 Based on the acclaimed author Charles Dickens' book from the 19th century (1843 to be exact), this is just one of several adaptations of what is perhaps the greatest Christmas story of all time. And while many gravitate towards the Muppets' version of the tale (and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that version too), I will forever and always claim the 1951 version of the story, also well-known as simply 'Scrooge', as, by far, the best version of the classic story apart from the book itself... which is actually a bit of a chore, if I'm being honest.
Unless you've been spending a lot of time under a rock, chances are you've seen some version of this and, therefore, know the basic story. But since I have a whole review to write, let me just give my audience a brief synopsis. Ebeneezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) is a greedy old miser of a man with no Christmas spirit. He treats the poor with little to no respect and is rather ignorant of the concepts of family and friends and loved ones visiting over the holidays. He has a cold numbness towards it all, often being quite harsh about it. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge returns home from a meal to find the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley (Michael Hordern), who was just as miserly and miserable as Scrooge was in his life, haunting his home. Having passed seven years ago that night, Marley has since been constructing and linking heavy chains as punishment for his life's wrong-doings, and he warns Scrooge that he must change his ways or suffer the same fate. To achieve his salvation, Scrooge is to be visited throughout the night by the ghosts of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan), Christmas Present (Francis De Wolff), and Christmas Yet to Come (Czeslaw Konarski). This movie is still quite an amazing film by today's standards as far as good storytelling, a likeable cast of characters, and I might even argue a few of the effects which mostly include the transparency of the spirits against some backdrops and set pieces that really set the mood the film is going for at any given time. But what really sells this movie above everything else is Sim's portrayal of Scrooge. This man's range is remarkable, and I hate to say it, but I find that he's more impressive than many big-time recognizable actors from a more present time, like Michael Cain or Patrick Stewart in the same role. The big stand-out performance considering Sim's range is what I like to call "the morning after scene." I would consider this a spoiler that is no longer a spoiler, considering the story's overall fame, but this is the scene when Scrooge has learned his lesson and does a complete 180 in his behaviour, becoming pleasant, cheerful and charitable as a result of his visit. Not only will he make you laugh out loud with his behaviour, but he may even bring tears of joy. He sincerely sells how much he has been changed, and it leaves one with the warmest of feelings deep down inside. There have been so many remakes of this story; it's kind of insane. But to this day, I still claim this version to be the Golden Standard for the story's adaptation, and that's for several different reasons, not the least of which is the "morning after" scene that I just described. The film's music, contrasting acting, and moody sets give it a classic feeling and take us back to the time and place the story was written, the 1840s in London, England. It strikes me as a Christmas movie one should watch next to a roaring fireplace with all the lights off. As far as the classics go, this one should be on everyone's list who prefers the classics to anything present-day. I also think this is a version of the story that everyone needs to see if they haven't. It may feel dull at points, but stay focused on Scrooge's progression and enjoy Sim's portrayal, and it will all come together in the end. It's one that hits every emotion, and in the end, a Christmas movie so beautifully done that leaves you with a warmth I could only compare to 'Wonderful Life'. 5/5
0 Comments
 Regarding the list of Golden Christmas Classics, it's easy to see why this is one of them. It didn't seem to be one we visited much while I was growing up, as the big names in our household for the classic era were 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'A Christmas Carol' (1951, specifically). So, I only actually saw this for the first time, maybe about a decade ago. Over the years, it has grown on me as something to add to the "Golden Classics" category that delivers that good old "Christmas magic" I love so much in a good Christmas movie.
