. Artistically however, he created his most memorable and lasting works in the 1970's, including his glam rock masterpieces Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. He closed out the era with a trio of forward-thinking electronic albums known as his Berlin Trilogy after dabbling in his own strain of R&B music he would dub "plastic soul". Most amazingly however, seemingly wandered from one genre from the next, bridging the most disparate styles in the previously unimaginable ways.
He was always a personal hero of mine as a musician and an artist in general, as he refused to be defined or characterized by one single thought. He's a musician who requires a complicated description, and in the process he consciously forged out a large output of art which will be dissected and honored decades after his death. Upon his passing, musicians as diverse and young as Lorde, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake all flocked to sing their praises. One word that fans and foes (if they exist) alike seem to agree upon as an appropriate one-word description would be "weird". David Bowie was anything but normal and the world will be notably less interesting without him.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Hee-Haw! It's a Wonderful Life, 70 Years Later
Much like my review of The Stooges' Raw Power, I would suggest that if you haven't seen this film, stop reading, set aside two and a half hours and watch the film all the way through.
When I first watched Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life in its entirety ten years ago, I was a nineteen year old recent high school graduate in a state of transition. I was about to shake free from the confusion of high school and enter the most carefree, joyous times I'd enjoyed up that point. The film's jubilant mood and inspiring message of appreciating life itself will always carry that association with me. I'll always remember the first time I saw the film just after Thanksgiving and shedding real tears of joy by its conclusion. The next day, I declared it to be my new favorite film of all time. Ten years later, it has not only retained but also strengthened that position.
Simply put, It's A Wonderful Life is more than a great film. It's a spiritual experience, one that transcends the purpose of art and entertainment. It utilizes the storytelling aspect of film to deliver a message that is simple, yet noble. No other film in history has so effectively communicated both the humbling pain and unexpected glory of the human experience.
Most people would balk at the idea of calling an almost universally acknowledged classic "underrated", but I will say that there's a certain stigma surrounding the film, which diminishes its depth. Skeptics (who usually haven't seen the film) tend to critique its ubiquitous, unrealistically "happy" ending or dismiss it as simply that black and white Christmas movie that plays every December on NBC. It's a classic example of a message losing its meaning when removed from its context. Yes, the premise of an entire town chipping in to donate thousands of dollars to the downtrodden protagonist seems to be a ending out of a typical holiday fairy tale, especially in today's world of greed run amok. But is it really that inconceivable? Or are we entirely missing the point?
Apart from its relieving conclusion, It's a Wonderful Life is actually quite bleak in nature. It spends its first half exploring the life of George Bailey, a man whose grand dreams of exploration and glorious innovation are slowly taken from him by fate. Whether it's the call of work, family or simply his morality, George's plans to attend college and become a worldly architect are crushed when he's a teenager, in his mid twenties and his late twenties. As I watch this film every year, I find something newly relevant in George's story. One of the most subtle, yet heartbreaking moments in the film is when he realizes that he's reached his mid twenties and will likely never have a chance to see the exotic countries he'd been dreaming of since childhood. He tosses his brochures to the ground after holding onto them for almost twenty years. This frustration reaches a climax when his business loses an irreplaceable $8000, leading him to contemplate suicide.
As he makes suffers throughout the film, he also makes numerous sacrifices on behalf of his family and the townspeople, often beyond his knowledge. The film makes this important distinction to suggest the probability of all of us having a similar impact on the world around us. Some critics have also pointed out that not everyone can relate to George if they haven't lived life in a similarly altruistic fashion, performing good deeds left and right. The point Capra makes is that even a "saint" like George is completely unaware of the purpose he serves in life. From his perspective, he believes he has very little to show for his life and concludes that life would be better if he were never born.
Capra's message was ultimately for us to appreciate our unlikely purpose in life. Despite our outlook in the worst of times, we're never fully aware of how much we impact others with even the most minute gestures. Whether he's saving his brother from drowning or speaking on behalf of a friend in need of a loan, George spends the film giving to others as often as he laments his own unexpectedly sad life. Through a masterful performance by James Stewart, the audience feels every ounce of pain experienced by George Bailey. While the ending conjures up tears of joy and relief, Stewart also makes it impossible for us not to cry along with more than a few moments of despair more dramatically visceral than one would expect from a "family friendly" film. While it may have earned that classification over the years, It's Wonderful Life is also unequaled in its heavier moments.
While it has deservedly become a ritualistic holiday classic, the emotional sweep of It's a Wonderful Life bears a universal appeal which only becomes more relevant as millennials begin to face a harsh reality not unlike George Bailey. It's not a Christmas story or even an American story, despite its very American character. It's a film which extols the sometimes unrecognized yet increasingly scarce glory of goodwill toward others. Art often attempts to communicate this message, but very little of it succeeds in reigning us in as well as It's a Wonderful Life.
