Dec 15 2008
The 12th and 11th day of Christmas
Technically Sunday should have kicked off my twelve days of Christmas, but I made a mistake and put SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT on there instead. Make no judgments, I think that SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is a waste of celluloid and should not have been made. Starting with these two films, here are movies twelve and eleven that I love during the holiday season.
12th film of Christmas
HOME ALONE (1990)
Yes as campy as it was back in 1990 nothing beat this box office laugh fest of two stupid burglars falling down and hurting themselves. Macaulay Culkin was box office star and slapped his hands to his face in this charming hit. A large family accidentally leaves on a trip and forgets to bring one of their children along. So they leave Kevin (Culkin) home alone to fend for himself, unforeseen to everybody a duo of burglars are hitting Kevin’s neighborhood and target his house. Unbeknownst to the burglars, played hysterically by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, is Kevin is a force to be reckoned with, setting traps that would make Rambo tip his hat, this is laugh out funny movie that proved to be an instant classic. Joe Pesci also won an Academy Award that year for his portrayal of Tommy is the mobster film GOODFELLAS. The films blended because while shooting the family film he dropped the “F” bomb a few times, and the director Chris Columbus had to remind Pesci he was shooting a family film. Great movie and it lasts up almost twenty years later!
On a sad note Macaulay’s sister died December 12, 2008 being accidentally hit by a car, she was 29 years old.
11th Film of Christmas
CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)
It is impossible to have a holiday season without a single screening of this film; thanks to many cable networks they show this movie on a twenty-four hour loop. Christmas Story tells the story of little boy’s obsession with the ultimate Christmas toy, his “Red Ryder” BB Gun and his quest to talk to Santa in order for him to secure such a precious prize. In the middle of this quest are many fables of bullies, Christmas Tress, foul language; lamps shaped like sexy female legs and of course a pink bunny costume. CHRISTMANS STORY is an instant Christmas classic and if anybody argues than they are a fool. Twenty-Five years later we are still quoting lines from this film and anybody who knows the film will quote it back to you.
Here’s a piece of trivia, the director Bob Clark made two films that were very anti-Christmas or feel good movies, he directed the cult horror flick CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, BLACK CHRISTMAS his first Christmas movie, but that one had a killer in the attic, PORKYS, the infamous sex comedy and after CHRISTMAS STORY Bob Clark filmed TURK 182!, FROM THE HIP and finally BABY GENUISES. So Clark started in horror, perfected his craft with soft porn and then went to light fare that is CHRISTMAS STORY. Sadly, Bob Clark died on April 4, 2007.
Re-live the memories with Ralphie and the gang and be careful not to shoot your eye out!
