National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Welcome back to our next film in my Christmas movie marathon! Tonight I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989).

The Griswold family is back, except instead of traveling to a vacation destination, this time they're inviting the family over for Christmas! But despite the lack of travel, shenanigans still ensue, turning this Christmas vacation into disaster after disaster!

Chevy Chase defined an era of classic family comedies with his role as Clark Griswold. There are 5 "National Lampoon Vacation" films, with this being the third in the series. It's also one of the most memorable. Due to the season it's set in, it's become well known as a classic Christmas story as well as a family comedy.

Most of the film's humor comes from Chevy Chase's slaptick routines; although it's funny to note that Johnny Galecki, playing Chase's son in this film, performed one of Chase's trademark gags where he looks at his bare wrist and says, "Oh, look at the time!" before excusing himself. Otherwise, the comedy in the film is made up of pratfalls, silly disasters, and awkward situations. And true to its era, it wasn't afraid to have a little drama mixed in there too, to provide a diversity of emotion to the story. Nowadays, comedies tend to lean heavily on the jokes and keep things light. They forget that a bit of sadness or anger can help make those funny bits that much more rewarding in the end.

If you haven't seen this film yet, you're missing out on a classic! I highly recommend seeing it!

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

I'm doing a two-fer tonight! I actually watched this film yesterday, but here's my review of The Christmas Chronicles (2018).

A young brother and sister decide to get video evidence of Santa Claus (Kurt Russell). Instead, they find themselves trapped in his sleigh while he's delivering presents. They surprise Santa, causing the sleigh to fall from the sky and break. Now they have precious hours to help Santa gather his reindeer, find his sack of toys, and get his sleigh back in the air, or else the world will awaken to no presents!

This was an adorable film! Kurt Russell is now my favorite Santa. He's in pretty good shape and complains about the "fat Santa" propagated in advertisements. He claims that him saying "ho, ho, ho" is a myth. And he has no problem being grumpy when two little kids disrupt his once-a-year ritual, proclaiming, "you're on the naughty list for life!" Despite all this, he has a good sense of humor, is willing to help others, and definitely knows if you've been good or bad. He also thinks the best of people and only wants to help them down the right path in life.

I really like that he knows everything about everyone. He'll go up to some stranger, call them by name like they're an old friend, and talk about a specific naughty incident they got into earlier that year, or even back in their childhood! It's always said that Santa know if you've been bad or good, but this is the first film I've ever seen that actually demonstrates Santa having intimate knowledge of absolutely everyone, everywhere. It makes for an interesting tale.

This is also a great film for troubled youth to watch, as the brother is a young teen who is starting a life of crime before running into Santa. Through his late-night adventure, he learns to appreciate his family more and not continue down his dark path. His story arc brings a level of emotion to the film that I wasn't expecting. This just released on Netflix a couple weeks ago, but it's already a favorite Christmas film of mine! What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Bad Santa (2003)

It's been a busy week for me, but I'm finally back with another Christmas Marathon flick! Tonight I watched Bad Santa (2003).

A washed-up alcoholic conman named Willie (Billy-Bob Thornton) teams up every Christmas with his associate, a dwarf named Marcus (Tony Cox), to rob malls. They spend the season casing the joint as the mall Santa and his tiny elf, then break into the mall's vault and make off with their haul. But this year's heist runs into problems when an 8-yr old troubled kid latches onto Willie.

This film displays rock-bottom at its absolute worst. Willie spends the entire film so drunk he can barely function. He has no interest in anyone but himself, fights with his associate constantly, uses rude and foul language with children, and even attempts suicide when he's not drowning out his sorrows with booze.

Yet despite his repeated attempts to tell off an 8-yr old kid, he somehow finds himself staying at the kid's home, where the kid's alone with his senile grandma. As the movie goes on, Willie never truly becomes a "changed man," but he does have a few moments where he starts to think about others a little.