As society in general grows ever distant and resolves to build walls of separation, this film should become required viewing. If I had to describe just one piece of art as truly life-changing in a positive way, this would be it. Watch it. If you've already seen it, start watching it every year and find something new to love about it each time.
When I first watched Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life in its entirety ten years ago, I was a nineteen year old recent high school graduate in a state of transition. I was about to shake free from the confusion of high school and enter the most carefree, joyous times I'd enjoyed up that point. The film's jubilant mood and inspiring message of appreciating life itself will always carry that association with me. I'll always remember the first time I saw the film just after Thanksgiving and shedding real tears of joy by its conclusion. The next day, I declared it to be my new favorite film of all time. Ten years later, it has not only retained but also strengthened that position.
Simply put, It's A Wonderful Life is more than a great film. It's a spiritual experience, one that transcends the purpose of art and entertainment. It utilizes the storytelling aspect of film to deliver a message that is simple, yet noble. No other film in history has so effectively communicated both the humbling pain and unexpected glory of the human experience.
Most people would balk at the idea of calling an almost universally acknowledged classic "underrated", but I will say that there's a certain stigma surrounding the film, which diminishes its depth. Skeptics (who usually haven't seen the film) tend to critique its ubiquitous, unrealistically "happy" ending or dismiss it as simply that black and white Christmas movie that plays every December on NBC. It's a classic example of a message losing its meaning when removed from its context. Yes, the premise of an entire town chipping in to donate thousands of dollars to the downtrodden protagonist seems to be a ending out of a typical holiday fairy tale, especially in today's world of greed run amok. But is it really that inconceivable? Or are we entirely missing the point?
Apart from its relieving conclusion, It's a Wonderful Life is actually quite bleak in nature. It spends its first half exploring the life of George Bailey, a man whose grand dreams of exploration and glorious innovation are slowly taken from him by fate. Whether it's the call of work, family or simply his morality, George's plans to attend college and become a worldly architect are crushed when he's a teenager, in his mid twenties and his late twenties. As I watch this film every year, I find something newly relevant in George's story. One of the most subtle, yet heartbreaking moments in the film is when he realizes that he's reached his mid twenties and will likely never have a chance to see the exotic countries he'd been dreaming of since childhood. He tosses his brochures to the ground after holding onto them for almost twenty years. This frustration reaches a climax when his business loses an irreplaceable $8000, leading him to contemplate suicide.
As he makes suffers throughout the film, he also makes numerous sacrifices on behalf of his family and the townspeople, often beyond his knowledge. The film makes this important distinction to suggest the probability of all of us having a similar impact on the world around us. Some critics have also pointed out that not everyone can relate to George if they haven't lived life in a similarly altruistic fashion, performing good deeds left and right. The point Capra makes is that even a "saint" like George is completely unaware of the purpose he serves in life. From his perspective, he believes he has very little to show for his life and concludes that life would be better if he were never born.
Capra's message was ultimately for us to appreciate our unlikely purpose in life. Despite our outlook in the worst of times, we're never fully aware of how much we impact others with even the most minute gestures. Whether he's saving his brother from drowning or speaking on behalf of a friend in need of a loan, George spends the film giving to others as often as he laments his own unexpectedly sad life. Through a masterful performance by James Stewart, the audience feels every ounce of pain experienced by George Bailey. While the ending conjures up tears of joy and relief, Stewart also makes it impossible for us not to cry along with more than a few moments of despair more dramatically visceral than one would expect from a "family friendly" film. While it may have earned that classification over the years, It's Wonderful Life is also unequaled in its heavier moments.
While it has deservedly become a ritualistic holiday classic, the emotional sweep of It's a Wonderful Life bears a universal appeal which only becomes more relevant as millennials begin to face a harsh reality not unlike George Bailey. It's not a Christmas story or even an American story, despite its very American character. It's a film which extols the sometimes unrecognized yet increasingly scarce glory of goodwill toward others. Art often attempts to communicate this message, but very little of it succeeds in reigning us in as well as It's a Wonderful Life.
As society in general grows ever distant and resolves to build walls of separation, this film should become required viewing. If I had to describe just one piece of art as truly life-changing in a positive way, this would be it. Watch it. If you've already seen it, start watching it every year and find something new to love about it each time.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Fra-gee-lay....Must be Italian! Remembering "A Christmas Story"
Whenever the subject of quintessential holiday films is raised, A Christmas Story is undoubtedly one of the first choices that comes to mind. In many ways, it is the definitive Christmas film. More than a story set around the titular season, A Christmas Story is one of the few films to be about little more than the holiday itself. Even though the traditions and culture of the December season explored in the film's 1940's Indiana setting may not apply worldwide, audiences still continue to find something familiar in its idyllic depiction of a childhood Christmas.
