7. A Christmas Story 

In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan. ~ Adult Ralphie

Released 

1983 

Credits 

Director: Bob Clark 

Novel: Jean Shepard 

Screenplay: Jean Shepard 

Cast 

Melinda Dillon (Mother Parker)

Darren McGavin (The Old Man Parker)

Peter Billingsley (Ralphie)

Scott Schwartz (Flick)

Jean Shepard (Voice of Adult Ralphie)

Box Office 

Budget: $3,300,000

Gross: $19,294,144

Critical

8.0/10 (IMDB)

89% (RT Critics)

88% (RT Audience)

There isn't much to say about A Christmas Story , it's an American Classic that is a staple of many households (including mine) over the years on Christmas Day. I can't tell you the last time I've sat down and watched the movie beginning to end on Christmas , but I've watched it broken up throughout the day a number of times thanks to TBS and it's 24 hour loop - it's just something I've always done.

I think it's a movie helped tremendously by that marketing and would be curious to see how it's would be remembered if Turner didn't need something cheap to fill out his station all those years ago. What if another Christmas movie got the luxury of that slot?

I'd also be curious to hear how this movie resonates with people outside of America , because it seems like a very American thing to me and I don't think it's a particularly great movie - I think it captures a time very well and is a series of great memorable moments after memorable moments.

In the end I had to find a spot for it on my list based on nostalgia and certain moments I refuse to miss - but I could see it being knocked off in years to come. My kids certainly don't get this movie at all.

We also watch it starting Christmas Eve, as a collection of great moments it’s easy to stop paying attention to and then come back to. I don’t like many holiday movies, so this one had a good spot in my list.

I've never even seen A Christmas Story. It's very much seen as an American tradition and not one that anyone pays much attention to over here.

"You'll shoot your eye out kid"

Christmas Story was #8 on my list. It's definitely a Christmas tradition, but it's not as well loved in our household as some of the others on my list.

Nov 26, 2017 17:36:54 GMT thereallt said:

"You'll shoot your eye out kid"

Christmas Story was #8 on my list. It's definitely a Christmas tradition, but it's not as well loved in our household as some of the others on my list.

That and Ahh Fra-Gree-Lay! Must be Italian! are the two iconic quotes from that movie. I don't care for the first one but that Fragile scene still gets a chuckle from me all the time. I still occasionally say it as well. 

I also LOVE some of the narrations , like this gem: Now, I had heard that word at least ten times a day from my old man. He worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium; a master. 

And of course the Jingre Berrs ending is hilariously perfect as well. 

Not really a fan of Christmas Story. It's okay, but not one I go out of my way to watch every holiday season.

I also had no idea this was directed by Bob Clark. The only film I knew from him was Porky's (an all-time classic)

6. The Santa Clause 

Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing. ~ Little Elf Judy

Released 

1994 

Credits

Director: John Pasquin 

Writer: Leo Benvenuti 

Writer: Steve Rudnick

Cast

Tim Allen (Scott Calvin/Santa Clause)

Judge Reinhold (Dr. Neil Miller)

Wendy Crewson (Laura Calvin Miller)

Eric Lloyd (Charlie Calvin)

David Krumholtz (Bernard the Elf)

Box Office 

Budget: $22,000,000

Gross: $144,833,357

Critical

6.4/10 (IMDB)

75% (RT Critics)

65% (RT Audience)

I absolutely adore The Santa Clause , it was #3 on my list , in contention for the top spot but ultimately fell. Regardless of where I put it though it's a movie that's been in my Christmas rotation since I was little , remains in it today and will remain in the rotation for a very long time. My kids like it , but weirdly like the sequels a little more and they are fine as well but nothing compares to the original.

The story itself I think is great and original , Tim Allen in his best on screen performance of his career , Judge Reinhold being a pretentious douchebag and Bernard the Elf played by Krumholtz - who is one of my favorite character actors of all time.

As a kid I loved everything at the North Pole , it was the first movie that I believed "yup that's what the North Pole would look like" , the Elves , the wordplay back and forth between Calvin/Santa and the elves it's just all a ton of fun. I really think they set out to finally make a FUN Christmas movie and accomplished that clearly considering the gold mine this flick was at the box office. I knew it did well but damn that's impressive.

Not a huge fan. Really don't care much for Tim Allen outside of voicing Buzz Lightyear.

Nov 27, 2017 15:38:01 GMT UT said:

I absolutely adore The Santa Clause , it was #3 on my list , in contention for the top spot but ultimately fell. Regardless of where I put it though it's a movie that's been in my Christmas rotation since I was little , remains in it today and will remain in the rotation for a very long time. My kids like it , but weirdly like the sequels a little more and they are fine as well but nothing compares to the original.

The story itself I think is great and original , Tim Allen in his best on screen performance of his career , Judge Reinhold being a pretentious douchebag and Bernard the Elf played by Krumholtz - who is one of my favorite character actors of all time.

