Following up on last year’s list, your Webb movie-critic herewith offers another batch of under-the-radar holiday movies for seasonal screening:
Comfort and Joy (1984) – How’s this for an unlikely premise: A popular Glasgow disc jockey, devastated by a recent break-up, somehow becomes the go-between in a turf war between two firms of competing ice-cream trucks—“Mr. Bunny” and “Mr. McCool.”
Perhaps only writer-director Bill Forsyth—offbeat specialist behind Local Hero and Gregory’s Girl—could have pulled it off. Happily, he gets considerable help from a charming Bill Paterson in the lead—and a great score by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler.
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) – Downton Abbey’s dashing Dan Stevens plays Charles Dickens in this fanciful biopic about the author’s struggle to finish Christmas Carol on deadline. As the energetic young writer juggles family and finance, he also flies about his study, arguing with characters who’ve come to life from the book.
Scrooge is beautifully played by the late great Christopher Plummer, still stealing scenes here at age 87.
The Bishop’s Wife (1947) – In this neglected second cousin to It’s a Wonderful Life, Cary Grant plays an angel helping a Manhattan bishop who’s become too focused on worldly goals.
Frankly, I couldn’t picture the suave and urbane Grant as a heavenly being—and indeed he was at first slated to play the bishop; but the beloved star brings just the right light touch to this role.
David Niven plays the bishop, with Loretta Young as the titular spouse. Film co-stars two kids from It’s a Wonderful Life: Bobbie Anderson, who played the young George Bailey—and Karolyn Grimes, who appeared as little Zuzu.
Arthur Christmas (2011) – A Santa Claus tale for the 21st century: St. Nick has gone high-tech, with an army of North Pole elves at computers, coordinating delivery by a massive invisible aircraft.
On one Christmas Eve, just as Santa is grooming his first-born to take over the family business, the younger Arthur Claus discovers that one present failed to reach its intended child. Rousting his irascible grandfather out of retirement, Arthur also enlists a lovable elf, an old-fashioned sleigh and an ancient reindeer to help right the wrong. In these ways, Arthur is able to feel both futuristic and nostalgic at the same time.
Prep and Landing (2009) – “Prep & Landing,” a terrific 22-minute animated gem, plays like the Pixar short you never heard of. And indeed, except for some behind-the-scenes work from Pixar guru John Lasseter, the film doesn’t feature any well-known names; but, as overseen by Disney Animation, it looks splendid—and the story is a joy.
Wayne the elf is a 227-year North Pole worker whose job is to go ahead of Santa prepping houses for his arrival. One year, passed over for a promotion and paired with a good-hearted rookie, Wayne decides to slack off on one home—with nearly disastrous results.
Followed by two sequels—“Operation: Secret Santa” in 2010 and “Naughty vs. Nice” in 2011—“Prep” boasts a sleigh-full of references to other holiday classics; the complete list at Wikipedia will make you want to watch it again.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean (1992) – If you don’t know Rowan Atkinson’s bumbling boob from the eponymous British TV show, this short Christmas episode is a good place to start. It’s one uproarious gag after another, beginning with Bean’s deconstruction of a department-store creche scene, and finishing with a see-it-to-believe-it turkey-dinner mishap.
There isn’t much Christmas sentiment in this madcap farce, but Bean’s side-splitting antics make a breezy breather at this busy time of year.
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) – I guess any film that made half a billion bucks hardly qualifies as “under the radar.” But I sense folks have already forgotten about this computer-animated winner—the third screen version of Dr. Seuss’s beloved book about the titular grouch and his attempt to steal Christmas from the good-hearted Who’s.
With its lead voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, the movie stumbles somewhat in ditching many of Seuss’ carefully composed rhymes, substituting more straightforward voice-over by the capable Pharrell Williams; so it’s not as good as Chuck Jones’s peerless 1966 TV version. But it gives its love-to-hate misanthrope a compelling backstory; and—together with a larger role for little Cindy Lou Who—presents its viewers a fine seasonal message about how much we need each other … and how Christmas, perhaps, doesn’t come from a sleigh.
Here’s hoping your hearts grow three sizes that day.