There's not much of a story to A Christmas Story. Ralphie wants a Red Ryder b.b. gun for Christmas, and he'll stop at nothing to convince someone in buying him one for Christmas. The story is little more than an excuse to explore all of the facets of a typical white Christmas in America. Everything from snowball fights to a somewhat disillusioning visit with a department store Santa Claus is explored. Some of the most memorable moments are standalone vignettes that are only loosely tied to the main plot, such as the unforgettable tongue-frozen-to-a-pole scene or Ralphie's friends dealing with a local bully. Each explores a different aspect of the Christmas season, one the audience may not have personally experienced yet still strikes a chord within everyone.
That's really what drives the legacy of A Christmas Story. Though holiday customs have changed in the decades since the film's setting and vary in different parts of the world, the film still manages to tell a universally familiar story, namely one of innocence. Few other films have equaled its portrait of the innocence of childhood, a time in one's life where nothing else matters but the acquisition of that one toy. Everyone can relate to Ralphie's drastic, elaborate fantasies or his never-ending schemes to manipulate different adults into helping him get his prize.
Though it's a family-friendly film with an accordingly light-hearted touch, it never feels overly saccharine or toned down. There are overtones of satire and an irreverent sense of humor at its core. Ralphie doesn't always win, and film finds more to laugh at in his blunders. The adults in Ralphie's world are depicted in a warts-and-all fashion, from his stern but understanding father to his sweet but overbearing mother. His parents have no names, as they aren't meant to be unique characters. They're universal stand-ins which function as reflections of our own parents, or at least our impression of them when we were young.
One of the film's most notable achievements is itself pitch-perfect, sweetly evocative direction. There's hardly a more appropriate setting for the vision of a classic American Christmas than a Midwestern suburb in the 1940's. The film plays like a film version of a Thomas Kinkade painting, complete with organically vintage toys and visuals that are colorful, but never flashy. Though Ralphie's fantasy sequences are shot with an exaggeratedly blurred effect, the entire film has a similarly muted, dreamy look to it.
When I first saw A Christmas Story in 2006, it had already been classified as a classic holiday film for more than two decades. I'd never seen it before, but it somehow seemed extremely familiar to me, as if I'd grown up watching it as much as the next person. There's a timeless, universal quality to the film that transcends typical "family" fare, to the point where it could be considered a true work of art. As its audience grows with every year and its broad fan base continues to wear out its most memorable quotes, A Christmas Story continues to be essential holiday viewing.
There's not much of a story to A Christmas Story. Ralphie wants a Red Ryder b.b. gun for Christmas, and he'll stop at nothing to convince someone in buying him one for Christmas. The story is little more than an excuse to explore all of the facets of a typical white Christmas in America. Everything from snowball fights to a somewhat disillusioning visit with a department store Santa Claus is explored. Some of the most memorable moments are standalone vignettes that are only loosely tied to the main plot, such as the unforgettable tongue-frozen-to-a-pole scene or Ralphie's friends dealing with a local bully. Each explores a different aspect of the Christmas season, one the audience may not have personally experienced yet still strikes a chord within everyone.
That's really what drives the legacy of A Christmas Story. Though holiday customs have changed in the decades since the film's setting and vary in different parts of the world, the film still manages to tell a universally familiar story, namely one of innocence. Few other films have equaled its portrait of the innocence of childhood, a time in one's life where nothing else matters but the acquisition of that one toy. Everyone can relate to Ralphie's drastic, elaborate fantasies or his never-ending schemes to manipulate different adults into helping him get his prize.
Though it's a family-friendly film with an accordingly light-hearted touch, it never feels overly saccharine or toned down. There are overtones of satire and an irreverent sense of humor at its core. Ralphie doesn't always win, and film finds more to laugh at in his blunders. The adults in Ralphie's world are depicted in a warts-and-all fashion, from his stern but understanding father to his sweet but overbearing mother. His parents have no names, as they aren't meant to be unique characters. They're universal stand-ins which function as reflections of our own parents, or at least our impression of them when we were young.
One of the film's most notable achievements is itself pitch-perfect, sweetly evocative direction. There's hardly a more appropriate setting for the vision of a classic American Christmas than a Midwestern suburb in the 1940's. The film plays like a film version of a Thomas Kinkade painting, complete with organically vintage toys and visuals that are colorful, but never flashy. Though Ralphie's fantasy sequences are shot with an exaggeratedly blurred effect, the entire film has a similarly muted, dreamy look to it.
