Twelve Days of Christmas (#7)
"Alternative" Christmas Movies

Last week, Andretta, Darise, and I were mulling over movie choices. We'd considered holiday movies, and Andretta offered The Long Kiss Goodnight which isn't a "holiday movie" so much as it's a movie set during the holidays. That got me thinking about "alternative" Christmas movies—you know, the ones which are set during Christmas but aren't necessarily "about" Christmas. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Long Kiss Goodnight
While watching Mrs. Klaus wave to the crowd aboard a Christmas float, a prisoner recognizes the spy he thought he had killed years ago. He escapes prison and goes after the amnesiatic former spy/current schoolteacher and mom. She explores her past and kicks back into "badass" mode only to remember the gifts of the season.

Just Friends
Ok, ok—Ryan Reynolds faire warning! In this movie, pompous California record-exec Chris's plane is grounded in New Jersey as he jets off to France with an up-an-coming pop star. He must revisit his past disappointments and a past love while handling high-maintenance "talent." Look out for flaming reindeer.

Die Hard
Yep, the "mother" of all alterna-Christmas movies. John McClane grudgingly shows up late to estranged-wife, Holly's, company Christmas party at Nakatomi plaza only to find that she and her co-workers are being held hostage by Hans Gruber and thugs. Resourceful cop McClane engineers a rescue. Yippy kay-yea, inDEED.

Harry Potter
I'll betray my criminal inability to remember the differences between Harry's discrete narratives; at this point, it's one big uber-narrative to me. At any rate, I know that Harry exchanges presents with Ron and friends while he thinks longingly about lost family. Though he's sad at times, Christmas with Harry, especially the huge feast scenes, is great. It reminds me of being a giddy kid again.

While You Were Sleeping
Possibly my favorite relationship movie, this movie uses the Christmas season as a central plot point. Without family, Lucy volunteers to work at her job as a token-taker on Christmas day only to witness a hunky passenger thrown onto the train tracks. She rescues him and accompanies him to the hospital. An overhood utterance and eventual mix-up convinces the man's family that she is his fiancee. Buoyed by the warmth of a family she quickly comes to love, she fails to set them straight and comes to love their other son. Funny and touching without being mushy.

I recommend the alterna-Christmas movies for the burnout times between actual Christmas movies. Now, all we need is the "space-horror Christmas thriller"...