As a kid I loved everything at the North Pole , it was the first movie that I believed "yup that's what the North Pole would look like" , the Elves , the wordplay back and forth between Calvin/Santa and the elves it's just all a ton of fun. I really think they set out to finally make a FUN Christmas movie and accomplished that clearly considering the gold mine this flick was at the box office. I knew it did well but damn that's impressive.

Fuck yeah, I echo this.

Nov 27, 2017 15:38:01 GMT UT said:

I absolutely adore The Santa Clause , it was #3 on my list , in contention for the top spot but ultimately fell. Regardless of where I put it though it's a movie that's been in my Christmas rotation since I was little , remains in it today and will remain in the rotation for a very long time. My kids like it , but weirdly like the sequels a little more and they are fine as well but nothing compares to the original.

The story itself I think is great and original , Tim Allen in his best on screen performance of his career , Judge Reinhold being a pretentious douchebag and Bernard the Elf played by Krumholtz - who is one of my favorite character actors of all time.

As a kid I loved everything at the North Pole , it was the first movie that I believed "yup that's what the North Pole would look like" , the Elves , the wordplay back and forth between Calvin/Santa and the elves it's just all a ton of fun. I really think they set out to finally make a FUN Christmas movie and accomplished that clearly considering the gold mine this flick was at the box office. I knew it did well but damn that's impressive.

I love The Santa Clause & instead of repeating UT, just wanted to say I agree with his post. 

Yeah UT, nailed it. The Santa Clause is just awesome good fun.

Santa Clause

Remember previews of it as a kid but never for the life of me ever saw it to this day.

Christmas Story

If not for the 24 hr gimmick I never would've seen it. For years I only saw it through the commercials and while funny never bothered. Do have to admit certain scenes seemed a lot better in the commercials than the actual movie. I think I've only actually seen it start to finish once. The rest in chunks throughout the years. I knew it'd be on the list and I would compare it to Shawn/Bret's Iron Man. It usually makes the cut on lists because of it's history despite a lot of people saying it's overrated. And both have kinda become underrated to me personally based on that hate.

5. Elf 

SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM! ~ Buddy

Released

2003 

Credits

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer: David Berenbaum

Cast

Will Ferrell (Buddy)

James Caan (Walter)

Bob Newhart (Papa Elf)

Ed Asner (Santa Clause)

Zooey Deschanel (Jovie)

Box Office 

Budget: $33,000,000

Gross: $173,398,518

Critical 

6.9/10 (IMDB)

84% (RT Critics)

78% (RT Audience)

I absolutely , positively love Elf - so much so that it won the three way battle to become my #1 Christmas Movie on my list. It was doing well for quite awhile but it makes me sad that it ultimately fell to #5 because I think it's so much better than that.

It's one of Ferrell's best roles and movies , he is awesome when he plays somewhat delusional dimwit  , but with this role he also got to add a different layer to delusional dimwit with some innocence and childlike wonder. It was a great job from him from start to finish.

I love the supporting cast , Zooey Deschanel was adorable in this movie. James Caan was perfectly cast and I love Newhart and Asner adding something special to the Elf and Santa roles.

Overall like The Santa Clause this is a movie that set out to have some fun , and it did that but it also accomplished a great heartwarming ending and told a tremendous story throughout. Also this movie did GANGBUSTERS at the box office - I didn't know Christmas movies in general could be this successful. Shows what I know.

I'll leave some more on the table with this review as others I'm sure have good and bad(I'll fight you)opinions towards this movie.

What I said about Santa Clause pretty much applies to Elf as well. Except Farrell dosen't even have voicing Buzz Lightyear to help him out.

Nov 28, 2017 15:05:32 GMT thereallt said:

What I said about Santa Clause pretty much applies to Elf as well. Except Farrell dosen't even have voicing Buzz Lightyear to help him out.And

Opinions like this is why you deserve coal in your stocking every year. 

The posters of Jingle All The Way and The Santa Clause look so stupid to me, like it would be an awful kiddie comedy film based around Christmas. But I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, because that was exactly my impression of Elf before I sat down and watched it last year around Christmas time. And I loved it. It's the only Ferrell role I enjoy (and that includes Ron Burgundy), but he knocks it out of the park. Tons of hilarious lines. Great supporting cast. Feel good film. If the likes of Santa Clause are anything like Elf, then I have a new Christmas film to watch this year.

Elf is great. It was an instant Christmas classic when it first came out 14 years ago.

I voted for Jingle All The Way because I wanted a silly Christmas movie on the list. Jingle All The Way is by no means a classic movie, in fact it's downright stupid in parts, but that allows it's biggest strength - Arnie to shine. Of all the great comedic actors of the 90s, Arnie was right up there as one of the most quotable and his timing was as good as anybody's. As big a fan of Wayne's World as I am, I'd much rather watch an Arnie movie than a Mike Meyers, which is something I thought I'd never say.

