And that someone is me.
The answer is: "No, of course not."
My reasoning:
“Set at Christmas” does not "a Christmas movie” make.
Look at it this way: if you remove the Christmas setting or framework of a film involving the holiday, do you still have basically the same movie or do you have something different?
If the answer is “different,” then it’s a Christmas movie.
Debate resolved!
I’ll fling a controversy grenade on my way out:
Using the same rationale, It’s a Wonderful Life is not a Christmas movie, either.
Of course i agree with your metric as I've often employed something similar myself. ;)
ReplyDeleteThough there is some quibble room over Wonderful Life...
I think the argument for IAWL as a Christmas film is quite credible, but it's a closer question than NBC's annual broadcast suggests.
DeleteI've heard it noted that A Christmas Carol isn't really a Christmas story either, by similar standards. Those 3 ghosts could've shown up any time of year. And there was nothing whatsoever concerning, y'know, the birth of Jesus, at any point in Dickens' story.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't stop me from watching some version of Carol every year. Ditto It's a Wonderful Life. ^_^
I have seen an argument that ACC is not really a Christmas film, either. Does not hold water, certainly not in the written form.
DeleteAnd every filmed version has Scrooge ranting specifically about the holiday being "a false and commercial festival, devoutly to be ignored." There's no comparable holiday to arouse similar ire.
Note that Bruce Willis' character is there because his wife is coming for Christmas. It's a Christmas film.
ReplyDeleteMcClanians are a stubborn bunch... :)
DeleteUsing the same rationale, It’s a Wonderful Life is not a Christmas movie, either.
ReplyDeleteDoes this apply to the Sam Kinison / Ed O'Neill version as well?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc1c2xf-K5o