鈥楾is the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best movie is.
No one needs us to remind you about the obvious holiday movies playing on repeat on cable, whether it鈥檚 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life鈥, 鈥淗ome Alone鈥 or 鈥淟ove, Actually,鈥 or even those holiday adjacent classics like 鈥淓yes Wide Shut鈥 and 鈥淭he Godfather.鈥 But perhaps you are looking to go beyond the obvious this year (sorry, 鈥淐hristmas Story,鈥 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥 etc, etc).
Associated Press Film Writers and have you covered with the best Christmas films for every mood.
A movie that feels like a Christmas movie but isn鈥檛, really
鈥淕rand Budapest Hotel鈥: Truthfully, there鈥檚 nothing outside of a little snow to make Wes Anderson鈥檚 2014 delight a Christmas movie. But I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 another movie that better resembles the experience of opening a present than 鈥淕rand Budapest Hotel.鈥 Unwrap Anderson鈥檚 intricate designs and the movie鈥檚 Russian doll-like narratives, and smile. (Available for digital rental) 鈥 Coyle
Best movie for feeling fancy
鈥淢etropolitan鈥 (1990): Who among us hasn鈥檛 dreamt of doing debutante season in New York? Maybe don鈥檛 answer that, but Whit Stillman鈥檚 鈥淢etropolitan,鈥 about a few privileged youths on the Upper East Side, is the ideal film to turn on when you鈥檙e craving something that feels like an elegant evening on the town but doesn鈥檛 require breaking out the white tie and ball gowns. (Streaming on Criterion, MAX, Hulu and Prime Video) 鈥擝ahr
Best performance next to felt
鈥淎 Muppets Christmas Carol鈥 (1992): It鈥檚 one thing to do Dickens with, you know, other humans. But Michael Caine gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Ebenezer Scrooge while sharing the screen with the likes of Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. To be fair, though, Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat are also really good in this. (Streaming on Disney+) 鈥 Coyle
Best Christmas cry
鈥淭he Umbrellas of Cherbourg鈥 (1964): Jacques Demy鈥檚 technicolor musical isn鈥檛 exclusively set at Christmas, but its final tearjerker scene at that snowy gas station is enough for me. The whole candy-colored experience, from Catherine Deneuve鈥檚 whimsical bows to Michel Legrand鈥檚 sweeping, melancholy score just feels right around the holidays. (Streaming on The Criterion Channel) 鈥擝ahr
The best L.A. Christmas movie
鈥淜iss Kiss Bang Bang鈥: Yuletide traditions don鈥檛 normally include a motormouth Robert Downey Jr., but Shane Black鈥檚 2005 neo-noir black comedy is worth revisiting perennially whether or not it technically qualifies as a Christmas movie. In 鈥淜iss Kiss Bang Bang,鈥 about a thief-turned-actor in Los Angeles, Christmas is more of a decorative ornament set ironically against all the deliciously unwholesome seediness. (Available for digital rental) 鈥 Coyle
Best house swapping fantasy
鈥淭he Holiday鈥 (2006): Ok, so the cozy English cottage isn鈥檛 real, but what is? The premise? The romances? Cameron Diaz鈥檚 sprint through snowy fields and country roads in stilettos? Mr. Napkin Head? (Actually, maybe Mr. Napkin Head). The thing is it doesn鈥檛 really matter, does it? Nancy Meyers鈥 romantic fantasy is never trying to be anything other than a delightful movie, a little too earnest, a little too glossy and an unabashed ode to the classic movies Meyers loves right down to Eli Wallach teaching a new generation about the 鈥渕eet cute.鈥 (Streaming on Hulu and Prime Video) 鈥擝ahr
A great Christmas thriller not named 鈥淒ie Hard鈥
鈥淭hree Days of the Condor鈥: I鈥檒l take any excuse to rewatch Sydney Pollack鈥檚 1975 spy thriller with Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. But, like in 鈥淜iss Kiss Bang Bang,鈥 the Christmas backdrop isn鈥檛 accidental. If the holidays are the ultimate time of togetherness, 鈥淭hree Days of the Condor鈥 questions what that means in a post-Watergate world. (Streaming on Paramount+) 鈥 Coyle
Best recent kids Christmas movie
鈥淜laus鈥: There鈥檚 such a steady stream of mediocre or worse holiday movies that it can be easy to miss when a gem arrives. Sergio Pablos鈥 2019 animated Netflix film was basically an origin story for Santa Claus by way of a desperate postman stationed in a remote northern village. Further proof, along with 鈥淢iracle on 34th Street,鈥 that the best Christmas movies hinge on the postal service. (Streaming on Netflix) 鈥 Coyle