When I first saw A Christmas Story in 2006, it had already been classified as a classic holiday film for more than two decades. I'd never seen it before, but it somehow seemed extremely familiar to me, as if I'd grown up watching it as much as the next person. There's a timeless, universal quality to the film that transcends typical "family" fare, to the point where it could be considered a true work of art. As its audience grows with every year and its broad fan base continues to wear out its most memorable quotes, A Christmas Story continues to be essential holiday viewing.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Top 10 Christmas Films (Part 2)
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Though it technically deals with Halloween in equal measure, no list of great Christmas films would be complete without Tim Burton and Henry Selick's iconic, imaginative stop motion masterpiece. On a visual level alone, Nightmare introduced memorable characters like Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie and Sally the Rag Doll, the likes of who have been featured in endless merchandising since the film's 1993 release.
Though the animation and visuals are unforgettable, so is the story and characterization. Drawing inspiration from fairy tale television specials like How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Burton expands the format into feature length and includes more than a hint of satire, but an equal amount of affection for such holiday tales.
One of the most enduring elements of Nightmare is its music, composed by frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, who also provides the singing voice of Jack Skellington. Many of the songs have seeped their way into the mainstream, including "This is Halloween" and "Making Christmas". So enduring is Nightmare that it has been revisited as a stage show and a feature of Disneyland. Truly a modern classic that can be enjoyed twice a year.
4. Die Hard
Though it's not a necessarily a film about Christmas, there's enough tongue in cheek references to eggnog, reindeer and miserable family get-togethers to qualify Die Hard as a genuine Christmas film. Best known as one of the films that launched the action craze of the late '80s. It's also one of the best. Directed by genre heavyweight John McTiernan (Predator, The Hunt For Red October), it's as silly as it is violent. Nearly every instance of the scruffy, reluctant hero John McClane killing a conniving terrorist is accompanied by a perfectly timed, crude wisecrack.
One of the reasons Die Hard stands tall above other action movies is its ability not to take itself seriously. Even with all of the executions and on-screen neck breaking, there's not a glum or grim moment to be found. Much of this results from the almost cartoonish characterizations; McClane is almost an archetypal beer-bellied American Joe who happens to be a resourceful cop and his rival Hans Gruber is a worldly, clever terrorist straight out of a superhero comic.
While it has a very different character from say, the next entry on this list, Die Hard nevertheless deserves a spot due to its break-neck (no pun intended), non-stop fun and for taking a very different spin on a Christmas film. Set in L.A., it's the only one of these films that doesn't feature a touch of snow!
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Miracle on 34th Street isn't so much a film about Christmas as it is a film about the loss of whimsy that comes with being an adult. Centered around a department store Santa Claus who believes he is the real 'Kris Kringle', the entire film is a parry between the innocence of fantasy and the cynicism of commercialism around Christmas. It isn't necessarily a tale of youth vs. adulthood, as one of the most initially jaded characters is a young child from a single parent family, and one of the most whimsical characters is a capable adult attorney. The film follows Kringle as he gradually makes "believers" out of the skeptics around him.
It's such a time-honored message that has grown beyond the film's humbler 1947 settings, as commercialism has only tightened its reign on the world and innocence in a lifetime is seemingly more fleeting than ever. Though the film has undergone a few more dramatic remakes, the original version is the most moving and the best-made film of them all, due in no small part to Edmund Gwenn's definitive, Academy Award winning performance. One may not expect it from a "family" film, but its story holds up in terms of depth compared to just about anything out there today.
2. A Christmas Story (1983)
In many ways, A Christmas Story is the definitive Christmas film, as one may guess from its straightforward title. Unlike almost every other film, A Christmas Story really is a film about Christmas itself, with no particular focus but the general scope and feeling of the weeks leading up to December 25. There really isn't much a significant plot, as the film is loosely framed around the story of a kid doing everything in his power to receive a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Everything about the direction perfectly lends itself to the definitive "Christmas" feeling, from author Jean Shepherd's folksy narration to film's setting in 1940's Indiana. It's a picturesque coming of age tale that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being a young child excited for the holidays, fit for the warmest of greeting cards.
1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
And here it is. This is an obvious pick for anyone who knows me, as it's my all time favorite film, regardless of holiday affiliation. There never was and hasn't been such a powerful statement on the human experience as the one detailed in Frank Capra's 1946 magnum opus. In the years before I'd actually seen the film, I was familiar with critiques of its fantastical outcome and status as that old black and white movie that plays in every house on Christmas Eve. When I'd finally taken the time to watch it from beginning to end, I was moved to tears which has NEVER happened to me while watching a film, even Titanic. It's almost as if everyone who disparages the film as light family fodder only watched the last fives minutes.
