Christmas is just a week away, and what better way to suffer through cold, snowed-in nights with your family than watching as many Christmas movies as possible? You already know the fundamental ones: Christmas Vacation, Elf, The Night Before…Most X-Mas movies scream their holiday in your face, ending with everyone knowing more about the season of giving. But there are plenty of movies that take place during Christmas without really being “Christmas” movies. They’re movies that use Christmas as a backdrop for their story but aren’t nearly as sappy as their tree-filled counterparts.
The most well-known non-“Christmas” Christmas movie is Die Hard, because why feature Santa Claus coming to town when you can have terrorists, broken glass, and a double dose of Agent Johnsons? While it’s regarded as some as “the best Christmas movie”, I’d disagree, but it’s definitely the best Christmas action movie. Take that, Jingle All The Way!
One could say that without Christmas, Gremlins would never take place, making it near the top of the Christmas movies hating on its own holiday. If Billy’s dad had never gone into that Chinatown antique shop to buy a gift for his son for Christmas, the events of the movie would never play out. Sure, the mogwai would have ended up in the hands of some irresponsible kid, but basically the consumerism of the holiday season caused that town to be terrorized. Makes ya think.
Lethal Weapon is another ’80s X-Mas classic that features the best tree shopping scene of all time:
Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Rocky IV, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Trading Places all make up the rest of the non-traditional Christmas films list. Oh, and Iron Man 3, surprisingly, because I forgot most of that movie.