For the under-five set
鈥淪haun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas鈥 (2021): Clocking in at only 30 minutes, this is the perfect film for the littlest ones in the house. It鈥檚 sweet, funny and adventurous and not even a little bit scary (unless you fear flying sleighs and botched recipes). (Streaming on Netflix) 鈥擝ahr
Best general holiday-period movie
鈥淣obody鈥檚 Fool鈥: Robert Benton鈥檚 1994 Richard Russo adaptation, with Paul Newman, spans Thanksgiving through New Year鈥檚 Eve. And while that covers Christmas, the richness of 鈥淣obody鈥檚 Fool鈥 exceeds its vaguely holiday setting. It鈥檚 a movie more about daily smalltown struggles and long-term regrets, yet its warmth could match that any of any more traditional Christmas movie, and then some. That鈥檚 much owed to Newman, but there are countless great performances here, including Jessica Tandy (in her final film), a never better Bruce Willis and a young Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a sniveling police officer. It makes me happy just thinking about it. (Streaming on Kanopy, available for digital rental) 鈥 Coyle
For midcentury style and heartbreak
鈥淐arol鈥 (2015): Even if Rooney Mara didn鈥檛 catch Cate Blanchett鈥檚 eye while wearing a Santa hat behind the counter of a Manhattan department store, Todd Haynes鈥 鈥淐arol鈥 would still be one of the loveliest, most achingly tender Christmas movies around. Romance, heartbreak, plaids and martinis, 鈥淐arol鈥 is truly flung out of space. (Streaming on Netflix, Paramount+ and MUBI) 鈥擝ahr
The ultimate TCM Christmas movie
鈥淐hristmas in Connecticut鈥 (1945): You don鈥檛 have to watch it on TCM but it鈥檚 certainly a fitting place to catch this 1945 screwball classic, with Barbara Stanwyck. She plays a popular homemaking column writer whose false persona as a family woman with a Connecticut farm is challenged when her boss (Sydney Greenstreet) comes for Christmas dinner. As a rule, it鈥檚 good to watch everything with Greenstreet. But the central conceit of 鈥淐hristmas in Connecticut鈥 鈥 that the perfect Christmas is a lie, and isn鈥檛 that fun 鈥 has proved remarkably durable. (Streaming on WatchTCM) 鈥 Coyle
For 19th century New England vibes
鈥淟ittle Women鈥 (1994 and 2019): Gillian Armstrong鈥檚 鈥淟ittle Women鈥 just feels like Christmas. Maybe part of that is because it came out around the holidays 30 years ago or that its DVD cover leans into it. But then you remember Beth鈥檚 piano, the girls stomping through the snow with their Christmas feast, the caroling, the return of their father, the fireplaces and nightcaps and it makes sense. Those wanting all of this with a side of dancing Chalamet, Greta Gerwig鈥檚 version is there for the taking too. (1994 version available for digital rental; 2019 streaming on Hulu) 鈥 Bahr
The very best Christmas movie
鈥淭he Shop Around the Corner鈥 (1940): You can make a strong case for that other Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie. But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, there鈥檚 no greater delight than Ernst Lubitsch鈥檚 timeless love story. One of the most charming movies ever made, partly because it doesn鈥檛 shy away from real darkness, too. It also makes for a very effective drinking game if you sip something every time someone says 鈥淢r. Matuschek.鈥 (Streaming on WatchTCM and Max) 鈥 Coyle
鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥 (1947): It鈥檚 not even a remotely out of the box choice, but George Seaton鈥檚 鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥 endures as the platonic ideal of a Christmas movie. It鈥檚 strikingly modern for something that came out 77 years ago with Maureen O鈥橦ara鈥檚 single working mom, Natalie Wood鈥檚 prematurely cynical New York kid and the litigious and capitalistic culture and yet it鈥檚 all full of hope and holiday spirit (and a healthy amount of glossy capitalism), taking us from the Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Parade through Christmas Day. (Streaming on Disney+, Hulu and Prime Video) 鈥 Bahr
