But for me the chief cause of holiday depression is that all my favorite shows are in reruns or preempted by holiday specials which were boring when I saw them thirty years ago. Now I suppose there is a certain cruel nostalgia in making your children watch the same tripe you were once forced to watch, (Mom made us all sit through Bambi last year. I wanted to finish the double bill with The Deer Hunter but didn't get the chance.) I don't really expect that the new holiday offerings will be any better, although-I can't wait for The Mighty Morphen Power Rangers Holiday Special to come around. If you're looking for alternatives to the same old, same old here's a few of my favorites.
Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life is an award winning English short. Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I, Warlock), one of England's finest manic depressive actors is Kafka, struggling to begin a story about a man who wakes up as a giant "something". He is constantly interrupted by a loud party downstairs, a woman selling jokes and novelties door-to-door, and a merchant looking for a little friend--"His name's Jiminy, Jiminy Cockroach--Times are hard." Soon he finds his inspiration--and squashes it, which sends him into even deeper depression. But his neighbors soon arrive to cheer him up and help him cope with his loss. It's a marvelous send up of Christmas movies and Kafka's strange world.
The Muppet's Christmas Carol does fall into the category of traditional Christmas fare. But it is very funny. Michael Caine is Scrooge, Kermit is Bob Cratchet, and the Great Gonzo is Dickens, who has a rat named Rizzo for a sidekick. This was the first major post Jim Henson project, and retains the off the wall humor and characterization you've come to expect from the Muppets. The script is mostly faithful to Dickens text, despite there being two Marley brothers (Statler & Waldorf), and another character's name changed to Fozziewig. The only concession to saccharineness is Paul Williams score--he's done all the movies so this is not surprising--and at least John Denver is nowhere to be seen or heard.
The Bishop's Wife is my all time favorite angel-sent-down-to-earth-to-help-some-poor-mortals-learn-the-spirit- of Christmas movie. Cary Grant is the angel, David Niven is the bishop so obsessed with his dream of building a cathedral, that he's neglected his own congregation, and his wife (Loretta Young), and spends all his energy prying donations from a rich dowager. A romantic triangle develops, when Grant's attentions become focused on cheering up Young, much to Niven's annoyance. Special effects are used sparingly but with very interesting effect--a stack of file cards magically sort and file themselves, a wine bottle refuses to be emptied. Monty Wooley and Elsa Lancaster have excellent supporting roles, along with two of the kids from It's A Wonderful Life.
However, the best escape from the Holiday movie blahs is to watch a good summer movie. Kenneth Brannagh's Much Ado About Nothing is just the thing. Shot entirely at an Italian villa in Tuscany, on extremely sunny days, with everyone wearing white, I felt ten degrees warmer just watching this. Shakespeare, of course, was writing about nothing long before the Seinfeld people. Kenneth Brannagh (Henry V, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein) and Emma Thompson (Henry V, Junior) play two confirmed bachelors, who complain about the horrors of marriage to the point where all their friends conspire to get them hitched. The dialogue is fast, furious and witty, the supporting cast is an excellent mix of American and English actors. Denzel Washington as the Prince and Michael Keaton as the Thin Blue Line are very impressive, Keanu Reeves pouts through the role of the principle villain. Richard Briers and Brian Blessed (England's loudest actor) are excellent as two somewhat mismatched brothers.
So huddle by a warm television, no need to watch Yanni at the Acropolis one more time, soon it will be February and the Winter sweeps. Bye for now.