There are a few different ways to tug at my heartstrings enough to reignite my love for Christmas every year, and one. However, it might sound very strange to some, is to reinvigorate my belief in Santa Claus, and 'Miracle on 34th Street' is a beautiful example of one such movie that can do that. But I should probably clarify that by saying that, I don't speak of a physical being who can fly around the world in one night, fit down chimneys, consume half of the snacks we leave out for him and leave gifts for us in our stockings and under our Christmas trees. I'm talking about a symbol, but I'll get to that later. The story here involves Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who comes to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan only to find that the Santa they have hired is a disgraceful lush. He then voluntarily replaces him for the parade and does such a good job of representing Santa that he is later asked to be the Santa Claus for Macy's department store, which he agrees to. He's such a good Santa that he even gives parents advice on where to shop instead of Macy's for bargains and deals, which, in turn, gives Macy's loyal customers for their Santa's honesty! Meanwhile, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), the coordinator of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is raising her daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood), to not believe in such "nonsense" as Santa Claus, fairy tales or anything of the like. However, her attorney neighbour, Fred Gailey (John Payne), cares a lot for Susan and believes that her upbringing is taking away her childlike sense of wonder (which I tend to agree with). So, one day, Fred takes Susan to visit Santa at Macy's, and after a little conversation, Susan becomes pretty convinced. The rest of the film leans heavily on Kris, a very sweet, kindhearted old man who believes he is Santa Claus and how people treat him like he's gone off his nut. After he starts to send Macy's shoppers to other stores to find what they're looking for at a bargain, the whole thing turns into Kris against the world as some aim to have him committed for believing that he is actually Santa, which many people find preposterous and even potentially dangerous, especially in an era where mental health was looked at much differently than it is today. Going back to this talk about Santa being a symbol, this is essentially what I was taught upon finding out the truth about things. He might not be real in the physical sense, but Santa, at least to me, represents joy, happiness, the spirit of giving and even some of the mystique and excitement we experience on the night of Christmas Eve. When one thinks of all the stress that Christmas brings, one can look to Santa to remind them that there's still a lot to love about Christmas that isn't material and doesn't cause you enough stress to rip all your hair out for a partially bald Christmas morning. That's really what 'Miracle on 34th Street' is all about. It's a very warm and sweet film that does an excellent job of reinvigorating the true spirit of Christmas in the same way 'Wonderful Life' reinvigorates a positive outlook on life, or 'Christmas Carol' reinvigorates a spirit of giving. It may not be at the top of my list as an annual go-to, but it's still undeniably a sweet movie that puts the warmth of Christmas back into my heart when I watch it. And indeed, in its own way, it reminds me that, at least symbolically, there is still a Santa Claus in my life. 4/5  As it is with most high-school kids, there was a point in time when I had quite a thing for a girl in one of my art classes. Unlike many at that point in time, she was very sweet and gave me the time of day. Things didn't ultimately work out, but we remain on friendly terms, and I'm always grateful to her for simply being her. Another thing I have to thank her for is introducing me to this movie, which, in turn, made me feel better about romantic love altogether, as I once thought some pretty bitter stuff about the whole concept.
Funnily enough, I first watched this movie in the summer of 2013, only to realize it's a Christmas movie. My friend didn't explain a whole lot more to me about the film aside from it being a combination of different stories having to do with concepts of love, it was an all-star cast, it was directed by the same guy who did 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and that she really wanted a lot of it to be a surprise for the first time I watch it. While I first passed it off as just another mush movie, I have to admit that when I finally got around to it, I was more than pleasantly surprised. The film centres on a massive group of interconnecting characters, all of whom have their own "love story," using different concepts of love for everything! To be perfectly honest, about ten different storylines are going on here, and to think that one can take the concept of "love" and come up with ten different ways to show it is, at least in my opinion, quite clever. Before this, I was basically stuck on three: the love for your family, your friends and, of course, the obvious, romantic love. That said, to go through them all would take forever. I think, however, the viewer has to take away the stories they relate to the most to get something special from the film. Speaking personally, I related to the British Prime Minister, David (Hugh Grant), inconveniently smitten with his new staff member, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), and Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who is infatuated with his best friend, Peter's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) new wife, Juliet (Keira Knightley). This also shows his loyalty and love for his friend despite his feelings for her. To a lesser degree, I can also relate to Jamie's character (Colin Firth) just for using writing to help fill the void romance has left behind. There are so many other stories going on here that odds