There is one Christmas that will forever go down in infamy in the McPheeters' family and it completely revolves around a movie (which just shows the power of media, I guess). Some background might be needed to shed light on the unfortunate chain of events that led to the Great Family Meltdown of 2014:
My family is obsessed with movies. We have a very extensive movie collection and spend most of our time together watching or quoting our favorite movies. This particularly applies to Christmas movies. There are a set of family classics that must be watched during the holidays—often more than once.
It all started when my sisters and I decided that a new movie needed to be added to the list of must-watch Christmas movies. We had seen The Family Stone the year previously and liked it so much that we wanted to watch it again. It's not a very well-known movie, so watch this incredibly cheesy trailer that doesn't remotely explain the plot well for some context:
Despite the fact that this seems like your run-of-the mill, dumb Hallmark movie, there are actually a lot of complicated relationships, an all-star cast, and a beautiful story line. And it's not produced by Hallmark. I would highly recommend watching it this Christmas.
The deep-seated issue is that there are Christmas movies, and then there are movies that happen to take place around Christmas (or are particularly wintery), but are definitely not Christmas movies. This debate has been raging for years. Die Hard? The Holiday? Gremlins? Frozen? While You Were Sleeping? The Nightmare Before Christmas? Ever consider why Harry Potter is played every year during both the Halloween and the Christmas countdowns? Pretty complicated stuff. (If you have strong opinions about this one way or the other, you should really take this Buzzfeed Quiz.) It's hard to say exactly what the difference is, which is why that seemingly innocent act of adding The Family Stone to the list of must-watch Christmas movies proved to be the catalyst to the Infamous Christmas of 2014.
Unbeknownst to my sisters and me, our dad thought that movie was two things: (1) stupid (which is false), and (2) a movie that only happens to take place around Christmas (also false!). AKA not worthy of the Christmas movie watch list. My sister popped the movie in the DVD player while we were all busy doing various tasks in the kitchen, when we heard a big *sigh* from my dad and a, "why are we watching this stupid movie?" (👀)
That was it. That was all it took. That was the end of the silent night, the peace on earth and goodwill towards men. It was now officially War of the Christmas Movies at the McPheeters' household. I won't go into too much detail to spare you the second-hand disappointment, but The Family Stone was officially removed from the Christmas movie watch list.
I don't have much rebellion in me, but this still makes me mad every time I think about it. I can't help but suggest we watch The Family Stone every Christmas just for the reactions *Dad rolls his eyes* *sister gives me a scathing glare not to start a fight* It's pretty fun.
This whole issue would have been avoided, however, if the world could agree on what makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie. Since there isn't an industry standard, I'll share my thoughts on this, but I'd love to hear what you all think, too.
The movie should take place almost exclusively during the Christmas season. A good 70% of the movie should do (e.g. The Holiday, The Santa Clause)
The movie should have some sort of feel-good message attached to it whether caused directly because it's the holiday season or because of people coming together during the holidays, etc. (e.g. The Family Stone)
It should be acknowledged that it's Christmas time. (e.g. Home Alone)
It should have a Christmas ~vibe~. (this is why I wouldn't call While You Were Sleeping a holiday movie. It takes place almost entirely around Christmas, but it really doesn't have the vibe, BUT The Family Man is.)
That last one is probably where it gets tricky, though. Tell me what you think about my qualifications, or how you decide what is or isn't a Christmas movie. Who knows—maybe it will help you avoid a catastrophic Christmas with your in-laws one day.
Haha, I love that this started a family argument (in my experience, sometimes the best (worst?) family fights stem from the smallest things). I agree with your Christmas movie qualifications. One that I would add is that to be a true Christmas movie, it would be controversial to watch it another time of year like in, say, July. I would never watch the Santa Clause or 12 Dates of Christmas in July because it would feel weird and too Christmasy, but I would easily watch While You Were Sleeping in July and not think twice about it.
I absolutely love this haha. I'd say my family only counts a movie as "Christmas-y" if it actually takes place during Christmas/is explicitly "Christmas-y", so basically right in-line with your Christmas movie qualifications. Also I am 100% going to take that quiz now, thank you very much😂
haha you're great... and your family sounds incredible! I have never thought about this topic, but I'd agree with your qualifications and I'll be more appreciative of Christmas movies because of this post. I also want to branch out and watch some of the ones that you listed, my Christmas movie list is pretty short right now and it could be nice for that to change!
Haha that is hilarious. It is also so interesting to think about what defines a Christmas movie. Another thing that is so interesting is that everyone has such strong opinions on all things Christmas. You either love something or you don't. There is hardly any middle ground. I have never heard of this movie but I think I am going to try it out this Christmas season.
This made me laugh so much! There have definitely been wars about movies in my family too! My brother still can't handle me mentioning an incident from about 17 years ago. It is difficult to define Christmas movies; I've had lengthy discussions with siblings about some of the same movies you mentioned. I love your thoughts and have to agree with you on those qualifications!
Haha, I love that this started a family argument (in my experience, sometimes the best (worst?) family fights stem from the smallest things). I agree with your Christmas movie qualifications. One that I would add is that to be a true Christmas movie, it would be controversial to watch it another time of year like in, say, July. I would never watch the Santa Clause or 12 Dates of Christmas in July because it would feel weird and too Christmasy, but I would easily watch While You Were Sleeping in July and not think twice about it.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this haha. I'd say my family only counts a movie as "Christmas-y" if it actually takes place during Christmas/is explicitly "Christmas-y", so basically right in-line with your Christmas movie qualifications. Also I am 100% going to take that quiz now, thank you very much😂
ReplyDeletehaha you're great... and your family sounds incredible! I have never thought about this topic, but I'd agree with your qualifications and I'll be more appreciative of Christmas movies because of this post. I also want to branch out and watch some of the ones that you listed, my Christmas movie list is pretty short right now and it could be nice for that to change!
ReplyDeleteHaha that is hilarious. It is also so interesting to think about what defines a Christmas movie. Another thing that is so interesting is that everyone has such strong opinions on all things Christmas. You either love something or you don't. There is hardly any middle ground. I have never heard of this movie but I think I am going to try it out this Christmas season.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh so much! There have definitely been wars about movies in my family too! My brother still can't handle me mentioning an incident from about 17 years ago. It is difficult to define Christmas movies; I've had lengthy discussions with siblings about some of the same movies you mentioned. I love your thoughts and have to agree with you on those qualifications!
ReplyDelete