Classics
Revisiting December's Familiar Faces
The films we grew up with, watched again with adult eyes. Each review ends with one honest verdict.
Nostalgia is not a review
There is nothing wrong with watching a film because your grandmother watched it with you. Some of December's most important viewing is ritual rather than criticism. But rituals can make us lazy recommenders. We tell friends a film is "wonderful" when what we mean is that it reminds us of being eight.
So we have split our verdicts in two. Persuasive means we believe the film would win over a curious adult coming to it cold. Nostalgic means it is a lovely thing to share with people who already love it, but its pleasures depend on memory. Neither is an insult.
- Persuasive
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Only its final act is set at Christmas, but that act contains the original, melancholy version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," sung by Garland to a child who cannot bear the family's move to New York. Minnelli's Technicolor is ravishing and his sense of domestic fear is acute. The famous snowman scene, in which O'Brien's Tootie destroys her snow family in grief, is genuinely upsetting.
"A musical about the terror of change, disguised as a valentine."
- Persuasive
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Edmund Gwenn won an Academy Award as Kris Kringle, and he deserved it: he plays a man who might be Santa Claus or might be unwell, and never winks. The courtroom finale is cute. The undercurrent about commercialism, with Macy's and Gimbels competing for goodwill, is sharper than you remember.
- Nostalgic
White Christmas (1954)
Gorgeous costumes, Irving Berlin songs and a plot so thin it barely holds the numbers together. Clooney is the reason to watch. As a ritual, it is perfect; as an introduction to the musical, there are better choices.
- Persuasive
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
Grant plays an angel sent to help a distracted bishop, and becomes a little too interested in the bishop's wife. The romantic tension is surprisingly adult for its era, and Grant's charm has an edge of danger.
- Persuasive
Scrooge (1951)
Of the dozens of A Christmas Carol adaptations, this is the one that takes Dickens's anger seriously. Sim's Scrooge is not a cartoon miser but a frightened, wasted man, and his giddy awakening on Christmas morning is all the more moving for it.
- Nostalgic
A Christmas Story (1983)
Jean Shepherd's narration gives it a wry, adult perspective on childhood desire. It is funny and well observed, but for viewers who did not grow up with its yearly broadcasts, the charm can feel narrow.
- Persuasive
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Caine famously played Scrooge as if he were acting opposite the Royal Shakespeare Company, and that commitment is why the film works. Gonzo as Dickens is a stroke of genius. Adults without children will enjoy it more than they expect.
- Nostalgic
Home Alone (1990)
The slapstick finale still works, and John Williams's score does a great deal of heavy lifting. The quiet scene with the neighbour in the church is the film's best moment. For adults watching alone, though, it is mostly memory.
A note on watching old films well
Black-and-white films reward a darker room; lamps low, screen brightness slightly reduced, no phone glow. Look for restored editions where possible. And resist the urge to "update" an old film with your commentary on its era. Let it be what it is first, then talk about it.