are one will find one to relate to in some way. A lot of them are actually much funnier than I would have expected, ranging from Collin (Kris Marshall), who just wants to travel to America in hopes of getting laid with his British charm, two movie sex doubles, John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page) who hit it off at the job and of course my personal favourite character of the entire film, pop singer Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) and his constantly giving his manager (Gregor Fisher) a hard time. Of course, no movie about love would be complete without a little bit of difficulty, which is where the three more profound stories come in. Sarah (Laura Linney), Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), and Michael (Michael Fitzgerald) show how sometimes love for family has to take priority over romantic love. Harry (Alan Rickman), Karen (Emma Thompson), and Mia (Heike Makatsch) is a story about temptation outside of one's family, and last but not least, Daniel (Liam Neeson) and his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), who have lost their respective wife and mother and deal by discussing how Sam can win over his crush, Joanna (Olivia Olson). I didn't think I'd be able to get through all of the stories in the review, but somehow I did. The tenth story in question is a somewhat deleted one involving Rowan Atkinson, who was initially meant to be a Christmas angel - something reasonably evident if you consider his role here. Anyway, I think there's something here for everyone, and it gets more criticism than it deserves. I actually found it to be creative and well-thought-out. It's another nice, down-to-earth film that one must watch with an open heart and mind. Remember that for as many storylines as there is here, none of it is as repetitive as one might think. This one holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, and that's not gonna change any time soon. 5/5  I was actually going to review this with further chit-chat about the differences between 'Bad Santa' (the theatrical release) and 'Badder Santa' (the unrated version) as there's so many more laughs in the latter. But there's something I want to discuss more than just comedic differences. It's kind of hard to believe that at the time of writing this, this movie has been an (almost) annual watch since its 2003 release, and it only just this year clicked for me that, while very much played for laughs, there's a dark drama underneath it all.
To summarize, Willie T. Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner, a little person named Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox), make a criminal career of annually posing as a mall Santa and his elf to research the ins and outs of the mall's security system and, as they close for Christmas, rob the place blind with Willie's safe-cracking skills as Marcus goes "shopping," taking whatever he can. They always seem to succeed, but while Marcus seems to do a good job at holding onto his share, Willie has a tendency to blow it all on a combination of drinking, prostitutes, strippers, presumably drugs, and who knows what else? The film begins with a demonstration of all of this, including Willie pissing his share away, which very much establishes his character as a bit of a loser. The following year, Marcus calls him to do another job in Phoenix, where they meet the likes of mall owner Bob Chipeska (John Ritter) and chief of security Gin Slagel (Bernie Mac). Bob's a pushover character trying to do his job to the best of his abilities with this drinking, cursing Santa working his mall. But Gin is someone Willie and Marcus need to keep on their toes for. In the meantime, Willie meets a kid named... well, his name is a pretty funny surprise upon its reveal, so I won't be spoiling anything if some of my readers haven't seen this yet. He's credited on IMDb as "The Kid" (Brett Kelly), so we'll go with that. To make a long story short, the kid is a perfect solution to Willie needing a hideout while the heat's on. He further meets a beautiful waitress named Sue (Lauren Graham), who provides another "convenience" for Willie as she fetishizes Santa Claus, and one can use one's imagination from there. What's interesting is that when the film starts, Willie essentially tells us all about how much crap life has thrown at him, and he comes across as a character we don't want to sympathize with. We sort of take him as the loser and everyone else as some kind of "professional" or at least "better" than him. As the film unfolds, he meets the kid and Sue, both of whom are very likable characters in their own ways, and by the end of the film, we find that Willie is a character to route for because Sue and the kid seem to bring his "good" back. Willie is a hard character to actually route for, as we constantly see him at his lowest lows, and his only highs seem to come from the bottle and sex where he can get it. He almost shoves how much of a "loser" he is in your face, and Marcus lets the audience know how he feels by what he says. But over time, I've learned to empathize with Willie far before we're "supposed to." Put simply, Willie's an alcoholic with an extremely negative outlook on life, and it takes the kid and Sue to bring him back around. So, while this film is an altogether hilarious, raunchy comedy on the surface, it also covers being at one's absolute rock bottom and the idea that there's still a glimmer of hope in a sea of people who seemingly hate you. The kid holds a mirror to his "loser" side, and Willie learns to help him. Sue, meanwhile, brings him back to not only the love of a woman he doesn't have to pay for but, I'd also say, his humanitarian side to some degree. While this is still great on the surface as a raunchy comedy, take what I've said into consideration the next time you watch it and try to put yourself in Willie's shoes. You might be surprised to find your heartstrings actually getting a little tug. 4/5 |
RSS Feed