10 Christmas choices for alternative festive viewing
Sometimes, watching a traditional Christmas film just doesn’t find its way onto our to-do list during the festive period. It feels like we’ve watched some of them too many times to still enjoy them, or perhaps you just want to relax by rewatching something that only has a small amount of Christmas spirit in it. Luckily for you, our team has broken down some of their favourite Christmas moments from ‘non-Christmas’ films and TV shows for you to pop on your watchlist if you fancy some alternative watching over your well-deserved break.
Mean Girls
A high school film that documents the full academic year is always a win in our eyes and with Mean Girls not only do we get Spring Fling (which sounds completely inappropriate for a school dance) and Halloween, we also get Christmas. Christmas cards are replaced with candy canes in this film, with students able to purchase and send to whomever they want. Cady takes this as an opportunity to manipulate Gretchen as part of her revenge attack on Regina George, leading us to the classic quote ‘Four for you Glen Coco, you go Glen Coco’ once again showing that popularity can be measured by many factors, including festive confectionery. But then we also have the talent show, where the four leads dress up in Santa Claus outfits, albeit smaller than old Saint Nick, and dance to the classic ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. Very often I have tried to reprise this dance at office Christmas parties, including the acapella version mid-performance.
Community
Community was a show close to my heart during the early 2010s and as much as I felt it did lose its way, one thing it always provided us with was heartful and brilliant Christmas episodes. In season one, episode 12, Shirley is organising a Christmas party, eager to escape the bad memories of her broken-down marriage and be with her ‘new family,’ the study group. Conflict arises when Shirley and Jeff disagree on the morals of fighting a local bully at Christmastime, which later turns into an annually shared quote: ‘It’s December 10th!’ I find myself putting on this episode each year, as it’s 20 minutes of pure fun. Season two also delivers a Christmas episode with ‘Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas’, where the cast finds themselves in stop motion animation. While the episode is filled with the usual bizarreness of Community, it also has a heartfelt message about Abed’s character and is again a repeat favourite each year for both myself and Ashton.
When Harry Met Sally
As much as we try to stop Neha talking about When Harry Met Sally, we just can’t. Plus, Emily and Lilia have backed her up by agreeing that the Christmas montage in the film just fills us with those cosy festive feelings. Set to the Ray Charles version of ‘White Christmas’, watching our two leads put together their Christmas plans and carry that tree across the city just puts us in the Christmas mood – it’s the reason we want to spend just one Christmas in New York someday.
American Psycho
Okay, we get it. When you think of Christmas, your mind doesn’t automatically picture Patrick Bateman, but hear us out. Within this dark, but brilliant, film, there is a nice pause from the bloody terror and we are gifted with a Christmas party that is forced upon our leading man, who really doesn’t want to be there. Perfect if you find yourself relating to this by attending your own office Christmas party. Lilia wrapped it up nicely for me...
“Psychopathic murderer? Check. Toxic masculinity? Check. Christmas scene in which Reese Witherspoon holds a festively-dressed pig named Snowball? Check.”
Night of the Hunter
I’ll be honest, I had never heard of this film and when Courtney gave me some info, I was confused about how it ended up on this list. But that’s the joy of working with Courtney, I’m forever learning and forever terrified. So I’ve passed the reins to her on this one.
“There’s little to find ‘cheery’ or ‘merry’ in Charles Laughton’s 1955 thriller Night of the Hunter, a film where the diabolical Harry Powell poses as a priest to infiltrate the lives of a young woman and her two children. The film is tense and uncomfortable, but, perhaps due to its release being in 1955, it ends on a rather sweet note with the children and their adoptive grandmother, Rachel Cooper, celebrating Christmas. I view this as utilizing Christmas as a metaphor for a general reprieve from the world around you, a moment to just be peaceful and surrounded by those you love.”
Carol
Carol begins during Christmas in 1952, introducing our lead characters in a department store. Decorations fill the store along with busy customers all eager to set their eyes on the perfect gift, which is similar to when Carol lays her eyes on Therese for the first time. Despite this being the only ‘real’ Christmas scene within the film, Lilia is a firm believer that it is actually a Christmas film and has claimed she will die on that hill. The tension between the two women teamed with the festival feeling is enough to make you agree, with Lilia adding: “Cate Blanchett whispering ‘I like the hat’ to Rooney Mara and winking is so gorgeously seductive and literally makes my heart skip a beat every time I watch that scene.”
Mad Men
Desiree reminded me that Mad Men is filled with parties, from the drug-fueled LA sessions with Don Draper to Megan Draper serenading her embarrassed husband with Zoo Be Zoo Be Zoo. While we were only gifted with three Christmas episodes, they do pack a punch, particularly season four’s ‘Christmas Comes but Once a Year’. In an almost Hallmark Channel-style storyline, Joan must throw together a better Christmas party on short notice after Roger promises a good time to a key client that they can’t lose, asking her to improve her plans ‘from convalescent home to Roman orgy.’ This results in Joan leading a conga line through the office, Roger being forced to dress up as Santa Claus and of course, Don sleeping with his secretary during his first divorced Christmas.
Meet Me in St Louis
I’m passing the reins over to Lilia for this one, as I watched this when very young and can only remember how big the hats were! Over to you Lilia…
“Judy Garland sweetly singing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ in a stunning red dress with a sweet-heart neckline and puffed sleeves is perhaps one of the most evocative festive scenes. Every musical number in this MGM classic is delightful, but the Christmas scene is just the most perfect balance of festive joy and melancholia over a life that’s about to change.”
Leverage
Crime, comedy, Christmas, and Wil Wheaton are all wrapped into one in ‘The Ho Ho Ho Job’ episode of Leverage that our Ashton wanted to share. The series follows a criminal gang who decide to do good for people, and for their Christmas episode they tackle a Christmas scam and aim to help a mall Santa who is framed and then fired. Despite a few Scrooge characters falling into the mix, it lands on a cute ending. Perfect for alternative Christmas viewing.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Can you tell we love a film that provides us with a year’s worth of holidays? Bridget Jones’s Diary offers up an example of the all too well-known feeling of loneliness at Christmas – jump forward to now, and you can’t escape the cute family photos on Instagram with matching Christmas jumpers and perfectly decorated trees, so we can relate to Bridget feeling lost during the festive period. Thankfully, we’re saved from our sorrow by Colin Firth. Lilia shares...
“Serious Man Colin Firth in an ugly Christmas Jumper is so joyous and somehow makes him even more attractive. Plus the awkwardness of that family Christmas party scene becomes more and more relatable every year.”
Thank you to Lilia, Emily, Ashton, Desiree, Courtney and Neha for helping me out with this one!
