'Tis the season for feel-good flicks
Holiday movies seem as integral to the season as nutmeg sprinkled on eggnog. Who doesn鈥檛 like to settle in every year to watch George Bailey (James Stewart) come back from the brink with the help of a klutzy guardian angel named Clarence in 鈥淚t鈥檚 A Wonderful Life鈥� (1946)?
But are there any new movies being added to the canon that can shine as brightly as 鈥�A Christmas Carol鈥� (1951), 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥� (1954), or 鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥� (1947)?
When they were released in 2003, the comedy 鈥淓lf鈥� and the heartwarming 鈥�Love Actually鈥� became instant favorites and now reappear yearly on cable. They joined the roster of other films with contemporary themes such as 鈥�A Christmas Story鈥� (1983) and 鈥�The Santa Clause鈥� (1994).
But since then, few, if any, new movies seem to have possessed that perennial pull. The 2004 animated film 鈥淭he Polar Express鈥� won some fans and spawned new traditions in some places, and the 3-D animated 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� (2009) did well at the box office, though it seems to have mostly faded from pop culture memory, along with others. (Remember 鈥淪urviving Christmas鈥� (2004), 鈥淐hristmas With the Kranks鈥� (2004), or 鈥淒eck the Halls鈥� (2006)? We didn鈥檛 think so.)
This year鈥檚 holiday-themed contenders include 鈥淭he Best Man Holiday鈥� and 鈥淏lack Nativity.鈥� Time will tell if either has lasting appeal and staying power.
Maybe we simply have enough holiday classics. Or perhaps they really don鈥檛 make 鈥檈m like they used to. The holidays are often about nostalgia and passing along tradition, after all.
Annette Insdorf, director of undergraduate film studies at Columbia University in New York, points out that it鈥檚 difficult to predict the making of a classic. But she says the lack of new favorites may have to do with the fact that the competition around Oscar season overshadows the release of feel-good flicks. 鈥淒ecember releases now have more to do with 鈥榓wards season buzz鈥� than with attracting a family to the movies,鈥� Ms. Insdorf says via e-mail.
She also believes the myriad ways in which viewers can watch a film may be having an effect: It鈥檚 hard to compete with what has proved to tug at the heartstrings.
鈥淚t has never been easier to watch old favorite movies, not only on DVD or Blu-ray, but via [online] streaming,鈥� Insdorf says. 鈥淔or some families, why spend a lot of money to see a new holiday movie 鈥� which may or may not be great 鈥� when you can gather around your big-screen TV and share 鈥業t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life鈥� with a new generation?鈥�
