The challenge about the movie you choose to watch on Christmas day is that you’re most likely watching it with family and wrapping paper strewn about the room, not alone on Netflix. Whatever film you watch must be widely entertaining. You’ve also been celebrating Christmas for probably over a month now, so I’m daring to venture my suggestions past “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Frosty The Snowman.”
Roman Holiday (1953): This classic, which is considered one of the most romantic movies of all time, stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, and tells the story of a princess who runs away with a reporter, giving journalism some street cred. A sort of reverse Cinderella story, the 2004 Mandy Moore film “Chasing Liberty” is a bad “Roman Holiday” knockoff.
Dan In Real Life (2007): This is not a Christmas movie, but it is a family movie, and one of the most accurate depictions of an extended family vacation I have ever seen. Or maybe my family is just very strange. Steve Carrell is the perfect combination of funny and pathetic, and the film portrays the oddities of family, with everything from group yoga to talent shows.
School of Rock (2003): The movie is filled with not only some of the most easily recognizable and longstanding jokes, but also some great rock history references and messages about sticking it to the man and following your dreams, all of which hold strong even 10 years after its release. If you’re dying to get another Jack Black dose, watch Hollywood attempt to couple him and Kate Winslet up in “The Holiday.”
Life of Brian (1979): What better way to celebrate the historical meaning of Christmas than with this religious satire? Brian Cohen is born on the same day as Jesus, only a couple doors down from him. People then mistake him for the Messiah his whole life. It culminates in a crucifixion sing-a-long even more ironic than the rock-opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”. And who doesn’t love a Monty Python movie?
The Adventures of Milo & Otis (1986): This is definitely a wild card, but it may be a surprising crowd-pleaser, especially if the crowd is age seven and under. The live-action Japanese movie is about a kitten and a pug who are best friends who go on adventures together. It’s in a style that I’d like to say is similar to “Babe,” but it manages to actually be more realistic than that. The real comedy comes from the British narration, acting out the voices of various farm animals.