Tonight, I tried to get Mr. G. to watch a show about Shreveport restaurants with me. He refused. The reason: "A Very Brady Christmas" was on in the back.
Don't worry too much about him. He got caught up in the nostalgia of seeing the Brady family once again. He later emerged from the bedroom with the sad news that the Brady Christmas movie was really lame.
I could have told him that as I feel that I've watched every Christmas movie ever made. I LOVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES! I watched a really sad one recently starring Jason Robards. I had to watch a few cheery movies to make up for it.
It got me to thinking, though, about the silly things we watch every year. Part of the fun of Christmas is just sitting on the couch watching Christmas favorites. I love the ones from my childhood. All my life, I'll remember watching "A Christmas Story" with my mom, dad and sister and reveling in the humor of it.
Here are a few of my favorites. Make up your own mind about "A Very Brady Christmas" (but don't say we didn't warn you):
BELLS OF ST. MARY'S
Hands down, this is my favorite Christmas movie. It even edges out "It's A Wonderful Life." Everything about this movie is great, but I really love the Christmas pageant in which the kids make up their own script.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
I'm pretty fond of Jimmy Stewart so - of course - I watch this every year. Some years, we're lucky enough to catch it on the big screen. It makes me want to buy an old house and fix it up. Did you know, by the way, that Richard Nixon built the White House press room over a swimming pool? The joke later became that they needed to add a trap door for troublesome reporters. That story reminds me of a famous scene in this movie.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
I love Ron Howard. I have no love for Jim Carrey. I'm able to stomach him as the Grinch because of the makeup. Plus, I like immersing myself in a Hollywood-extravaganza Whoville. And I kind of love it that the little girl can't sing.
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
This transports me back to childhood. Skip the sequel. It's awful.
RUDOLPH
To this day, I don't understand what's so bad about wanting to be a dentist. That weak plot point aside, how can you not love the Island of Misfit Toys? I think that scene resonated with me. Recently, I was at Dirt Cheap, where I bought a little Thanksgiving owl who was missing a leg. I proudly put him on my mantle and gave him a back story. He lost the leg in the war. No Island of Misfit Toys for him!
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
The mice in this movie live in the walls, but they wear clothes and sleep in really comfy beds. It's kind of like "The Borrowers." The entire town has to work together when a Scrooge in the bunch publishes a letter in the newspaper questioning Santa's existence. Watch it and I defy you to get the clock song out of your head.
A CHRISTMAS STORY
If I don't watch this every year, I feel like it wouldn't be Christmas. Glenn sat down and watched it with me this year. You should have heard his laughter. This is such a well written movie with sly narration. It's a classic even if - like me - you secretly worry about children shooting their eyes out.
ELF
Will Ferrell in tights. Enough said. Oh, and SANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE HOLIDAY
Every Thanksgiving, I give thanks for Nancy Meyers. OK, not really, but I should. The great thing about Nancy Meyers' films is that you get an interesting plot and a fabulous house. This movie, has two fabulous houses - one of which is a cozy cottage in the snowy, English countryside.
LOVE ACTUALLY
I could've done without the porn storyline, especially since I watched this with my mother the first time I saw it. But I break into a smile every time at the recording studio scene that opens the movie. Also, the wedding scene, the first lobster, Hugh Grant dancing, etc., etc., etc.
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT
Oh, Barbara Stanwyck. How could you make up a husband and kids and a house in Connecticut for a newspaper column? Also, does anyone actually flip pancakes like that?
HOLIDAY AFFAIR
Wait, Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh made a Christmas movie? They did! It's not particularly memorable, but it's cute.
CHRISTMAS CAROL
There are a million versions of this classic. One even stars the horrible Jim Carrey. I love the 1951 version. It's the only one for me, with one notable exception.
A MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL
I can't explain it. I love everything about this movie, even the meeses. How can you not love Michael Caine singing through the streets of London? Or muppets in Dickens-era costumes?
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
I don't watch this one every year. It depresses me a bit for some reason. However, Linus' speech is killer.
REMEMBER THE NIGHT
I discovered this last year while trying to find something new. It stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Barbara is a criminal. Fred is an attorney. Fred takes pity on Barbara and takes her home to his mother and aunt for Christmas. It's really quite good.
BACHELOR MOTHER
I watch this every New Year's Day, but it's set at Christmastime. Ginger Rogers plays a shopgirl who gets mistaken for the mother of an abandoned baby. She politely insists the baby isn't hers. The store - which plans to lay her off after the holidays - surprises her with a Christmas present that turns out to be the baby she had to give up because of her uncertain employment. Trust me: It's funny. Haha.
