Some festive TV and movie suggestions and mini reviews

Falling for Christmas (2022) - Not awful but not a fantastic film either (and this is coming from someone who has more time for all kinds of Christmas movies* than most people, as well as being an overthinker who cares a lot about plots and characters etc.) However, it was really nice to see Lindsay Lohan in a new movie again as she was in so many of my fave movies growing up (and probably for a lot of others too), I just couldn’t get enough of her movies as a kid (and let’s be honest, until relatively recently too.) It was nice to hear ‘Jingle bell rock’ in the film too because of the ‘Mean Girls’ reference and the fact that Chord Overstreet (Lindsay’s love interest in the movie) also sang it in ‘Glee’. It was also cool to get some scenes that really reminded me of ‘Just my luck’, with Lindsay’s character doing the laundry, bonding with a little girl who’s related to her love interest, the physical comedy relating to cleaning etc and her love interest being called Jake. In terms of new Christmas movies, I'd probably be more likely to recommend 'Your Christmas or mine?' with the lovely and talented Angela Griffin.

Noelle (2019) - Such a sweet, genuinely pretty funny and heartwarming Christmas movie and definitely quite an underrated one, in my opinion. The cast is great too, including Anna Kendrick (as the titular character and Santa’s daughter), Kingsley Ben-Adir, Shirley MacLaine, Bill Hader and Billy Eichner. It’s a story that doesn’t try and pretend that there aren’t difficult and sad things in the world but is also a reminder that things aren’t completely hopeless and the heart and humour in the film works so well.

Nativity (2009) - Such a tear-jerker, wow, quite an unexpected one too as no matter how many times I watch it, it still has the same effect and it becomes pretty hard to not get at least a little choked up. It’s also a really funny movie with a lot of heart and while it’s definitely not entirely realistic or aspirational in terms of rules about where you can take primary school children away for trips etc, it remains very entertaining and works super well and is definitely one that can be rewatched over and over again. With a cast like Ashley Jensen, Pam Ferris, Martin Freeman, Jason Watkins (who’s hilarious in this) and many other greats including many super talented child actors and even Jim Royle himself (Ricky Tomlinson), the film is an instant personal favourite. Despite the generally pretty nasty and unpleasant character Ricky Tomlinson plays in ‘The Royle Family’, the TV show itself is an absolute gem and the Christmas episodes are firm family favourites, along with Elf, Muppets Christmas Carol and some other great newer releases such as Happiest Season and Arthur Christmas. The total star that was Caroline Aherne (Denise in ‘The Royle Family’ and one of the show’s creators) is missed so much.

      

When Harry met Sally (1989) - Not technically speaking a Christmas movie but Christmas and the holiday season play a vital role in some of the key scenes in this movie so thought I’d mention it (and because it’s an absolute classic and a marvellous film that is one of my faves of all time.) I think it’s up there with The Holiday as one of my faves and for those that don’t know, I fricking love that movie and that’s also def worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. While some of the ideas stated by the male lead (played by Billy Crystal) about whether or not men and women can be platonic friends haven’t all aged flawlessly, I’m still shocked, relieved and cautiously thrilled at how well this film has actually lasted despite coming out over thirty years ago. In fact, I’d even say that it’s probably aged better than a lot of mid 2000s entertainment. The female lead is a great character too and the fact that it’s Meg Ryan in the leading role doesn’t hurt as she’s always brilliant in romcoms. The whole dynamic between the leads, unsurprisingly called Harry and Sally, is pretty special too and lovely to watch as while they’re not a couple for much of the movie at all, the fact that they‘re best friends really shines through and the way that they make each other laugh, their ease with each other and how quickly they apologise after arguing (going against the trope in many romcoms of how the main couple do terrible things to each other, eg sabotage relationships, lie, betray, deceive and cheat etc.) Their dynamic also reminds me of ‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’, which is a truly brilliant but heartbreaking movie where the leads are recently separated best friends with incredible chemistry.

Home Alone (1990) - Actually, despite how iconic it is, I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a definite favourite. It’s not that I don’t like it, I still enjoy it on a rewatch (especially as this movie’s got Catherine O’Hara in it, aka, the icon who plays the icon Moira Rose in ‘Schitt’s Creek’.) In fact, because I like this movie enough to rewatch it but it’s not my absolute fave, it means that I also actually quite enjoy ‘Home Sweet Home Alone’, the newest ‘Home Alone’ reboot from last year as well despite the mixed reviews it received.

*With the exception of  Lost at Christmas, one of the worst holiday films I’ve come across and so much so that it’s become quite infamous as a running family joke. (no offence to the people in it though as there are some talented actors in the cast.)

 TV 

‘Gavin and Stacey’ (2008 and 2019) - Unsurprisingly, Christmas episodes are a pretty big deal in my eyes (in fact, 'Baking it' is one of my fave shows ever and I even found out about… ‘Santa’ from watching a Christmas episode as a young child). The ‘G and S’ Christmas specials are pretty great too and super quotable, moving and funny with a great use of Christmas music that helps to entertain, feel warm and festive, give insight into the characters and set the scene and mood (such as ‘Driving home for Christmas’ and ‘Santa baby’). The more recent Christmas special works so well too and is super funny and consistent with the characters and their relationships, dynamics, personalities and role in the story while not feeling repetitive or lazy, so def worth a watch if you’re a fan and haven’t seen the most recent episode.

‘Frasier’ (various but thinking about ‘Frasier Grinch’ from 1995) - Such a brilliant show anyway and nearly every line in this S3 episode is pure gold and just wonderful. It features a brilliant mix of amazing performances, stellar humour and heartfelt, emotional scenes. This is especially the case with Frasier getting gifts for his son, Frederick and discussing presents with his Dad and their differences and similarities and whether or not people buy the gifts others want or the gifts they think that they should want.

‘Brooklyn 99’ - (various) - Of course, I had to mention this one (sorry), especially as it gave us some legit iconic Christmas episodes, such as the S1 ep with Charles getting shot (makes sense in context) and another appearance from Doug Judy. However, the third and fourth seasons gave us some truly lovely Christmas moments, such as a kind of homage/reference to Jake’s favourite movie, Die Hard in a department store in S3 with some great friendship moments for Jake and Charles and a super sweet Peraltiago scene. The S4 Christmas episode with the squad carolling together and Jake getting the most thoughtful and special gift for Boyle’s son, Nikolaj, truly is so sweet and heartfelt too, though.

Hope everyone has a great festive season, regardless of what you watch. Hope you enjoy this lovely time of year and have a great holiday season.