Although some people claim to hate holiday music, most everyone has a favorite holiday movie.
We asked City Paper readers for their favorite holiday flicks and the overwhelming favorite was A Christmas Story, a tale of a little boy and his quest for an “official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.” That film secured 54 percent of the votes compared to the distant second-place finisher National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, followed by Die Hard, Polar Express, Elf, Gremlins and The Nightmare before Christmas.
A quick poll of CP employees led to these selections:
The Nightmare Before Christmas. I generally don't like holiday movies, but I do love stop-action animation, and especially Henry Selick's darkly comic 1993 musical fantasy — the perfect holiday movie for people who aren't into them, and a touchstone for misfits everywhere. Bill O’Driscoll, Arts Editor
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. It is a family tradition to watch this movie on Christmas Eve and laugh all night. Lindsey Thompson, Marketing Director
The Hebrew Hammer. This film had its share of protests when it came out in 2003. It’s a parody of 1970’s Blaxploitation films about a bad-ass Jewish superhero who sets out to save his fellow Jews from an evil plot by Santa Claus’s evil son, Damien. Adam Goldberg of Saving Private Ryan and Dazed and Confused is the Hammer and Andy Dick plays Santa’s son. It’s a smart, witty, funny parody that also features Melvin Van Peebles, one of the stars of those classic 1970s films. Charlie Deitch, Editor
Silent Night Deadly Night. Santa is an axe murderer! Al Hoff, Associate Editor
A Christmas Story. My mother doesn’t let us change the channel when it’s on TBS for 24 hours straight each Christmas. Thria Devlin, Marketing and Office Coordinator
Santa's Slay. Santa hates children, slaughters everyone whether they've been naughty *or* nice, and he's given us the best Christmas gift of all time: this amazing horror/comedy flick that's a guaranteed pick-me-up even for the worst grinch. The killer opening scene is a can't miss. Spoiler alert: Death by eggnog. Lisa Cunningham, Art Director
A Christmas Story. Shot in Cleveland, Ohio and being from Ohio myself, this was an escapable part of the season when I was growing up. Something about the creepy dad with his leg lamp and the incessant whining of children really warms the heart. Celine Roberts, Staff Writer.
Auntie Mame. Most everyone agrees that the Rosalind Russel version is the classic, but I disagree. For me, it’s Lucille Ball all the way. This movie is everything. My Favorite quote: “Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.” Justin Matase, Associate Publisher
The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is the first part of my perfect holiday double feature followed by Mad Monster Party. Mad Monster Party has nothing to do with Christmas, but it's a Claymation masterpiece and it's really interesting to see where Burton got a lot of his inspiration. Plus, you can never go wrong when you have Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller in the same place. Jeffrey Schreckengost, Graphic Designer
The Sopranos. It’s not a movie and not about Christmas, but the holiday looms large in the Soprano family. Other mega fans probably already know that almost every season takes place from late summer to late winter/early spring, so Christmas tends to line up nicely with the climax of the season. “Kaisha” (season 6) and “To Save Us All From Satan’s Power” (season 3) are probably my favorites. Alex Gordon, Digital Editor
