Written By: Dan Geer
Before I begin, let’s be sure to establish right off the bat that I am not trying to poo-poo on anyone’s Christmas film-watching traditions. This article is simply stating what constitutes a Christmas movie for me personally, although I do feel that what follows will end up holding true for many, many others.
For the longest time (although it seems social media has really blown up on this topic more recently), people have been debating over and over again what exactly makes a film an actual Christmas movie. Films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are always the first two that come up in conversation, mainly because they take place during Christmastime. They do indeed have the theme of Christmas interspersed throughout, even with a focus on “family” in there. There are of course other “Christmas” films that fall into this category as well, such as The Long Kiss Goodnight, Die Hard 2, Iron Man 3, Gremlins, to name a few. The list goes on and on.
The question is – why? Why is this a debate? If these are indeed true Christmas films, then why would it even be debatable? For me (and I believe most others) the answer really boils down to true Christmas films meeting two requirements:
- The focal theme of the film is Christmas.
- It has to be a film you only watch during Christmastime.
Think about this for a second. Of course the first requirement is obvious, so it really comes down to the second point that determines it, which is ultimately up to the individual and his/her Christmas film-viewing traditions.
To put it in perspective – would you really, of your own volition, watch Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause, The Polar Express, Christmas Vacation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Carol, etc. at any other time other than Christmastime? The vast majority of people that enjoy Christmas films traditionally only watch them during the Holiday season. They take place during the Holidays, and are specifically written to get you in the mood for Christmas.
Contrast these films against others like Die Hard or Lethal Weapon – well, most people view these types of films just about any time of the year. Why is this? Why would only some Christmas films only be traditionally viewed during Christmastime, but others not? Perhaps because some are not true Christmas films, only containing elements of Christmas, but ultimately fit into so many other genres as well.
To illustrate further, think of this the same way one would think of car tires: There are All-Season tires, and there are true winter tires. One can use All-Season tires all year round, but that doesn’t make them winter tires specifically. It only makes them usable during the winter, as well as any other season (and it’s perfectly fine to do so).
So for myself personally, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight, etc. are not true Christmas films, because even though they happen to take place during Christmas, and perhaps even have some family-centered Christmas themes in them, they ultimately just do not feel like Christmas films – at least not to the extent that something like A Christmas Carol does. They just don’t. They do not encompass both requirements. I would watch Die Hard any time of the year because it covers all kinds of terrain for the viewer other than just Christmas. It may befit the Holiday season, but Christmas is not the sole intent of that film.
Before we reach the conclusion of this brief commentary, let’s reiterate that in the end, it is up to the viewer to determine what a Christmas film is. If they watch Christmas films all year round (for some reason), that’s fine, and some people really do only watch Die Hard during the Holidays. Perfectly fine. Hey – it’s fun to watch Die Hard for Christmas (I did so myself this year)!
But it doesn’t seem apparent to me that many people bring up that second point regarding what constitutes a true Christmas film, and it appears that most do traditionally watch Christmas films only during the Christmas season. Personally, I believe many latch onto Die Hard simply because it’s kind of cool or trendy to call an R-Rated action film a Christmas movie. Of course it is. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a true Christmas film. It seems there is more to it than that.
Yes, Die Hard writer Steven E. de Souza recently “confirmed” that it’s a Christmas movie. And yet somehow, the film’s primary star Bruce Willis famously shot that down. One would think that if it was a true Christmas movie, the writers would have sold this idea to Willis in the first place, right? Maybe that’s why the film was released in July.*
So before you declare a movie as being an actual Christmas film, if you’ve checked off the two pointers above, chances are that for you, that film is indeed a Christmas film. However, you may be one of those people that will watch Christmas movies all year round, to which I do not know what to say, other than “die hard”! 😉
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*Just to add to the point above about when Christmas films get their theatrical release, I am perfectly aware that there are many films in the history of cinema that are undoubtedly Christmas films, such as It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street, that did not receive a Christmas theatrical release. But as of the last two or three decades, studios tend to market and release true Christmas films during the Holiday season.
