With the spooky season officially over and horror movies no longer at the forefront of everyone’s minds anymore, that means that the more wholesome month of December is closing in. For some, that means it’s time to spend quality time with family, friends, eat some good junk food. It also means that it may be time to bust out some of the old holiday classics. However, there are more than a few underappreciated holiday movies that may not always be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
Regardless of whether or not they are considered holiday classics, thesefeel-good moviesare perfect for this time of the year. Some of these movies are more on the family-friendly side, while some are decidedly more raunchy. Whatever audiences may be in the mood for, there are definitely some great choices.
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Meet The Parents(2000)
Jay Roach’s 2000 comedystarted it all: it’s a movie that is almost impossible not to watch during the holiday season. It’s one of those films that is always playing on airplanes during Thanksgivingand Christmas flights. The movie is about Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo) who visit her parents (Robert De Niro & Blythe Danner) in Long Island for her sister Debbie’s (Nicole DeHuff) wedding.
Just about everything that could go wrong does for Greg: The engagement ring that he was planning on proposing in front of Pam’s family gets lost during traveling, he accidentally gives Debbie a black eye and broken nose duringa friendly game of volleyball, and Pam’s dad just absolutely despises him.Meet The Parentsis every man’s fear when first meeting your significant other’s father. It is a bit exaggerated and silly, yet it still feels authentic and is about how important family is at the end of the day.
The Night Before(2015)
Another hilarious movie with a bittersweet plot: best friends Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Chris (Anthony Mackie), and Isaac (Seth Rogen) have been celebrating Christmas Eve together for the past decade after Ethan’s parents died in a horrific accident on Christmas Eve. Ten years have passed, and the holidays are different now, as Isaac is married and going to be a first-time father, and Chris is now a famous (and stuck up) football player.
It feels like everything is changing for Ethan, as his friends are drifting away from him and have their own lives. Agreeing that this isthe last Christmas Eve they will all celebratetogether, they try to get tickets to the extremely exclusive “Nutcracker Party.”The Night Beforeis the ultimate raunchy, hilarious “bro’s-night-out” holiday comedy. At the center of it all, though, the movie is really about friendship, family, and the importance of relationships, which Levitt said himself in an interview withCollider: “I like the root of it though because it’s not just three guys going out simply for kicks. There’s a cool origin story to their tradition of going out every Christmas Eve.”Family traditionsare what keep families and friends together, and this film is all about tradition.
Son in Law(1993)
This 1993 comedy stars Shore as Crawl, a frat boy party animal who has been dating innocent farm girl Rebecca (Carla Gugino). Returning home to South Dakotafor Thanksgiving break, Rebecca brings Crawl along with her, and let’s just say he does not fit in with the family. Shore’s slap-stick performance and unique humor make this movie impossible not to laugh at. It’s also a feel-good movie with many positive and uplifting messages of acceptance of people who are “different.”
The characters in the film are all likable, from Rebecca’s family (Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett, and Mason Adams) to even her extremely annoying little brother (Patrick Renna). On top of the quality actors and hilariously quirky script, the movie features music from the Goo Goo Dolls, Queen, and Richard Gibbs. Being almost three decades old,the comedy still holds up as well.
The Daytrippers(1997)
An independent film turned classic. The 1997 film directed and written by Greg Mottola isthe ultimate comedy-drama film. The day after Thanksgiving, Eliza (Hope Davis) comes across a love letter in her husband Louis’ (Stanley Tucci) drawer, which makes her suspect that he could be cheating on her. Deciding to go to New York and confront him herself, her entire family asks to join her. So, her sister Jo (Parker Posey) and boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber), along with her parents Jim (Pat McNamara) and Rita (Anne Meara) all hop in their old and beat up car and embark on a hilarious road trip.
The Daytrippershighlights the imperfection of people and families as everyone’s idiosyncrasies and neuroses come out ina perfectly comedic display.The Daytrippershave scenes that are extremely heartwarming and dramatic, while others are downright hysterical. At the end of the day,The Daytrippersis the ultimate 90s sardonic comedy, being a perfect mix of quirky and endearing.
