Not So Merry and Bright
Exploring a Few Not-So-Jolly Parts of Some Holiday Classic Films
It’s December, and the holiday energies are filling the air. Snowfalls have accumulated(and already melted in many areas). Trees have been trimmed and lights hung. Ingredients for cookies and candies are sitting out waiting to be baked. Warehouses are filling up with holiday gifts in queue for delivery. Many corners of the human world are brimming with holiday bustle, and soon all of the seasonal glamour leads us back to the classics of the season — including those wondrous and ever-alluring films.
But those classic holiday films(like many other parts of the season at times), are not all glamour and charm. Some of those most iconic pictures’ parts are not all merry and jolly. As we can watch numerous classic holiday films and constantly mine new riches, perhaps we can also keep an eye out for their not-so-positive pieces. Let’s take a look at some of the negative elements of a few classic holiday hits. This will not be to diminish the wonder of the holiday season, but to perhaps help us better discern what spices to keep out of the cocoa so that boughs of holly can be extra sharp despite life’s unpleasant parts.
What Ever Happened to Kevin and the McCallisters?
Even though the Home Alone film franchise is guaranteed to bring laughter, head shaking, and heartwarming even thirty years on, as viewers watch the installments with the McCallister clan they will constantly recognize that not all is not so merry and bright. Put aside the whole robbers terrorizing a young kid thing. Leave on the back burner all of the booby traps for Marv and Harry that would leave most people paralyzed. Forget the carelessness of two snobby parents who abandon their son two Christmases in a row(oh, it’s always a huge accident!). Just consider how dysfunctional the McCallister family is. Below is the dialogue from the beginning of the franchise’s second installment, even before Kevin enters the picture.
Tracy: (opening lines at the beginning of the movie) Has anybody seen my sunblock?
Sondra: What’s the point in going to Florida, if you’re gonna put on the sunblock?
Megan: I don’t care if I age like an old suitcase, I’m getting toasted.
Buzz: Great!. Now you can be a slightly darker shade of skin!
Brooke: He’s just jealous he doesn’t tan. His freckles just connect.
Uncle Frank: (walks by and sees his son Fuller drink a can of Coca-Cola as he snatches it away from him) Hey, hey, easy on the fluids, pal, the rubber sheets are packed!
Uncle Frank: (drinks the can of Coca-Cola himself)
To analyze, in not even the first few moments of the film we have relatives insulting one another’s skin and physical features. We also have a father dealing with his son’s poor dietary habits and possible medical issues in an avoidant or even cruel manner. This is even before the whole crew is transported to a Christmas pageant where Buzz performs the classic “big brother bully” antics against Kevin as he performs a solo.
Certainly, a key element of the film’s allure is the relatability to Kevin at the hands of his very disorderly family(and then to discomfited bandits). But honestly, considering just how dysfunctional Kevin’s family is even before he enters the picture speaks volumes. It makes you wonder what further issues would happen as the years continue to unfold and Kevin and all of his peers grow up. In addition to the necessary therapy Kevin will need to overcome the trauma from being terrorized by Marv and Harry, how much can counselors help him and other members of the McCallister clan who maybe had just a bit too much discombobulation? Hey, every family has a little disorder, but how did things unfold for the McCallisters(or Kevin himself) in the decades to come? The amazing thing about the Home Alone franchise is that these not-so-pretty family vibes seem to be counterbalanced by the magic and wonder that still always become center stage in Kevin’s world. We would not be unreasonable to expect this to change much from the 1990s to the 2020s. Cue in a reboot to the original cast for a McCallister family reunion!
The Santa Clause, Are You For Real?
Generations of motion pictures have shown elves working hard at the North Pole or Santa Claus changing the lives of certain children in an extra special miraculous kind of way. Enter The Santa Clause (1994) where Santa Claus is not a uniform personality but a position held by ordinary people who just happen to take on all roles and responsibilities after putting on the magic suit.
The unique take on the epic myth brings viewers plenty of laughs, joyful heart-tugging tears, and moments of nail-biting suspense. Tim Allen’s character Scott Calvin just happens to slip into the outfit after a freak accident leaves the previous job-holder unfit to fulfill his duties. Then, Calvin and his son Charlie embark on a marvelous journey that turns out only to start after their extraordinary real-life Christmas Eve toy-delivery dream.
However, this is also where some of the film’s elements take a not-so-palatable turn. How is it a Disney sort of thing if the old Santa Claus falls off Calvin’s roof(and Charlie temporarily blames Calvin for pushing Santa)? And Charlie’s profoundly negative misconstruing just happens to be the least of the tragic misunderstandings related to Calvin’s new life. Calvin’s ex-wife Laura and her new husband Dr. Neil view Charlie’s preoccupation with some Christmas Eve North Pole fantasy as a psychotic ploy by Calvin to win his child’s admiration. Remember this whole ordeal got so out of hand that the new Kris Kringle was taken away in handcuffs while delivering gifts on Christmas Eve! Fortunately, it does not seem that these rough parts impacted the film’s quality and holiday luster much(nor did it significantly influence critics’ reviews). Plus, everything worked out for Tim Allen and the cast to return for a second and third series installment!
A Wonderful Life Is Not Always a Merry One
Every year, I return to the holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life. And like other classics, I never cease to find new riches and wonders. The film has romance, humor, spiritual themes, and even angels who help George Bailey learn just how wonderful his life is.
But viewers realize that not everything is all merry and bright(like other classics this is part of the film’s allure). Even though star James Stewart’s picture could be found in the dictionary under elegance and charm, his character George Bailey appears more like a man who can barely fit into his suit. Often, community members in his small town of Bedford Falls offer not-so-positive assessments of Bailey, with labels ranging from a chump to a “warped, frustrated young man.” Although Bailey holds a heart of gold, an anchored existence with his wife and growing family, and a knack for being a silent, unsung hero, his overzealous ambition and disappointment with his life’s path leave him feeling miserable and depressed at times. One of the worst facts of the storyline may be how the town’s oligarch Mr. Potter actually steals the Bailey Building and Loan’s $8,000 year-end deposit(equal to over $145,000 in 2023 dollars). A gut-punching reminder that the world has plenty of scam artists and embezzlers worse than a simple Mr. Scrooge is hardly a “Joy to the World” theme!
But like others, the classic Jimmy Stewart and Donna White holiday film proves that goodness, love, and cheer thrive over anything negative or horrible. Not only does George Bailey find his life to have immeasurable value with infinite blessings unfolding, but it is the town that he has helped to flourish and prosper through his compassionate vision and action that influence his fellow townspeople to step up and rescue him at the end(as well as a little help from Divine and angelic forces). Viewers can return to this film every year to truly remember how family, friendship, and countless other unquantifiable blessings are what matter most during the holidays(plus all year round).
So there you have it. Some parts of the reviewed holiday film classics were in truth quite dark and dreary. However, we do not seem to be rushing to throw aside the egg nog, snickerdoodles, and evergreen decorations. Quite the contrary doesn’t greater awareness of the darker side of the holiday season make us more aware of the love, goodness, joy, and countless other positive forces that endure through life’s not-so-merry parts?
Perhaps the enduring brightness and joy during the holidays is like the snow that falls in so many of these movies(as it never fails to land in many of our real-life locations despite climate change). The blankets of white associated with the season are a product of skin-numbing cold that leads us to put on multiple layers and lounge hide away under mounds of quilts. But the luster of white over streets and hills itself becomes a strong force for life and renewal, shielding the creatures and plants that slumber in the coldest of times and then nourishing them when new currents of warmth and energy return in the spring.
