Just so we’re clear, there are a lot of Christmas movies out there, but there are a few that exemplify the holiday in a way that people have come to identify with, and it’s fair to state that a lot of folks would probably agree with this assessment. Die Hard, which was debated for a while when it came to carrying the designation of being a Christmas movie, is now one that quite a few people agree is a Christmas movie. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a holiday movie without question, but it’s become a traditional type of movie that more than a few fans have watched every holiday since they were young and couldn’t understand most of the jokes. Both of these movies have come to define Christmas in their own ways since they’ve been accepted and embraced by so many that trying to deny it is kind of pointless. The thing about that is, some people will still argue against Die Hard since it’s a movie about a cop taking on a bunch of terrorists at a Christmas party. As if that’s going to disqualify it.
The movie is taking place during Christmas after all, as it’s seen throughout the movie, and John McClane even goes so far as to taunt the terrorists when he kills one of them and then writes Ho Ho Ho, after writing that he has a machine gun. Plus, this movie managed to coin one of the best ideas that’s ever come along. It’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from the Nakatomi Tower. There are a couple of variations on that saying, but the gist is easy to understand, and the legacy of Alan Rickman, apart from his stellar career, is the genuinely terrified look that he had on his face when his character was falling to his death. You can kind of feel for Rickman in that instant since the actor had a genuine fear of heights, but he was still being dropped 20 or so feet during filming, to a soft landing of course, but still.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has been one of the best holiday movies around for decades now and as one of the Vacation movies, it’s still considered to be one of the best. The Griswold family has been hilarious since the first movie, and things only get better in this one since Clark’s expectations vs. the reality tend to become a battle of wills between the patriarch of the household and everything else that’s trying to stand in the way of what he wants. One great quote that was picked up by Matthew and Emily from Just Summ Creations, a movie reaction site on YouTube, is this: “It’s not Christmas until you’ve punted Santa across the lawn.” The scene that’s being alluded to is when Clark keeps failing to get the house lights to work, and ends up taking out his frustrations on the plastic Santa Claus and reindeer he’s placed in the front lawn. When punching the plastic Santa doesn’t work, Clark ends up booting ol’ St. Nick into the bushes before running back to give the plug one more try.
While Die Hard is a Christmas movie by popular opinion, Christmas Vacation is a good example of what can and sometimes does happen when someone wants everything to go perfect, only to end up realizing that the perfect Christmas is an elusive thing that a lot of people want but very few ever really get. Seriously, things are going to happen during the holidays as it’s a hectic time and people want to be happy but are often at each other’s throats for one thing or another. That’s actually quite natural during the holidays, but the movie takes it to such a degree that it’s very easy to forget our own problems while watching in order to enjoy a good laugh that ends up being helpful at the moment. That’s what the movies are for, in part, is to make us forget the real world for at least an hour and a half or so, and it usually helps. Christmas movies are no different, but they tend to remind us that our problems are solvable, in a much more level-headed fashion thankfully.
But one thing to take from both movies is that they have come to define Christmas in their own way, as they’ve become a part of the holiday for many people and stand out as movies that a lot of individuals feel the need to watch when the holiday rolls around. There’s a wide selection of Christmas movies to choose from during this time, and people tend to gravitate toward the movies that will make them feel good, will entertain them, and will make them appreciate the holiday, but these two tend to get a great deal of attention every year and have been passed on to more than one generation over the years.
Follow Us
