RFC has got you covered with Christmas movie suggestions to get you through the Holidays! We'll be posting selections from staff members throughout the rest of this Holiday season for your viewing pleasure.
Wendell Riley’s Picks:
RFC Executive Director
Gremlins (1984) - I have fond memories of seeing this as a kid and having my mind blown by the amazing puppetry and practical effects. The setup is great, and the chaos caused by the gremlins is good unclean fun. It’s a must-watch for me every year.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) - For me this is peak Clark Griswold, one of cinema’s finest repressed and slightly angry lame dads with a heart. The movie hums along with episodic shenanigans until the parents and cousins show up, and then all hell breaks loose. I love it.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) - This is one I saw for the first time only a couple years ago and I immediately fell in love with it. Judy Garland is radiant in the film, and her performance of “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” is wonderful. The cast is great and they chew on some fantastic dialogue throughout, but my favorite character is Alonzo Smith played by Leon Ames, the hapless father (many times unknowingly) caught up in the dramatic lives of his children.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - Take Charlie Brown’s existential dread and juxtapose it against Vince Guaraldi’s fantastic score and you have a film that feels light and breezy but stays with you for a long time after you see it.
Die Hard (1988) - For some reason there is still a debate raging about whether or not this is an actual Christmas movie, but for me it’s THE Christmas movie. This is a film my mom took me to see as a kid, and up until that point I had never seen an action film that was shot so beautifully and that felt so larger-than-life, which seems counterintuitive since so much of the movie takes place in small confines. As Argyle says at the end of the film, “If this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year's!"
Alexis Salinas’ Picks:
RFC Box Office Manager
Love, Actually (2003) - What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good rom-com and I love the way these stories cleverly intertwine. The cast is stacked, the soundtrack is great, and the whole journey is such a fun time.
Rise of the Guardians (2012) - While technically set during the Easter Holiday, there’s plenty of winter holiday elements that can qualify it as a Christmas movie. Additionally, the animation is beautiful and the story just gives me the feel-good fuzzies that the holidays should!
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) - One of my favorite things about Christmas is getting to feel like a kid again. I practically wore out this VHS tape because I loved watching my favorite Disney characters over and over again. On top of that, each of the stories are so classic.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - This film is a holiday staple in my household. We watch it every year, even if it’s on in the background, so it’s an integral part of my family’s celebration.
The Holiday (2006) - Such a fun movie with a fantastic cast; both Cameron Diaz’s character and Kate Winslet’s character are so relatable. Plus, every time the Mr. Brightside scene comes around, it’s impossible not to dance and sing along.
Madison Kane’s Picks:
RFC Marketing Coordinator
Elf (2003) - It’s smart, it’s silly and Will Ferrell is hilarious! Seeing Buddy learn the ways of the world outside of the North Pole, eat syrup on his spaghetti, and create wild snowflakes and etch-a-sketch drawings is a highlight of the holiday season for me. Elf is one of the only Christmas movies I will watch any time of the year.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) - The Griswold family’s misadventures are always entertaining. I love how well written and completely relatable this movie is. It seems to become more relatable the older I get.
Home Alone (1990) - This one brings a lot of Christmas nostalgia for me. I can remember my twin brother and I (unsuccessfully) attempting to recreate the obstacles from the movie as kids. My brother also strangely looked exactly like young Macaulay Culkin back then which made us both even more obsessed. We couldn’t help but wonder what kind of shenanigans might happen if we were left Home Alone for the holidays like Kevin.
Bad Santa (2003) - Bad Santa is definitely a different kind of Christmas movie. If you’re looking for holiday cheer, this may not be the one for you. The main characters are a bit rude and crass, but it makes for such a fun, exciting, laugh-out-loud adventure!
A Christmas Story (1983) - You can’t help but love how quotable and iconic this movie is. My favorite scene is when Flick is triple dog dared to stick his tongue to a frozen flag pole. I watch this with my family while we open presents on Christmas morning, so it always gets me in the holiday spirit!
Melissa Goslin’s Picks:
RFC Interim Education Director
Cupid For Christmas (2021) - With so many holiday movies on television, this one stands out for its original premise and clever holiday crossover. It also gets bonus points for being directed by SBC native Blayne Weaver.
Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) - I can’t even think about this film without all the childhood holiday feels taking over. I even remember the old Norelco commercial that played just before the titles on our Betamax (google it, kids!) tape. It’s chock full of wacky, lovable characters like Yukon Cornelius, Bumble, and Charlie-in-the-box. But, Hermey, the elf who wants to be a dentist, pushes this to the top of the stop motion Christmas list for me.
Elf (2003) - I was not a fan at first watch, but now I think I love this movie more every time I see it (which is every year). There’s just something about Will Ferrel’s wide-eyed portrayal of Buddy that gets straight to the magic of the holiday season.
Trading Places (1983) - I think about the scene with down-and-out Dan Akroyd shoving a whole smoked salmon in his Santa suit way more than I should. It has all the laughs, a solid message, and Eddie Murphy at his absolute best.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) - That last moment when Kim (played by Wynona Ryder) realizes the snow is actually ice coming from Edward’s mountainous ice sculpting—well, what else could you possibly want from a Christmas movie?