What’s your favorite holiday movie?
I finally got a chance to watch one of mine last night. I have been smitten with Love, Actually, ever since I first saw it many years ago. As a fan of The Walking Dead, I’m always watching Andrew Lincoln in his Love, Actually role as the guy in love with his best friend’s new wife. In that role, Andrew is respectful and sweet and realistic about the (im)possibility of his love interest. It’s such a departure from his TWD role as Rick Grimes, killer of zombies and, when necessary (which is sometimes debatable), people.
When I watch a movie more than once, I see something new with each viewing. One thing I noticed on this viewing is the unfortunate amount of women’s body-shaming that goes on. I won’t recount it for you here, but it definitely stood out to me this year, and it sort of tainted my enjoyment of the movie this time around. I don’t really know what to do about that. Part of me is sadly disappointed that I hadn’t noticed the body-shaming earlier. What about you? Have you noticed that unfortunate element of Love, Actually? If so, what did you think? What did you do?
And, this year, something else stood out to me. This year, I found myself watching the character of Billy Mack. IMDb describes Billy as an aging rock and roll legend who records a terrible version of a Christmas song. Billy, himself, describes the song as a “festering turd of a record.” It’s bad and, thanks to the genius of the show, it gets stuck in your head while you watch the movie.
Despite not liking the song, Billy Mack agrees to promote it, in the hopes that it becomes the number one Christmas Single of the year. So, Billy and his manager take to the promotional airwaves—recording radio interviews and appearing on music television shows. With each appearance, Billy is more crass and more crude. He is far from politically correct and doesn’t try to put people at ease. He is disrespectful and he is rude, and the people love him.
Slowly, Billy’s song and Billy himself grow in popularity and, in the end [spoiler alert] his song is named the number one Christmas Single of the year!
Over and over again as I watched last night, I heard myself saying aloud, “He’s just like Donald Trump! The more crass he gets, the more people like him!” It really was uncanny.
I’m not sure what it is that makes that kind of behavior popular. It’s a phenomenon to watch, for sure. And, I don’t have an answer, nor am I “taking a side” here in this post. I’m simply wondering a few things:
- What’s your favorite holiday movie?
- What do you do when you suddenly see something you hadn’t seen before, and that something changes your perception?
- Have you ever watched Love, Actually with Donald Trump in mind?
I think my favorite Holiday Movie is an old Hallmark Channel movie called Comfort and Joy with Nancy McKeon. She is a cut throat business woman who gets in a wicked car accident and then wakes up married with 3 kids (not her cup of tea). It’s similar to Family Man with NIcholas Cage (which is another one I love.). I guess I “have a thing” for stories where people start to understand that cherishing relationships makes you richer than climbing the corporate ladder and making money.
My hubby became a Christ follower late in life, so we have ths “new perception” experience with movies often at my house. He will say something like, “Have you ever seen [name of old movie from 80’s]? I say, “No, I skipped that one.” A week or so later, he will show up with it for us to watch. We get about 20 minutes into the movie, and he will suddently realize that it’s not so fabulous any more. — This also happens often when I watch Disney movies now as an adult. I was rather horrified when I put Pincocchio on for my best friend’s girls and discovered that there was this whole scene that basically was about human trafficking. I am guessing that Christine Caine is not a fan of this movie. Ruined Pinocchio for me forever.
I can’t remember if I’ve seen all of Love Actually, but I will let you know that Donald Trump’s demeanor and mannerisms remind me of one of my family members. He’d make a great Macho Cuban. 🙂
I have watched Love Actually – discovered it last holiday season, and loved it. I also like “This Christmas” “Christmas Lodge” and pretty much anything on Hallmark. I know the stories are pretty much the same but I love the sentimentality. Oh, and so not thinking of Trump.
Well, I’m not sure I can pick just one favorite Christmas movie! There is a list I try to watch every year and like to try something new every year. I haven’t seen Love, Actually yet, but now that you’ve mentioned it I will probably think of Trump whether I want to or not. haha.
Christmas in Connecticut has always been a favorite and remember when it really struck me about the flirting going on between people presumed married or otherwise attached. It tainted my enjoyment for a bit, but I still think it’s such an incredibly cute story. Kinda wish I had an Uncle Felix! 🙂
By the way, Deidra, I received the prize package from the giveaway a couple weeks. Thank you again! I’m looking forward to getting into your book when the holiday glitter settles and I can nestle in for the winter.
I am a big fan of The Family Stone, but I also like A Christmas Story and Love, Actually. I’ve had that happen before, that I see something that I didn’t notice before, and it can really take away from my enjoyment of whatever the thing is. And no, I’ve never watched Love, Actually with Trump in mind, but I’d venture to say that the Billy Mack persona is fairly common. We’ve just never had a presidential candidate like him before. Think about all the girls who are attracted to “bad” boys. The badder they are, the more the girls like them. Weird. But in Trump’s case (and the case of Billy Mack) I think people are thrilled to see someone say all the things they just WISH they could say and get away with it! I have very little patience for loud mouthed and rude people.
I’ve had conflicted feelings about Love Actually for the last several years. I love some storylines and abhor others. I watched it again earlier this week for the first time in a couple of years and the body shaming seemed especially in my face. (I can’t remember if I noticed before or not. It seemed to add to why I’m so conflicted about this movie.) Such an interesting comparison of Billy and Trump! I hadn’t thought of that.
1. Mickey’s A Christmas Carol
2. Changes in my perception are happening right now as I set our screensaver to scroll through “My Pictures” oh my heavens…seeing photos of our children when they were smaller is making me oooohhhh and ahhhh like never before. I see them in a new light today. Thankful my IT savvy husband set us up with two monitors. I have pics on my right and typing words on my left screen. 😉
3. I’ve never watched the movie. May look for it on Amazon Prime or Netflix now. 😉