Second Day of Holiday Movies

On the second day of Christmas, the holiday movie recommendation I present to you…

Is… Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  This is a musical about a retired nightclub singer, Jim (Bing Crosby), who decides farming isn’t for him and he decides to open a supper club on his farm.  The catch is it’ll only be open for holidays.  Jim hires the up and coming Linda Mason to star in his shows and love develops between them until Jim’s former nightclub partner, Ted (Fred Astaire), arrives back in the picture. Comedic misdirection and hilarity ensue.  When they say it’s always about a dame, they were referring to the plot of this classic. 

I grew up watching this film and loved the singing, dancing and comedy.  Fred Astaire’s dancing is always amazing to watch but the New Year’s Eve dancing number takes the cake for me.  In the last 15-20 years, most networks have stopped showing the film due to the use of black face, lyrics of the Abraham Lincoln number and the treatment of the African-American characters.  I want to make it clear that I agree with the criticism of the film for these issues.  When the film has been shown on networks like TCM, I have very much appreciated the introductions that address this controversy instead of ignoring it.  Knowledge is power and enlightenment.   I hope that you the viewer can look past the controversy and enjoy the film.  I think that you can still catch this on TCM each holiday season or find it online.

 

Irving Berlin’s song “White Christmas” makes an appearance in this film a full 12 years before being used as the title song in another movie. 

Life lessons from this film – always be weary of short-cuts, when in doubt you can always try saying your name with emphasis and confidence and stealing your best friend’s girl doesn’t usually work out.

First Day of Holiday Movies

On the first day of Christmas, the holiday movie recommendation I present to you…

Is… The Shop Around the Corner (1940) which is the oldest movie on my list.  It is a classic film that stars Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan.  The main characters are colleagues at a shop in Budapest who dislike each other all the while also being secret unnamed pen pals that have fallen in love.  The plot may seem formulaic but that is because it created the formula.   They say “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, well here is your proof.  You may be familiar with the adaptations (remakes) of this film - including In The Good Old Summertime (1949) which is a musical take on the story starring Judy Garland, the Broadway musical She Loves Me (1963) or probably the most recognizable would be the hit You’ve Got Mail (1998) starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. 

The idea that you share your true self with strangers in a way that you can’t be in real life is timeless.  The thought that you could fall in love with someone you’ve never even met has been around long before the internet seemed to popularize the idea.  While the movie may be considered “old”, the plot and characters are allowed to develop so that at the conclusion you feel like you know everyone working at Matuschek and Company. The movie is simple but there are a number of little gems where you can’t help but smile and chuckle a bit. I whole-heartedly recommend this amazing film.  You even get a special treat with Frank Morgan, best known for his role as Oz in The Wizard of Oz, as the shop owner.

I am a fan of creating movie marathons with a though line.  On a snowy day, a great holiday tribute based on the plot of this movie would be to follow this up with two adaptations – You’ve Got Mail (1998) and Christmas in Boston (2005).  I assume you are familiar with You’ve Got Mail already.  Christmas in Boston is a riff on the theme and was an ABC Family TV movie that focuses on pen pals who may have told a little white lie along the way and are now meeting for the first time in Boston at Christmas, mistaken identities and hijinks ensue. You can see the similarities.

If you watch this gem for the first time or are a repeat offender, like me, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Have any recommendations for another holiday movie marathon that includes The Shop Around The Corner?  I’d love to hear it.

Another Seasonal Count Down

Hope that you enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast!  Now that the count down to Christmas can really begin, I wanted to ask - What kind of movie watcher are you?

I love movies and watch them constantly.  I am more likely to watch a movie then a TV show most of the time.  That being said, I hardly go to the theater but rather watch them in the comfort of my house with a bowl of popcorn.  I joined Netflix in July 2002 and haven’t looked back.  However, I think that the best description of me is that when I connect with a movie, I am the kind of movie watcher who watches and re-watches the movie over and over and over again.  I will even admit that I will put a movie on and turn off the TV because I don’t need to actually watch the movie to enjoy it.  Think of it like a favorite music playlist that you put on in the background at work or the song that always makes you smile.  I have a pretty large movie collection but it is limited to movies that either my husband or I connect with.  Did I mention that thankfully my husband has a similar viewing style or at least has embraced it for me? Another reason he’s a keeper in my book. 

