Top ten classic Christmas movies

FROM Chevy Chase losing his cool over thousands of tiny lightbulbs to Macauley Culkin taking a blowtorch to a burglar’s head. Here are the Christmas-themed movies that have become classics.

IT’S the season for feel-good films and, barring the usual stocking stuffers, there’s been plenty of Christmas-themed movies over the years that have rightly become cherished classics.

LOVE ACTUALLY, 2003

It’s unfortunate that Love Actually has become the Christmas tradition so many people now love to hate. The film’s haters heap scorn on it for objectifying women. But what’s not to love about Hugh Grant as a dancing PM? Or Colin Firth awkwardly declaring love in broken-Portuguese to his housekeeper? Even on the 23rd viewing, Emma Thompson’s discovery that her husband (Alan Rickman) is having an affair with his sexpot secretary could bring the hardest-hearted viewer to tears.

WHAT WEATHER CAN WE EXPECT FOR CHRISTMAS?

Love Actually is the Christmas tradition people love to hate.

ELF, 2003

Will Ferrell is at his loveable best as Buddy, a man who discovers he was adopted as a baby by an elf (Bob Newhart). Though Buddy has the innocence and sunny disposition to work in Santa’s Workshop, his giant size has made living in the North Pole tricky, so he goes on a quest to find his real dad (James Caan). Of course, as a sugar-sweet manchild, Buddy also struggles to fit in with his new-found New York family.

Will Ferrell as the sugar-sweet Buddy in Elf.

DIE HARD, 1998

Back when Bruce Willis still had hair and could rock a singlet, he made his mark as gruff anti-hero John McClane. Eager to reunite with his estranged wife at her office Christmas party, McClane shows up only to discover the place teeming with terrorists. In true action-hero style, McClane proceeds to take out the entire crew of bad guys led by Hans Gruber (Rickman) and rescue his missus single-handedly. Remarkably, Willis, known only for his comedic TV work on Moonlighting, only scored his now iconic role because ARNIE turned it down.

Bruce Willis rocking hair and a singlet in Die Hard. Picture: Supplied

NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, 1989

Chevy Chase reprises his role as the eternally optimistic Clark Griswold. Having not learned from prior disastrous efforts to create the perfect holiday for his ungrateful clan, Clark sets his sights on Christmas. Of course, nothing goes according to plan for Clark particularly when his wife’s bogan family roll up unannounced in their caravan to join the festivities. The highlight is when cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) empties the contents of his van toilet into the stormwater drain.

All Clark Griswold wants for Christmas is an illuminated house. Picture: Supplied

THE HOLIDAY, 2006

Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz play two women who swap homes for Christmas in a bid to change their lives. And guess what? It works. Winslet gets the better end of the deal home-wise; moving into Diaz’ flash Hollywood pad where she finds romance with Jack Black. But while Diaz gets stuck with Winslet’s snow-covered cottage in the middle of nowhere, she scores the better love match, hooking up with Jude Law.

Kate Winslet and actor Jack Black in The Holiday.

MIRACLE ON 34th STREET, 1947

This flick basically created the genre of holiday movies; netting three Academy Awards and spawning several remakes (the most successful was in 1994 starring Elisabeth Perkins and Richard Attenborough). But not even the inspired casting of Attenborough as Kris Kringle could give that remake the same magic as the 1947 classic. Edmund Gwenn took home the Best Supporting Oscar in the original for his role as the store Santa who restores the faith of a cynical little girl (a young Natalie Wood).

Tim Allen in The Santa Clause. Picture: Supplied

THE SANTA CLAUSE, 1994

Tim Allen (aka the voice of Buzz Lightyear) stars as Scott, a divorced ad executive who’s forced to step into Santa’s boots when he inadvertently knocks him off the roof thinking he’s a burglar. Scott soon discovers there’s more to the job than delivering toys in a red suit once a year. To his horror, soon he’s stacking on weight, his hair is turning white and he starts sprouting a beard. While it may sound like early onset menopause, it’s instead a sign that Scott is physically transforming into Father Christmas.

Macauley Culkin was a big star at the time of Home Alone.

HOME ALONE, 1990

For a brief window in time Macauley Culkin was one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to his role as Kevin, a kid alone at Christmas when his family accidentally leave him behind. Amazingly, Kevin’s hopeless parents don’t think to call the police, so he’s left to himself. He befriends a lonely old man (in any other film, this would be totally creepy) and battles two burglars. The film was so successful it spawned a sequel, where poor Kevin was instead left in New York alone. Someone really should report his parents for neglect.

Gremlins makes for one of the more unorthodox Christmas movies.

GREMLINS, 1984

Usually the only little guys in green you see at Christmas are Santa’s elves. In this festively-set film, the guys in green are the gremlins and they’re hellbent on taking over Billy’s quiet suburban town when the teen fails to follow the rules to care for his cute new pet mogwai. Hey Billy, never feed a mogwai after midnight. It’s actually good advice for most of us.