It's a Wonderful Life is far beyond just a Christmas film, or even the tale of a man who plans to commit suicide only to be deterred by a vision of life without him. With each repeated viewing, I took more notice of the part of the film that leads up to its famous conclusion. It's really a tragic story of how one's dreams evades them and they subsequently end up feeling trapped by a life much humbler than they'd imagined. Yet the film's parting message is that even the most insignificant of lives can have the most profound impact on the world around them. It manages to impart that message with overtones of both the Great Depression and post-war optimism.
There's really too much I could write about this movie. All I can say is that everyone needs to watch this film all the way through at least once. I've seen very few films that are this moving, and it only grows more relevant as life becomes ever more complicated. It's one of a very few films I could say has had a profound impact on my outlook. It was an easy choice for no. 1.
Though it technically deals with Halloween in equal measure, no list of great Christmas films would be complete without Tim Burton and Henry Selick's iconic, imaginative stop motion masterpiece. On a visual level alone, Nightmare introduced memorable characters like Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie and Sally the Rag Doll, the likes of who have been featured in endless merchandising since the film's 1993 release.
Though the animation and visuals are unforgettable, so is the story and characterization. Drawing inspiration from fairy tale television specials like How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Burton expands the format into feature length and includes more than a hint of satire, but an equal amount of affection for such holiday tales.
One of the most enduring elements of Nightmare is its music, composed by frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, who also provides the singing voice of Jack Skellington. Many of the songs have seeped their way into the mainstream, including "This is Halloween" and "Making Christmas". So enduring is Nightmare that it has been revisited as a stage show and a feature of Disneyland. Truly a modern classic that can be enjoyed twice a year.
4. Die Hard
Though it's not a necessarily a film about Christmas, there's enough tongue in cheek references to eggnog, reindeer and miserable family get-togethers to qualify Die Hard as a genuine Christmas film. Best known as one of the films that launched the action craze of the late '80s. It's also one of the best. Directed by genre heavyweight John McTiernan (Predator, The Hunt For Red October), it's as silly as it is violent. Nearly every instance of the scruffy, reluctant hero John McClane killing a conniving terrorist is accompanied by a perfectly timed, crude wisecrack.
One of the reasons Die Hard stands tall above other action movies is its ability not to take itself seriously. Even with all of the executions and on-screen neck breaking, there's not a glum or grim moment to be found. Much of this results from the almost cartoonish characterizations; McClane is almost an archetypal beer-bellied American Joe who happens to be a resourceful cop and his rival Hans Gruber is a worldly, clever terrorist straight out of a superhero comic.
While it has a very different character from say, the next entry on this list, Die Hard nevertheless deserves a spot due to its break-neck (no pun intended), non-stop fun and for taking a very different spin on a Christmas film. Set in L.A., it's the only one of these films that doesn't feature a touch of snow!
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Miracle on 34th Street isn't so much a film about Christmas as it is a film about the loss of whimsy that comes with being an adult. Centered around a department store Santa Claus who believes he is the real 'Kris Kringle', the entire film is a parry between the innocence of fantasy and the cynicism of commercialism around Christmas. It isn't necessarily a tale of youth vs. adulthood, as one of the most initially jaded characters is a young child from a single parent family, and one of the most whimsical characters is a capable adult attorney. The film follows Kringle as he gradually makes "believers" out of the skeptics around him.
It's such a time-honored message that has grown beyond the film's humbler 1947 settings, as commercialism has only tightened its reign on the world and innocence in a lifetime is seemingly more fleeting than ever. Though the film has undergone a few more dramatic remakes, the original version is the most moving and the best-made film of them all, due in no small part to Edmund Gwenn's definitive, Academy Award winning performance. One may not expect it from a "family" film, but its story holds up in terms of depth compared to just about anything out there today.
2. A Christmas Story (1983)
In many ways, A Christmas Story is the definitive Christmas film, as one may guess from its straightforward title. Unlike almost every other film, A Christmas Story really is a film about Christmas itself, with no particular focus but the general scope and feeling of the weeks leading up to December 25. There really isn't much a significant plot, as the film is loosely framed around the story of a kid doing everything in his power to receive a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Everything about the direction perfectly lends itself to the definitive "Christmas" feeling, from author Jean Shepherd's folksy narration to film's setting in 1940's Indiana. It's a picturesque coming of age tale that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being a young child excited for the holidays, fit for the warmest of greeting cards.
1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
And here it is. This is an obvious pick for anyone who knows me, as it's my all time favorite film, regardless of holiday affiliation. There never was and hasn't been such a powerful statement on the human experience as the one detailed in Frank Capra's 1946 magnum opus. In the years before I'd actually seen the film, I was familiar with critiques of its fantastical outcome and status as that old black and white movie that plays in every house on Christmas Eve. When I'd finally taken the time to watch it from beginning to end, I was moved to tears which has NEVER happened to me while watching a film, even Titanic. It's almost as if everyone who disparages the film as light family fodder only watched the last fives minutes.