Considering I grew up with The Wonder Years, it's no surprise that I came to enjoy A Christmas Story. Just to echo what PB was saying, I wasn't exposed to this film until much later when I kept seeing it pop up on a bunch of countdowns. Eventually I gave in and I'm glad I did because this is an endearing tale that hits very close to home. In a lot of ways, it's like watching somebody elses family video, but somehow they managed to capture all the best bits.

The Santa Clause is a fun fantasy movie that follows the worrying 90s trend of well-meaning fathers trying to maintain a connection with their estranged families. I'm not sure what was going on, but there was just this gluttony of family movies that followed the same formula - Hollywood heartbreak surely led to some of my favourite childhood memories. Like Jingle All The Way, this is just a fun movie that has fun with the whole Santa concept and ties everything up neatly.

In retrospect, Scrooged was like a prototypical version of Groundhog Day, a movie where Murray's character must atone for being the world's biggest asshole. While Groundhog Day was by far the better film, the gothic elements in Scrooged allows it to stand out and it's a darker film. The movie isn't quite a home-run, but there's enough good ideas and as far as Christmas movies go, it stands out.

Elf was the last of it's kind, a genuinely good live action Christmas movie that was just a joy to watch. Ferrell was perfectly cast in the role of Buddy, Zooey graduated nicely from the rebellious older sister from Almost Famous to the aloof retail assistant and the set design was fantastic. The Toy Store in the movie is second only to the old NYC toy store from Big - I genuinely thought it was real and wanted to visit it.

Nov 28, 2017 15:27:16 GMT Emperor said:

The posters of Jingle All The Way and The Santa Clause look so stupid to me, like it would be an awful kiddie comedy film based around Christmas. But I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, because that was exactly my impression of Elf before I sat down and watched it last year around Christmas time. And I loved it. It's the only Ferrell role I enjoy (and that includes Ron Burgundy), but he knocks it out of the park. Tons of hilarious lines. Great supporting cast. Feel good film. If the likes of Santa Clause are anything like Elf, then I have a new Christmas film to watch this year.

You know I was going to go on a mini rant about how all Christmas movie posters are boring , plain and bullshit - usually it's one of my favorite parts of these countdowns and it has been bland to look at throughout. Thanks for bringing it out. 

I don't know that The Santa Clause and Elf are too much the same , they are both fun lighthearted movies but Santa Clause is more something that I think you might need to see as a kid first - I could be wrong though and would be interesting in seeing what you think. 

I think Elf is good but it annoys me because everyone loves it too much. And I know that's a really bad reason to be annoyed by a film - but like, it's good, and definitely the best in recent years, but it just isn't great to me. So I probably should have voted for it but I didn't because I honestly wouldn't care if I never saw it again despite how much I do think it's good.

Nov 28, 2017 16:44:54 GMT PB said:

I think Elf is good but it annoys me because everyone loves it too much. And I know that's a really bad reason to be annoyed by a film - but like, it's good, and definitely the best in recent years, but it just isn't great to me. So I probably should have voted for it but I didn't because I honestly wouldn't care if I never saw it again despite how much I do think it's good.

Overquoting movies can definitely cause me to dislike movies just from overexposure. But of course that's just like your opinion, man.

4. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation 
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah. ~ Clark Griswold

Released 

1989

Credits 

Director: Jeremiah Chechik

Writer: John Hughes 

Cast 

Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold)

Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold)

Juliette Lewis (Audrey Griswold)

Johnny Galecki (Rusty Griswold)

Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie Johnson)

Box Office 

Budget: $27,000,000

Gross: $71,320,000

Critical 

7.6/10 (IMDB)

64% (RT Critics)

86% (RT Audience)

Nov 28, 2017 16:44:54 GMT PB said:

I think Elf is good but it annoys me because everyone loves it too much. And I know that's a really bad reason to be annoyed by a film - but like, it's good, and definitely the best in recent years, but it just isn't great to me. So I probably should have voted for it but I didn't because I honestly wouldn't care if I never saw it again despite how much I do think it's good.

I'm that way about some films as well , Star Wars immediately comes to mind. It's okay that you love it , doesn't mean I'm wrong for not. 

Anyways I was going to come in here and sort of rail against Christmas Vacation because I remember seeing it in school years ago and not really caring for it. Then typing that up and doing some reading I realized I remember nothing of the movie so it's not really fair for me to have a harsh opinion on it. I had no idea Juliette Lewis (strike against it) was in it nor did I know Johnny Galecki was - totally weird to me. I would like to sit down and watch it again with different eyes and see what I think about it because I love the original Vacation and Vegas Vacation and have watched them each a ton of times - so I don't see why this should be any different. 

I Love the National Lampoon series, but I never got around to seeing this one, so I couldn't rank it. Would likely crack my top 5 if I enjoy it as much as I did the first two movies.

Everything but the original Vacation suffered SIGNIFICANTLY from lacking Beverly D'Angelo nudity.

It's for this reason that I'll never be able to get behind Christmas Vacation.

Haven't seen it. I think it's also not big over here, but more so than A Christmas Story.