After all the caroling and the feasting and the gift-giving, when everyone is super-fried and old family feuds are on the brink of resurfacing, there is no better way to restore good cheer to holiday gatherings than watching a turbo cornball movie of dubious taste. Here are our favorite distractions that have saved many a dicey day with some hilarious high (or low) notes that insure that everyone will want to come back next year!
Family Friendly
[soliloquy id=”7300″]
Jingle All The Way: We’ve all succumbed to the procrastination curse and left our pseudo-Santa Claus shopping for December 21st. This comedy reminds you that shopping late does not equate to being an awful “I-think-I’ll-buy-that-later” person, it just makes you human.
Buy it here!
Northpole: When I was younger I used to think that Santa’s North Pole was real… Okay I might still hope that Santa’s North Pole is real. It beats having to think my parents are the ones who decide what they’re going to buy me, even though I love them, oh-so-much. This idea-movie-pick is sure to please that little (or insatiably large) part of you that still believes in magic.
Buy it here!
Unaccompanied Minors: If your holiday home resembles a zoo for young chocolate-wasted kids running around, then you know chaos during the holidays. Unaccompanied Minors tells the story of a group of children who become friends while snowed in together at an airport–where they bond over creating havoc. But little do they know their differences are where they find a little piece of home. And for me, home isn’t where you are but who you are eating with–or who makes the best food.
Buy it here!
Also:
Christmas with the Kranks
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Romantic Comedies
[soliloquy id=”7226″]12 Dates Of Christmas: Going back for Christmas seconds isn’t exactly déjà vu, but hey, I don’t mind reliving the feeling of eating my mom’s home cooked food 4 times in a row because I really like that about my holiday. This is the Groundhog Day movie of Christmas and if you’re looking for a romantic farce about a woman who might not have her Christmas priorities or traditions together, then you should slow your sleigh down here and watch this build-up of holiday madness. (Buy above!)
Christmas Cupid: And no, this is not the romantic cupid with the bow and arrow in diapers, but a famous ghost starlet with rockin’ heels. Christina Milian plays a superficial hollywood publicist whose idea of Christmas is coercing her assistants to work overtime–that is until her Cupid, alcoholic beverage in hand, comes along to guide her down the right path. Through her Christmas–Carol-style interaction with an old boyfriend, Milian’s character learns that loneliness does not mean being alone, it just means that you haven’t paid attention to the things that matter most.
Buy it here!
Also:
While You Were Sleeping
Animated Greats
[soliloquy id=”7306″]
Polar Express: If you could board a train that would take you to an “imaginary” place to prove your doubts about the North Pole wrong, would you take the chance? In this animated movie, a young boy decides to do just that and falls into a world of magic, love and self-discovery. Plus, this whole film was created using live motion technology, meaning actual actors movements are behind every animated character!
Buy it here!
Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights: I revel in singing in front of family members to ensure maximum embarrassment–and apparently Adam Sandler does, too. In this animated musical comedy about reform and fighting bad habits–all while trying not to get thrown back in jail during the holiday season– you get to hear him impersonate the jarring voice of an old man and the obnoxiously nasal voice of an older woman. The film is sure to have you singing catchy songs all holiday–in character.
Buy it here!
Also:
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Snowman
For the Adults
[soliloquy id=”7312″]
Bad Santa: Nothing says, “Honey, I’m home” like getting laid off. Bad Santa stars an ill-tempered man who dresses as Santa to pull his yearly con-artist bit to make some dough. He soon meets his match in the form of a young boy who might have the ability to bring back what was once dear to him–hope.
Buy it here!
The Holiday: Romantic trauma during the holidays can make you want to be someone else. Your best friends will do their best consoling you with ice cream and bad rerun TV while your aunt Susie is on the phone trying to set you up with her next “suitable” date–none of which really ever works. Or could try radical relocation therapy like house swapping with someone a continent away, which is the therapeutic experiment Cameron Dias and Kate Winslet try in the “The Holiday.” During their transcontinental escapades, these life-swappers learn that in a time of absence during Christmas, the biggest change might not occur at home, but within yourself. Nancy Meyers has rounded out this appealing cast with Jude Law and Jack Black.
Buy it here!
Holiday In Handcuffs: “Family Black Sheep” is not the best title to hold during the holidays. It is almost like you’re on ice skates, wearing a red clown nose, while people have nicknamed you Rudolph. And like the main character of this movie, you might feel like you have something to prove every year. Here this starving artist/waitress takes matters into her own hands by handcuffing a man and convincing him to pretend to be her beau for a couple of days, discovering that she’s been searching for acceptance in all the wrong places.
Buy it here!
Also:
Elf
The Family Stone
Love Actually
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Bonus Picks: Classics
[soliloquy id=”7322″]
Christmas in Connecticut
A Christmas Story
Holiday Inn
Home Alone
It’s A Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Bonus Picks: TV Specials
[soliloquy id=”7330″]
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Jack Frost
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
~~Kevin Pena is Ideasmyth’s Human Resource Manager and Graphics intern, and a recent graduate of Hunter College. Outside of Ideasmyth, he does personal assistant work on a weekly basis. On his off time, he relishes role-playing video games, tuning into B-rated movies (and gets a kick out of it), and plays a diverse mix of board games with his rowdy group of overly-zealous friends.
