Part of the joy of Christmastime is that you have permission to watch the same movies over and over and listen to the same carols on repeat. There’s a certain festivity and nostalgia in the sameness of the season. But even your holiday favorites lose a little of their tinsel sparkle after the third or fourth viewing. … Have you watched Home Alone so many times you know the total of Kevin’s pizza delivery order ($11.80)? Does your family still try to laugh like they’ve never heard the dad mispronounce “fragile” on A Christmas Story (fraah-gee-lay)? Have you finally realized How the Grinch Stole Christmas and all the claymation classics are really only 40 minutes long?
Here are our five suggestions for underappreciated or unconventional Christmas films you might not have seen (or simply forgot about because cable TV doesn’t air them on repeat for 24 hours). With a little creativity and Netflix searching, you just might uncover a new/old Christmas classic.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life
Streaming on Prime Video
Yes, it’s technically a classic — but it’s amazing how many people haven’t watched it since childhood or have only caught scattered pieces on cable. Frank Capra’s story of George Bailey, a man shown the quiet impact of his ordinary life, hits different when you’re an adult carrying real responsibilities and real doubts. Jimmy Stewart delivers one of his most grounded performances, and the film’s small-town Christmas setting is old-school cozy without feeling saccharine. Revisit it and you’ll remember why this one endures.
2. Scrooged
Streaming on Paramount+
This “modern” (read: “’80s-tastic”) retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, the Ebenezer Scrooge of TV executives. Hilarious hijinks ensue when he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future to revive his holiday spirit. It’s still slightly spooky and redemptive, but you also get Carol Kane as a pip-squeaky Ghost of Christmas Present intent on literally slapping Cross in the face.
3. White Christmas
Streaming on Prime Video
When it comes to Christmas musicals, it doesn’t get any better than this. But somehow, many forget about watching White Christmas, and settle for singing the song (introduced in Holiday Inn and later popularized in this film). The back story? Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye team up with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen as a swinging, tap-dancing, harmonizing quartet trying to save a friend’s struggling lodge during a not-so-snowy holiday season. The answer, of course, is to dance and sing.
4. A Muppet Christmas Carol
Streaming on Disney+
The gang is back full-force with The Muppets. But why not revisit one of their earlier films this Christmas season? A Christmas Carol becomes that much more endearing when Gonzo narrates as Charles Dickens, and Kermit and Miss Piggy play the unfortunate Cratchits. And only the Muppets could get Michael Caine to be a Mr. Humbug so cranky, “even the vegetables don’t like him.”
5. Die Hard
Streaming on Hulu, Disney+ or Peacock
Don’t you just hate it when a hostage situation involving terrorists sabotages your Christmas plans with your family? … OK, so it’s not exactly the kind of holiday film that makes you want to gather the kids close and drink some eggnog. But the ’80s action film starring Bruce Willis could be an unconventional addition to your viewing list this season. And any movie with an evil Alan Rickman is worth your time.
A FEW HONORABLE MENTIONS: Little Women, All I Want for Christmas, Gremlins, Batman Returns, Serendipity, To Grandmother’s House We Go, Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Holiday, While You Were Sleeping, Babes in Toyland, Bells of St. Mary’s, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Shop Around the Corner, The Family Stone
