The holidays are closing in, and while most holiday and Christmas movies are for the feel-good benefit of families, sometimes adults just need a little holiday cheer for their own sanity. Here are some great Christmas movies for adults:
An American classic. Clark, Ellen, Rusty, and Audrey Griswold welcome extended family for the holidays. If you’ve never heard “Shitter’s full!” bellowed out among your family during the holidays, you need to spend some time with Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, young Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Galecki and get yourself acquainted with Christmas Vacation.
“You’ll shoot your eye out!” If you’ve never heard that reference, or you don’t know what FRA-GI-LE means, you might want to take a moment to watch the Christmas cinematic masterpiece that is A Christmas Story. Once you see this film, you’ll finally know why some houses have a lamp shaped like a leg in their front window at Christmas time.
“My grandma can make you some sandwiches.” A classic that should definitely be on your must-watch list if you like a holiday movie that has comedy, vulgarity, and a ton of one-liners you’ll be repeating days after. With Bernie Mac (R.I.P) and the always talented Billy Bob Thornton, Bad Santa is a must see on the list of adult Christmas movies.
Some debate whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, or a movie that happens to be at Christmas. Either way, Bruce Willis kills it in his iconic role as NYPD Detective John McClane. Kicking ass and taking names, and with the excellent acting chops of the renowned Alan Rickman as antagonist and evil villain Hans Gruber, this action-packed film is a great change from the sugary-sweet Christmas movies on television.
Bill Murray…need I say more? Well, yes, I can. This is a modern take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. With excellent acting by Bill Murray (who is said to carry the film through some sentimental moments) as TV exec Francis Cross, and a supporting cast of 1980s notables, Scrooged is a great adult alternative to the popular The Muppets Christmas Carol that seems to always find its place on television this time of year.
Kevin McCalister might be the main character, but the Wet Bandits bring all the adult laughs to this movie. Macaulay Culkin stars as the dubious Kevin, but acting greats Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Roberts Blossom bring the real laughs and action to the film. While this may be considered a kid’s movie, adults across the board love this Christmas movie.
Another great 1980s film, Trading Places stars Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in this movie about how anyone can achieve success if they have the right tools, training, and chances. While a comedy, the film does have Christian and Christmas references throughout, but they are well done when paired with the comedic talents of Aykroyd and Murphy (with a little Jaime Lee Curtis thrown in as the prostitute, Ophelia).