Holiday Movie/TV 2017: More Classics and a Party
Yes I am late to the game this year. This post was sitting as a draft waiting for me to update the list by omitting our personal traditions and just make this a list of reference for many. Every year I do get friends and family asking the best holiday movies to watch. A new feature of this list is that I am finally sorting adult movies and kid appropriate movies. Also I am adding a separate list of holiday episodes from television.
To begin, lets start with the one of the newer additions to the list. Last year I peddled backwards to the past for new names because the previous year yielded very slim pickings. Thankfully last years movie season has given a handful of great movies to add. First up is the seriously epic, Office Christmas Party. Lets be honest, Jason Bateman’s acting capability was untapped in the 80’s. His career has sky rocketed in the last almost 20 years and this movie is just another stellar edition to career, don’t get me started on his Netflix show Ozark, if you have not seen it, binge watch it. The OFP movie is most certainly geared toward the adult set but the laughs and gotcha moments are extremely entertaining. My suggestion is this film makes a great watch while you are wrapping presents. Another highlight from this film is the amazing Jillian Bell who breaks the mold of the stereotypical pimp. Yes, I said PIMP. OCP is not Bell’s first foray into the xmas movie genre. She also played Seth Rogen's wife in the The Night Before. I didn’t add Rogen’s film last year because while I enjoyed it, it still hasn’t clicked in my need to watch it again and again.
Almost Christmas is making the list because I had to knock another movie off the list. This year I am removing This Christmas, because this is the second xmas in a row I just cannot stomach watching TC with the same love had for it back 2007. My mother recently expressed how much she preferred This Christmas over Almost Christmas which made me realize I don’t like it anymore. Okay, yes there are two things to note about swap out on my list. Is it racial because I am removing one black cast film for another, the answer is no because I am removing at least one other film each year from the list. The list is getting out of hand because I tend to add between 2-4 films each year. While TC was a great movie for its time. I’ve never been able to get past the fact that Chris Brown is in the movie and exhibited serious personalities issues in the movie. Almost Christmas was the answer to my problem and woke me up to the fact I really need to let some movies go back into the world. With AC, Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union and Mo’nique took the family story to a whole new level. The only thing I wish was that Nicole Ari Parker had a stronger role in the film. Parker along with Union are two amazing actresses who deserve so much more, fell in love with Parker when she appeared in Boogie Nights and 200 Cigarets.