It's a Wonderful Life is far beyond just a Christmas film, or even the tale of a man who plans to commit suicide only to be deterred by a vision of life without him. With each repeated viewing, I took more notice of the part of the film that leads up to its famous conclusion. It's really a tragic story of how one's dreams evades them and they subsequently end up feeling trapped by a life much humbler than they'd imagined. Yet the film's parting message is that even the most insignificant of lives can have the most profound impact on the world around them. It manages to impart that message with overtones of both the Great Depression and post-war optimism.
There's really too much I could write about this movie. All I can say is that everyone needs to watch this film all the way through at least once. I've seen very few films that are this moving, and it only grows more relevant as life becomes ever more complicated. It's one of a very few films I could say has had a profound impact on my outlook. It was an easy choice for no. 1.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Top 10 Christmas Films (Part 1)
In continuing the lightheartedness of my last post, I'm going to share my top ten favorite films and to watch around this time of year. Once Thanksgiving passes, it's open game on all things Christmas.
Before I begin, I should note that I'm evaluating these films based on nostalgic factors and their adherence to the "holiday spirit" rather than artistic merit. You will see some complete cheese-fests on here, but to my estimation, they're very enjoyable cheese fests. Also, the entire film has to revolve around Christmas, so The Godfather and L.A. Confidential won't appear on account of their brief but memorable Christmas scenes. Lastly, this is a list of films not TV specials, so you won't see Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Beavis & Butthead Do Christmas here, as much as I love both.
So turn on the Charlie Brown Christmas album and take warm trip with me down nostalgia lane...
10. Reindeer Games (2000)
Do you love Christmas movies and cheesy 1990's action films in equal measure? Reindeer Games may already be one of your favorites, if you've seen it. It wouldn't be surprising if you haven't seen famed director John Frankenheimer's last film, because it was a bomb then and still incites Grinch-like jeers when it's brought up today, due to its ludicrous plot scenarios which feature more unbelievable twists than a peppermint.
Rudy (Ben Affleck), a car thief is released from prison and poses as his cellmate, who was murdered the day before. He begins an affair with his cellmate's pen pal girlfriend (Charlize Theron), whose criminal brother enlists him to help him rob a casino.
Though it's a completely silly film, it earns its spot on this list due to its insistent humor and odd replay value. I'd taken this film out "for the hell of it" at least ten times before I realized it had become something of a de facto custom around the Christmas season. There's plenty of dark humor involving people being beaten or tortured, yet there's enough references to the holiday to give it almost a lighthearted touch. No matter how much blood is being shed, its insistent humor makes it more similar in spirit to Home Alone than The Boondock Saints. If you can stomach a little violence, don't miss this one.
9. The Santa Clause (1994)
Definitely one of the titles which found its way on the list due to nostalgic factors, The Santa Clause was funnyman Tim Allen's turn as Father Christmas after playing the quintessential American father on Home Improvement. The film concerns a father who witnesses Santa fall from his roof on Christmas Eve, and finds himself literally donning the big man's beard as he becomes the new Santa.
As is the case with many Christmas films, The Santa Clause was very much intended to be a family-friendly film. At times, the fantasy elements and saccharine "Christmas spirit" monologues can upset the stomach of even the most obnoxiously gung-ho holiday nut, but the film's colorful direction and funny, natural performance from Tim Allen make it all worthwhile. The scenes at Santa's workshop are gaudy,
Allen really is the film's greatest asset, and the best jokes revolve around his wisecracking or complete disbelief in the face of magic taking place before his eyes. One of the funniest scenes revolves around his first night as Santa, in which he chides a young girl for leaving him milk when he's lactose intolerant. It may have the same effect on someone who didn't first watch it as a child, but it's still one of the better Christmas comedies.
8. Love Actually (2003)
Set around the intertwining lives of multiple people in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Love Actually is the most recent addition on the list. Thanks to more than a few memorable moments which resonated with audiences almost as deeply as Home Alone, the film has become a staple on TV rotations during the holiday season.
Billed as a "romantic comedy" and featuring an ensemble of the U.K.'s premier actors in that genre (including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and others) - one might mistake Love Actually as a garden variety chick flick, with the same basic plot redressed in a new context. While there's certainly some of that to be found, Love Actually takes a different approach, compiling many different subplots which each tell a story about love from a different perspective. There's the dissolution of a marriage, reinforced familial bonds, newfound romance between people foreign to each other and unrequited love. It borders on an overabundance of plot at times, but all of the stories coalesce together to remind us that nothing is stronger than love. Is there a more appropriate message to share at Christmas?
The film is aging very well, and one of the most fun aspects of watching it every year is seeing just how much of the supporting cast has gone on to international stardom. It was already bubbling with A-listers upon release, but now we can go back and recognize The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln as the guy who held up confessional cue cards to his romantic interest to the sound of "Silent Night".