I should also confess at this time, I really enjoy holiday movies.  I typically partake in the light-hearted cheesy fare that seems to reign supreme on channels like Hallmark but my taste spans many generations of films. 

So in honor of my love of the season and my interest in re-watchable films, I am going share a holiday movie recommendation list of my own – The Twelve Movies of the Season.  The list will be in no particular order as I feel that all are worthy of a viewing.  Not all movies will speak to everyone but I hope that I can introduce something new to you or remind you of a forgotten favorite.  In an effort to get into the habit of posting on my blog, I plan to share 3 movies each week for the next 4 weeks leading up to Christmas.  The first movie will be shared on Monday, November 28^th and new ones will be provided on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday thereafter until December 23^rd. 

I also want to describe my favorite way to create a movie marathon.  It’s a matter of creating a connection between the movies, sometimes the connection runs through all of the movies and sometimes it’s more like a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  I usually keep it to around three movies and the connection doesn’t have to be limited to actors/actresses to connect any of the films.  Connections can be actors, directors, writers, style, genre, plot, location or any other connection I can come up with.  Since this may come up in future posts I figured I would share it now.

Are you ready?  I hope that you join me for this holiday movie adventure.

Bring on the Holidays!

Over the last year I’ve realized that I want to make a go at this blogging thing.  However, that realization doesn’t miraculously make it happen.  Sometimes the first step is the hardest step to take.  I have been brainstorming and writing down ideas for months.  I have always been a planner but I think that this exercise has been more about procrastinating out of fear. 

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year so there are so many things that I want to share.  As we approach the holiday season, I plan to embrace the spirit of giving. 

As a crafter, the season leading up to the holidays is often filled with making – crafts, food and memories.  A few years ago, I made an advent calendar garland of mittens to hang on my stairs.  The mittens are large enough for a small candy cane or some chocolates.  I have always wanted to include a paper slip with a holiday inspired task or activity for each day counting down to Christmas.  I have held back, not for lack of ideas, but because I want to be surprised each day.  So I had a brilliant solution the other day.  My husband and I came up with the 25 ideas together, wrote them on slips of paper, mixed them up and included a random slip in each mitten.  Since we know the full list in advance, we can make sure to have everything necessary on hand.

Bring on December 1^st because here’s the full list for our advent calendar:

      1.   Wear something red

      2.   Enjoy a hot beverage

      3.   Enjoy a glass of eggnog with or without the “holiday cheer”

      4.   Get your peppermint fix with a candy cane

      5.   Take a tip from Santa and enjoy a plate of cookies and a glass of milk

      6.    Listen to a holiday playlist over dinner

      7.    Sing “The 12 Days of Christmas” and if needed sing through the last verse of 

            “The 12 Pains of  Christmas” if the mood suits

      8.   Have a holiday dance party in the living room – “Rockin’ Around the Christmas

             Tree” is a must

      9.   Get caught under the mistletoe

    10.   Watch the yule log (it’s available on Amazon Prime video)

    11.   Watch a Christmas movie – whatever suits

    12.   Watch Prep & Landing

    13.   Play Letters to Santa (a card game based on Love Letter)

    14.   Wear white and red

    15.   Wear green

    16.   Share something we are each thankful for

    17.   Take a picture of something Christmasy – bonus points if we are in the picture

    18.   Share our Christmas wish this year

    19.   Read aloud the poem “T’was the Night Before Christmas”

    20.   Make a Christmas ornament

    21.   Enjoy a candlelight evening by the Christmas tree – PJs a must

    22.   Have dinner on our Holiday dishes

    23.   Make a Christmas inspired drink – without or without the “cheer”

    24.   Go for an evening walk to see the area lights

    25.   Make Christmas cookies

Runner-up that didn’t make our final list: Do you want to build a snowman?  If the snow has come down then opt for the real deal or if lacking in the precipitation, opt for watching Frozen