Santa Claus, present giving, carol singers, and Christmas turkey are the usual points of interest in cinematic Christmas fare, and that’s the point – after all, festive films should be about festive things. But what if they’re not? Here are 10 movies that, though billed as Christmas films, have precious little to do with the season of goodwill.
Invasion U.S.A.
Chuck Norris is the gun-wielding hero — of course he is! — of this 1985 action film, which involves special agent Matt Hunter battling a group of guerrillas. The movie’s pivotal shootout takes place in a crowded mall in which people are doing their Christmas shopping – the film’s sole discernible connection with the festive season. Invasion U.S.A. is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
1941
Released in December 1979, 1941 was plainly intended for the Christmas market. But Steven Spielberg’s follow-up to 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind’s sole concession to the festive spirit is in the final scenes, in which the protagonist nails a Christmas wreath to the door to his wrecked house — which promptly collapses. The World War Two farce met with mixed reviews; Spielberg’s next film — Raiders of the Lost Ark — fared somewhat better. 1941 is currently available for streaming on Apple TV.
Why Him?
This 2016 comedy tells the story of Stephanie, a Stanford student who falls in love with Laird, a wealthy but exceptionally immature tech bro, and Laird’s relationship with Stephanie’s parents, as well as his efforts to win over (or not, as it turns out). Starring James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Zoey Deutch, the Meet The Fockers vibes are strong, and the movie was a modest box office hit, but — a hilarious sight gag involving a tattoo of a Christmas card aside — there’s little reason why it should have been set over Christmas. Why Him? is currently available for streaming on Apple TV.
Batman Returns
Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel to 1989’s Batman is indeed set at Christmas — and Gotham City does look suitably cold, frosty, and festive. But aside from the emergence of a swarm of bats from the city’s enormous Christmas tree, and the untimely death of a beauty queen clad in a scanty Santa suit, there’s next to nothing about it that needs to invoke Christmas at all. Batman Returns is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Powder Blue
Patrick Swayze’s final film role before his death in 2009, this slow-burning drama depicts the interplay between a group of unrelated Los Angelinos thrown together by chance, but the setting — on Christmas Eve — is more or less incidental. Also starring Forest Whitaker and Eddie Redmayne, the movie misfired at the box office. Powder Blue is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Look Who’s Talking Now
The third and final instalment in the Look Who’s Talking franchise was released in 1989. This time, instead of babies, it’s dogs that get the celebrity voice treatment, and the plot, the which concerns a puppy being given to a boy for Christmas, is a thinly veiled excuse for the premise. John Travolta and Kirstie Alley reprise their roles, but the lackluster storyline and execution resulted in a box office bomb. Look Who’s Talking Now is currently available for streaming on Apple TV.
Await Further Instructions
The premise of this low-budget horror — a family receive mysterious and ominous messages through their television set — doesn’t require a Christmas setting to work, but director Johnny Kervorkian runs with it, and delivers a blood-splattered screamfest that met with positive reviews on release in 2018. Await Further Instructions is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Ghostbusters II
Inexplicably premiering in July in spite of its setting in December, Ghostbusters II never achieves the heights of its predecessor, and the Christmas setting is largely incidental. Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson reprise their roles as the world’s most famous supernatural experts, now fallen on hard times, and Alien star Sigourney Weaver also returns, though none of the principals look inspired. Ghostbusters II is currently available for streaming on Apple TV.
Iron Man 3
Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow return as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, respectively, in this 2013 MCU installment, which took over one billion dollars at the box office, but the Christmas setting has little to no bearing on the plot, which concerns the attacks of the mysterious figure known as the Mandarin. Iron Man 3 is currently available for streaming on Disney+.
Die Hard
The film that started off the “what is a Christmas movie?” debate, Die Hard’s action thriller credentials are impossible to discount. Carolers and present-opening are in fairly short supply, but audiences were thoroughly endeared to Bruce Willis, who turns in a career-defining performance as John McClane, and Alan Rickman, who — in what was, unbelievably, his debut film role — is exceptional as cold, calculating terrorist leader Hans Gruber. Die Hard is currently available for streaming on Hulu.