7. Elf (2003)
I find Will Ferrell to be a bit much at times, and he was at his most obnoxious in Elf. The idea of casting him as a man-child raised by elves who goes to New York in search of his biological father sounds like the kind of idea spawned from an all night eggnog bender. Ferrell's basic "if it's gay or childish, it's funny" mantra is played out to the extreme in this film, and James Caan phones in a completely wooden performance as Ferrell's earthbound father. To add insult to injury, my least favorite actress Zooey Deschanel is cast as the love interest. On paper, it sounds like a horrible film.
However, all these elements ties together to make up something greater than the sum of its parts. Elf isn't just a fluke, it's an extremely memorable fluke. To have a character answer the phone with "Hi I'm Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" isn't exactly sharp comedic writing, yet it's somehow entered the public consciousness as an enduring catch phase. Most of the fish out of water jokes in Elf are completely on the nose and somewhat predictable, yet the film is chock full of memorable lines and scenes tied together with Ferrell's controversial but undeniable charisma.
It's one of the sillier entries, but along with Love Actually, it's a relatively newer film which has become arguably the classic Christmas comedy for younger millennials.
6. Jingle All the Way (1997)
In some ways, this is the most personal pick for an entry on this list. It's the bottom of the barrel of silliness, a film which either incites cold criticism or the warmest memories of being a kid in the '90s. Jingle All the Way is the most critically derided film here along with Reindeer Games, and understandably so. It's a comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger about a inattentive father who attempts to hunt down the hottest toy of the year on Christmas Eve, brought to you by the director of Problem Child 2 and The Spy Next Door, the Jackie Chan family film from 2010. Remember? No, me neither.
In spite of all its artlessness, Jingle manages to be an extremely fun and likable film for its manic humor, but also for the unintended hilarity of Schwarzenegger's interpretation of the script. Many of the film's innocuous lines have become comedic gold ripe for endless imitations due to the action star's thick Austrian accent. As a lightweight slapstick comedy, it also elicits many genuine laughs thanks to the performances of Schwarzenegger, Sinbad as an antagonistic mailman and Phil Hartman as a sleazy neighbor. The latter two are completely in their element and Schwarzenegger gives a perfectly credible comedic performance, although he sneaks in a few chances to kick some ass in Jingle All the Way.
If anything, Jingle All the Way stands as one of the last Christmas films for toy-obsessed youths before the smartphone generation stepped in. Any child who grew up in the '80s and '90s can recall mass marketed, must-have toys which inspired the kind of insanity portrayed in the film every Christmas season. For my older brother's generation, it was Cabbage Patch Kids. I was a child of the Power Rangers generation. Though action figures and dolls have lost the power to incite such obsession among children, Jingle All the Way has become all the more relevant now that Black Friday has nearly become a holiday in its own right.
Before I begin, I should note that I'm evaluating these films based on nostalgic factors and their adherence to the "holiday spirit" rather than artistic merit. You will see some complete cheese-fests on here, but to my estimation, they're very enjoyable cheese fests. Also, the entire film has to revolve around Christmas, so The Godfather and L.A. Confidential won't appear on account of their brief but memorable Christmas scenes. Lastly, this is a list of films not TV specials, so you won't see Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Beavis & Butthead Do Christmas here, as much as I love both.
So turn on the Charlie Brown Christmas album and take warm trip with me down nostalgia lane...
10. Reindeer Games (2000)
Do you love Christmas movies and cheesy 1990's action films in equal measure? Reindeer Games may already be one of your favorites, if you've seen it. It wouldn't be surprising if you haven't seen famed director John Frankenheimer's last film, because it was a bomb then and still incites Grinch-like jeers when it's brought up today, due to its ludicrous plot scenarios which feature more unbelievable twists than a peppermint.
Rudy (Ben Affleck), a car thief is released from prison and poses as his cellmate, who was murdered the day before. He begins an affair with his cellmate's pen pal girlfriend (Charlize Theron), whose criminal brother enlists him to help him rob a casino.
Though it's a completely silly film, it earns its spot on this list due to its insistent humor and odd replay value. I'd taken this film out "for the hell of it" at least ten times before I realized it had become something of a de facto custom around the Christmas season. There's plenty of dark humor involving people being beaten or tortured, yet there's enough references to the holiday to give it almost a lighthearted touch. No matter how much blood is being shed, its insistent humor makes it more similar in spirit to Home Alone than The Boondock Saints. If you can stomach a little violence, don't miss this one.
9. The Santa Clause (1994)
Definitely one of the titles which found its way on the list due to nostalgic factors, The Santa Clause was funnyman Tim Allen's turn as Father Christmas after playing the quintessential American father on Home Improvement. The film concerns a father who witnesses Santa fall from his roof on Christmas Eve, and finds himself literally donning the big man's beard as he becomes the new Santa.
