Holiday movies for Scrooges
By Patrick Day, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
When it comes to Christmas, movie fans usually land in one of two camps, best summed up by a movie quote: theres Tiny Tims God bless us, every one! from A Christmas Carol and theres John McClanes Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho from Die Hard.
The God bless us every one camp has time and tradition on its side. It’s the Christmas-lovers, the carolers, those lovers of the holiday immortalized in Dickens beloved novel and countless films, from Its a Wonderful Life to Elf.
But those whose holiday feelings tend toward the misanthropic find a kindred spirit in McClanes blood-spattered note, scrawled on the chest of a dead terrorist. Finally, the anti-Christmas movie fans had their Tiny Tim and he looked like Bruce Willis.
In the proud spirit of this anti-season, we look back at the least Christmas-y Christmas movies we could find. (Vincent Jannink / EPA)
‘Funny Farm’ (1988)
Chevy Chase starred in the pro-holiday favorite Christmas Vacation, but the year before he displayed a more acidic take on the holidays -- as a New York sportswriter who moves to the country to become a novelist and ends up a bitter drunk looking to divorce his wife. Yes, its a comedy. But what sets the film apart from most Chase vehicles is the films third act, in which he and his wife bribe the eccentric townspeople to reenact Norman Rockwells paintings in order to help them sell their house. What follows could be considered one of the least sentimental looks at small town life during the holidays ever put on film. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
