By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
The holidays are here, and those enjoying some time off may be looking to check out some festive films. I have been asked to name 10 personal favorites from the 1980s and have been racking my brain for options. Naturally, I didn’t want to repeat all the usual favorites, but I’ve discovered a few of my unusual choices aren’t so easy to come by. There are also notable pictures that simply can’t be ignored, so here’s a selection of favorites and a few forgotten picks you might want to consider checking out.
The Dog Who Stopped the War (1984) likely caused some childhood trauma for any youngster living in the Great White North or bordering U.S. states. This French-Canadian production follows a group of schoolkids in Quebec over the Christmas break. Two rival groups plot to take control of a snow fortress. It results in an increasingly intense week-long snowball battle that ultimately causes collateral damage.
Now, it’s time for my irritatingly obscure pick. Comfort and Joy (1984) is a Scottish feature about a radio disc jockey (Bill Paterson) whose girlfriend leaves him days before Christmas. Not long after, he ends up in the middle of a confrontation between two Italian warring ice cream truck businesses. The radio man ends up acting as a mediator to try and bring peace between them.
If you have Harry Potter enthusiasts among you, then they’ll probably appreciate Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). It takes the famous characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and presents them as teenagers meeting for the first time at a London boarding school just weeks before Christmas. Together, they investigate a series of horrific suicides that turn out to be something even more sinister.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) is a title that is guaranteed to appear on television every year throughout December. This chapter sees the Griswold family (Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki) enduring a taxing holiday season dealing with irksome neighbors (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest), a work-related bonus check that hasn’t appeared, and a variety eccentric, irritating relatives.
Speaking of comedies, Trading Places (1983) is another winner from this era that is readily available on disc and streaming platforms. Set during the holiday season, the story involves a street peddler who swaps positions with a snobby Wall Street trader, all on the whim of a pair of underhanded brokerage firm owners. When the two men learn they’re both being taken advantage of, they team up to take down the villains at the stock market.
Scrooged (1988) is another fun film featuring Bill Murray as a modern-day version of Ebenezer Scrooge. In this loose adaptation of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, he plays a nasty television executive forcing his entire network to put on a live Christmas Eve show. Of course, three spirits arrive to set him straight about his greedy nature.
Of course, action fans are likely wondering what they might enjoy. The summer blockbuster Die Hard (1988) has, over the years, become a favorite because the movie is set on Christmas Eve. And as time passes, most younger viewers associate the picture with the holiday season, so it’s easy to understand why it is now considered by many to be a holiday flick.
And while it’s a bit of a cheat, I’ll also include Die Hard 2 (1990) as a selection. Yes, it was released at the beginning of a new decade, but those who enjoy the first will find plenty to appreciate with this high-energy follow-up. Also set on Christmas Eve, this solid follow-up features the protagonist dealing with a military force who have taken Washington’s Dulles Airport and are threatening to crash planes (including one with his wife as a passenger).
Gremlins (1984) is one of those summer blockbusters that made a big impression on me as a kid, combining Spielberg-like characters and story elements with darker thrills, all set against a contrastingly jovial-looking Christmas backdrop. A teen gets a strange, furry little pet as a gift from his traveling inventor dad. He is given three rules to care for the creature, but two are eventually broken, resulting in monstrous carnage all over town.
The same is true of my final pick. Long ago, I was one of those few kids who saw A Christmas Story (1983) at the cinema. I recall that reviews weren’t particularly strong at the time, and others in my family passed on seeing it. My dad took me to a nearly empty theater on a discount ticket night, where we both laughed ourselves hoarse. It obviously developed a huge following on T.V., allowing others in the household to catch up with and enjoy the movie.
There are plenty more to choose from (I’m also very fond of 1990’s Edward Scissorhands, which begins and ends during the holiday season), but for now these are my 10 picks for 80s Christmas movies. Hopefully these choices will inspire you to catch up with or revisit a few notable films from the era. Have a great holiday and, whatever you happen to be watching, enjoy yourself.
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