As is the case with many Christmas films, The Santa Clause was very much intended to be a family-friendly film. At times, the fantasy elements and saccharine "Christmas spirit" monologues can upset the stomach of even the most obnoxiously gung-ho holiday nut, but the film's colorful direction and funny, natural performance from Tim Allen make it all worthwhile. The scenes at Santa's workshop are gaudy,
Allen really is the film's greatest asset, and the best jokes revolve around his wisecracking or complete disbelief in the face of magic taking place before his eyes. One of the funniest scenes revolves around his first night as Santa, in which he chides a young girl for leaving him milk when he's lactose intolerant. It may have the same effect on someone who didn't first watch it as a child, but it's still one of the better Christmas comedies.
8. Love Actually (2003)
Set around the intertwining lives of multiple people in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Love Actually is the most recent addition on the list. Thanks to more than a few memorable moments which resonated with audiences almost as deeply as Home Alone, the film has become a staple on TV rotations during the holiday season.
Billed as a "romantic comedy" and featuring an ensemble of the U.K.'s premier actors in that genre (including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and others) - one might mistake Love Actually as a garden variety chick flick, with the same basic plot redressed in a new context. While there's certainly some of that to be found, Love Actually takes a different approach, compiling many different subplots which each tell a story about love from a different perspective. There's the dissolution of a marriage, reinforced familial bonds, newfound romance between people foreign to each other and unrequited love. It borders on an overabundance of plot at times, but all of the stories coalesce together to remind us that nothing is stronger than love. Is there a more appropriate message to share at Christmas?
The film is aging very well, and one of the most fun aspects of watching it every year is seeing just how much of the supporting cast has gone on to international stardom. It was already bubbling with A-listers upon release, but now we can go back and recognize The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln as the guy who held up confessional cue cards to his romantic interest to the sound of "Silent Night".
7. Elf (2003)
I find Will Ferrell to be a bit much at times, and he was at his most obnoxious in Elf. The idea of casting him as a man-child raised by elves who goes to New York in search of his biological father sounds like the kind of idea spawned from an all night eggnog bender. Ferrell's basic "if it's gay or childish, it's funny" mantra is played out to the extreme in this film, and James Caan phones in a completely wooden performance as Ferrell's earthbound father. To add insult to injury, my least favorite actress Zooey Deschanel is cast as the love interest. On paper, it sounds like a horrible film.
However, all these elements ties together to make up something greater than the sum of its parts. Elf isn't just a fluke, it's an extremely memorable fluke. To have a character answer the phone with "Hi I'm Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" isn't exactly sharp comedic writing, yet it's somehow entered the public consciousness as an enduring catch phase. Most of the fish out of water jokes in Elf are completely on the nose and somewhat predictable, yet the film is chock full of memorable lines and scenes tied together with Ferrell's controversial but undeniable charisma.
It's one of the sillier entries, but along with Love Actually, it's a relatively newer film which has become arguably the classic Christmas comedy for younger millennials.
6. Jingle All the Way (1997)
In some ways, this is the most personal pick for an entry on this list. It's the bottom of the barrel of silliness, a film which either incites cold criticism or the warmest memories of being a kid in the '90s. Jingle All the Way is the most critically derided film here along with Reindeer Games, and understandably so. It's a comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger about a inattentive father who attempts to hunt down the hottest toy of the year on Christmas Eve, brought to you by the director of Problem Child 2 and The Spy Next Door, the Jackie Chan family film from 2010. Remember? No, me neither.
In spite of all its artlessness, Jingle manages to be an extremely fun and likable film for its manic humor, but also for the unintended hilarity of Schwarzenegger's interpretation of the script. Many of the film's innocuous lines have become comedic gold ripe for endless imitations due to the action star's thick Austrian accent. As a lightweight slapstick comedy, it also elicits many genuine laughs thanks to the performances of Schwarzenegger, Sinbad as an antagonistic mailman and Phil Hartman as a sleazy neighbor. The latter two are completely in their element and Schwarzenegger gives a perfectly credible comedic performance, although he sneaks in a few chances to kick some ass in Jingle All the Way.
If anything, Jingle All the Way stands as one of the last Christmas films for toy-obsessed youths before the smartphone generation stepped in. Any child who grew up in the '80s and '90s can recall mass marketed, must-have toys which inspired the kind of insanity portrayed in the film every Christmas season. For my older brother's generation, it was Cabbage Patch Kids. I was a child of the Power Rangers generation. Though action figures and dolls have lost the power to incite such obsession among children, Jingle All the Way has become all the more relevant now that Black Friday has nearly become a holiday in its own right.
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