This movie is about as crude and crass as you can get without renting some degrading porn. It truly is a piece of work. But at the same time, I really like it because it gives you a glimpse into the life of a hopeless asshole. Sure, it doesn't have a solid message about love and goodwill toward others, like most Christmas-themed films. But it's nice to see even the worst dregs of society find a little humanity hidden in themselves. And despite Willie's behavior throughout the film, you find yourself kind of rooting for him by the very end. I'd recommend this to a VERY adult audience. Don't let your kiddies see this one!

Smallfoot (2018)

Welcome back to another Christmas Movie Marathon! Tonight I'll be reviewing Smallfoot (2018).

At the peak of a mountain, high above the cloud line, exists a peaceful village of yetis. But one day, one of them runs across a human on the mountain (known to the yetis as "smallfoot"). He tries to prove their existence to his village, but all evidence vanishes. So he sets off to prove that the elusive smallfoot exists.

This is a classic trope swap, in which the yeti is the common citizen, while humans are the mythical beast. There are also some serious religious undertones in the plot, where the village has unbreakable laws literally written in stone, which they use to guide every facet of their lives. One such stone claims that humans do not exist, which causes conflict when the main yeti character insists he saw one.

I really liked the different perspectives you get to see: When you're seeing humans from the yeti's viewpoint, they're a bunch of high-pitched sqeaky creatures. When you see the yetis from the human's viewpoint, they're deep-voiced, growling creatures. Definitely drives home the "we can't communicate" concept, while also letting you experience both of the creatures from their respective shoes.

There were a few musical numbers in the film, most of which felt like an odd choice or awkward timing for a sudden song to break out. But the music itself wasn't too bad. I especially liked when "Under Pressure" started playing and the main human character makes up his own lyrics to the song to explain his unique plight, which worked out pretty decently. And I really enjoyed the musical number where the Stonekeeper brought the main yeti character into the mountain for their little "chat."

I have more I'd like to say about this film, but can't without spoiling parts of the plot. So I'll just say that this was a surprisingly entertaining film. I went in expecting it to be a pretty bland kid's film and was surprised how original and creative it was. I was about to boo the ending, then was pleasantly surprised to see a different ending than I thought it was building up to. I'd recommend this film for anyone to check out!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Merry December! I've decided to do a Christmas-themed movie marathon this year, followed with my own personal reviews each day! Starting with the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

In the town of Whoville, all the Who's are concerned with getting the perfect presents, creating the perfect decorations, and baking the perfect meals, all for Christmas. All the while, annoying the Grinch in his mountain cave with the bustling noise. A small Who named Cindy Lou Who feels that her family - and the whole town - has forgotten what Christmas is all about and decides to invite the Grinch himself down to the town to celebrate.

This is probably one of the best adaptations of the Grinch to be released. It's loyal to its source material where it counts, but also tries to add a creative twist to the tale. For instance, the Grinch gets an "ugly duckling" backstory. Also, the Who's are consumer whores and have to be spoon-fed the true meaning of Christmas, as opposed to the original where they already understand it. Cindy Lou Who also has a much expanded role, unlike the original where she just woke to find the Grinch stealing her Christmas tree. She's closely involved in helping him become a better person in this live-action version.

My wife hates Jim Carrey, so she has a hard time watching this movie. She claims he "Jim Carrified" the Grinch too much. But if you ask me, I feel like he was born for this role. His physical comedy brings out the best cartoony Grinch in a live-action film. I absolutely love his take on the character!

I haven't seen the new Grinch movie that just came out, but I have a feeling it's not going to be a very good adaptation. Just from the trailers I've seen, the Grinch seems a bit... neutered. He just casually strolls through town, playing mild pranks? He seems like more of a jerk than a frightful terror. Perhaps I'll review it later this month.

But when it comes to excellent adaptations, Jim Carrey's Grinch takes the cake. As someone on the Internet recently said, "Jim Carrey's Grinch says "bitch," ate glass, and threw a whole child in the garbage." He's more faithful to the character than Benedict Cumberbatch's Grinch. This movie gets an excellent recommendation from me!