One of the biggest things that defines a Christmas movie is of course the word ‘Christmas’, but there are of course other words that people might associate with the holiday, hence the reason you won’t find Elf on this list or anything to do with Santa Claus since, well, those are words that make it a pretty easy guess what the movie is about or when it takes place. Those movies that don’t feature any words that would tip a person off that the movie is set during the holiday season are often debated when it comes to just what they’re about or why they would be labeled as Christmas movies. A couple of arguments have already been lost over the years since the obvious reason why some of these are labeled as Christmas movies is hard to miss, and a few of them have actually been fought over since the idea that they’re not Christmas movies is a bit ludicrous. But given when they occur and the fact that the characters make full use of the holiday in some way, shape, or form is hard to argue with. Just because a Christmas movie doesn’t feature one of the buzz words in the title doesn’t make it any less fit for the holidays. Well, there is the carnage and mayhem, but some people might argue that this is a part of the holidays too.
Here are a few Christmas movies that don’t feature anything about Christmas in the title.
5. Trading Places
One of the funniest collaborations between two comedians, Trading Places actually takes place over a couple of holidays since it does cover Christmas and New Year’s, but both are rather prominent so it’s easy to simply go with it and state that it counts as a Christmas movie as well. Some people might actually call this a dark comedy at times since there are a couple of moments when it does get a bit fringe, as when Louis decides to try to end his life, only to hear a dull click before tossing the gun away, where it discharges upon impact, giving the audience a sense of hilarious irony. But overall, this was one of the better comedies of its time.
4. Home Alone
The title might not say anything about it but the movie is basically one of the best Christmas movies still in circulation since it’s one of those that some people feel the absolute need to watch during the holidays since a lot of us watched it when we were kids and it’s a simple tradition that will find this on the screen in many homes over the Christmas season. There is still the rumor that Kevin McAllister grew up to be Jigsaw since his penchant for laying traps was fairly simple in this movie but thanks to plenty of movie magic the bad guys weren’t able to see their way safely past any of Kevin’s plans, at least not up until the end.
3. Friday After Next
The argument of course is that nothing is going to beat the original Friday, and that’s probably true, but the counter to that is that this movie brings back a few key characters and slaps them into a third installment that’s just as funny and has even more opportunities to laugh waiting. When Craig and Day-Day get robbed by a ghetto Santa Claus they lose their rent money along with their presents and have to find a way to come up with the rent before their landlord kicks them out. Working as security guards for a strip mall doesn’t exactly get the bills paid, but watching them try to come up with a plan to get their Christmas spirit back is insanely funny.
2. Gremlins
This is yet another movie that a person couldn’t possibly tell was a Christmas movie from the title alone unless one had already seen it or heard about it. The whole idea of Gremlins is a cautionary tale that goes largely unheard since it should be fairly easy to not get them wet, not feed them after midnight, and not expose them to direct sunlight. But hey, it’s a movie, so of course, people are going to be dim-witted and clumsy enough to do the wrong thing, which will lead to disaster on a level that can disrupt an entire town. But it was a great movie all the same since it was unexpected and quite hilarious at certain points.
1. Die Hard
Ah yes, the pinnacle of the Christmas movies, and one that has been debated for a while now despite the realization that yes, it is a Christmas movie. So what if it’s all about a heist that’s made to look like a ploy to release certain prisoners from around the world? So what if John McClane goes about killing terrorists in order to survive and free the hostages? This movie brought us one of the best lines in all cinema, and it established the rule that it’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from the Nakatomi Tower.
Ho, ho, ho.
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