If you saw my blog right after Thanksgiving, you will remember that I shared my love of cheesy Christmas movies. I’m happy to report that we have been taking full advantage of the season, and have watched at least a dozen uplifting and enjoyable holiday films. That doesn’t count the six or seven that we started watching, but they were awful and we turned them off. And, joy! Since we are still a week and a day from Christmas, there’s more to come.
Indulging in this guilty pleasure, does bring me guilt, though. Karl and I watch TV together, so he has been a real trooper, hanging in there to watch with me. So, yesterday I got to wondering if there are any ‘manly’Christmas movies. The first to come to mind was “The Santa Clause” with Tim Allen – he’s a manly man, so it follows that his movies aren’t pegging the Chick Flick Chick Meter. But then, I remembered a movie we haven’t watched in a very long time and I began to wonder… could it be? Is it really a Christmas movie? Hmmm. It is set on Christmas Eve. There’s a Christmas party, a tree, music. (Also machine guns, rocket launchers, blood…) In my earlier blog I described Christmas movies as: “The plots are simple. Someone is unhappy. Usually he or she comes home or is called home but it’s not where she (or he) really wants to be. Then, because of the magic of Christmas and some hot guy or girl (often an old flame but not always), minds are changed, the ending is happy, love is in the air, and Christmas comes peacefully and with a beautiful snow shower at the perfect moment.” So, last evening, we set out to explore the true nature of this classic movie.
Yes!! This movie fits! The Bruce Willis character lives in New York. He goes to LA to see his kids and estranged wife. He doesn’t want to be barefooted and on the run in a broken glass filled high-rise office building chased by terrorists (added proof this is a Christmas movie – the bad guy’s name is Hans Gruber – the guy who wrote Silent Night is Franz Gruber…crazy huh?) But the main character loves his wife and wants her back. And,the ending is happy: all the bad guys, including two really arrogant and creepy FBI agents, are dead, the main character is welcomed into the arms of his wife and love is rekindled, and it is snowing (well, they are bearer bonds that have been sucked out of the building, but they look like snow). Die Hard ends with a kiss. Perfect! Add that to the smile on Karl’s face when he didn’t have to watch “Crazy for Christmas” instead…Priceless!
