A cozy spot to spend a cold winter's day
Years ago when we all watched the same TV channels, it seemed that all the shows and sports would go on hiatus between Thanksgiving and New Years. When VCRs and DVD players debuted, I began a movie collection. My guilty pleasure is rom-com movies. During the lack of TV programming, I’d pull from my tape/DVD collection. I noticed several of them had holiday scenes. So I started a tradition between Thanksgiving and New Years of playing my movies with at least one holiday scene. Any holiday counted if it happened between Thanksgiving and New Years: Thanksgiving, Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, New Years, etc.
This year I started with the Fabulous Baker Boys. I usually keep it for New Years because my favorite scene is a New Year’s Eve celebration. I love all the old Big Band vocal standards sung by an amazing Michelle Pfeiffer. It was my introduction to Dave Grusin’s excellent piano playing. It was also fun to see Sea Hunts boys all grown up — both of the Bridges boys did some acting in their father’s series. They also perfectly captured the way siblings interact with each other.
Next up was Serendipity, which opens with Christmas shopping. I love NYC at Xmas time. It is so lovely. One of my favorite winter holiday memories is ice skating in Central Park. Lots of wonderful NYC street scenes. I also loved to visit Bloomingdales in NYC. One time I bought costume jewelry earrings in black and silver for a New Years party. I mostly wanted their signature shopping bag. I had lovely winter holiday memories every time I wore the earrings.
Then I went into a Bill Pullman mood. While You Were Sleeping was followed the next night with Sleepless in Seattle. It was interesting to see Pullman as the main love interest in the first movie then playing such a weird guy in Sleepless. There’s lots of lovely old jazz vocal standards in the Sleepless soundtrack. The hopeless romantic in me loves the references to An Affair to Remember. Plus another visit to Seattle — one of my favorite cities. I think this was the movie that brought Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks together as a couple. Think the guys would prefer Die Hard rather than An Affair to Remember?
Over the next few weeks I’ll watch Trading Places, A Christmas Story, The Holiday and La La Land from my movie collection. I’ll also watch various classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street as they show up on broadcast or streaming. The 1939 classic Wizard of Oz is on my holiday watch list as I countdown to the streaming release of Wicked For Good. Isn’t the Emerald City rather a Christmas green? I’m very flexible about defining “holiday” season.
Closer to Christmas, my Scrooged disc will be popped into my player. I love Carol Kane’s performance as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Scrooged is number one on this list from USA Today of their top 20 Holiday movies: www.usatoday.com/…
The USA Today list also includes the always controversial choice of Die Hard. I like my Holiday movies to be sweet and romantic, so it doesn’t make my personal watch list. But I agree it should be listed in the Holiday canon.
Since I don’t know a good Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Solstice movie, how about a “Puppy for Hanukkah”.
What movies will be lighting up your home screens over these dark mid-winter days?
The fireplace is burning in the Cafe.
Enjoy your favorite beverage in the fire’s warmth.
This is an open thread.
