The 12 Movies of Christmas

My favorite movie, of all time, is Home Alone.

Not my favorite “Christmas” movie…my favorite movie…of all time.  You know, the one with Macaulay Caulkin, the robbers, and the house full of Mousetrap-like inventions?  Yep.  That one.  It’s held the title of my #1 Film, for many years now, beating out tough competitors like Shawshank Redemption, Hook and Clue.

I don’t place Home Alone at the top of my film queue for cinematic reasons.  No actors merited any Oscar Awards for their performances, and the only Oscar Nomination went to composer John Williams (and very rightly so).  It doesn’t stand amongst films like Braveheart, Memoirs of a Geisha, or Saving Private Ryan, but it does possess an immense amount of nostalgia for me.

Home Alone, for me, became the movie to watch during the Christmas season.  It was amongst the first movies I saw in theatres, and it eventually found a very special place in the life of my family.  Every year, we’d get so excited to pull it out of its VHS case (still have it), and even though the years took their toll on the video cassette, we didn’t seem to mind the faded color or distorted sound.  The lights would dim, the 21st Century Fox anthem would ring out, and the opening title would float into my ears, making me remember Christmases of ages past.

It’s a “quotable movie” for me.  I have a few that I can confidently sit down with and, word for word, re-enact the whole film.  My favorite scenes in the film are the ones which evoke memories of laughter with my family.  No Christmas season is complete without a viewing of Home Alone (and, Home Alone 2, while we’re at it).

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“Bless Us All”

I’m blue.

Nay, I’m neither a Smurf nor suffering from the same elements poor Veruca Salt experienced in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”…I’m just plain blue…out of sorts, not myself, mopey, angsty blue.

When I woke up this morning (apparently, on the wrong side of the bed), I just knew something was off.  Something was amiss.  I ran through a list of possible causes in my head:  Underwear?  Check.  Waking up at 6 AM and NOT 6:00 PM?  Check.  Waking up in my own bed?  (My dog burrowing from beneath the covers confirmed this).  Check.  Then, why on earth did I feel like something wasn’t right?

My morning commute still found me feeling a little numb.  Instead of dwelling amidst a sea of self-doubt and worry, I decided to be proactive in eradicating this feeling.  Weapon of choice?  Christmas music.

Bing.  Bennett.  Mathis.  Carpenter.  Taylor.  The “Big Guns.”  Yielding such impressive artillery as “Silver Bells,”  “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Merry Christmas, Darlin’,” and ‘White Christmas,” one would think that a blue mood could effectively be annihilated by a mere 15 minutes of easy listening. 

I never expected such a worthy foe to stand in my way.

The clouds stayed over my head for much of my drive this morning.  Bing Crosby just shook his head, wiped his hands, and said “I got nothin’!”  Tony Bennett shouted “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!” and beamed away.  All hope seemed lost….until….

For the love of Jim Henson!  The Muppets!