The kids and I have this Christmas tradition that started entirely by accident. It used to be that we would open presents on Christmas morning, and then they would do their thing, whatever that was (mostly fighting over their new stuff), and I would spend the day playing The Sims. But on Christmas Day 2012, I came downstairs to find a functionally dead computer on my desk. No playtime for me that day (or for nearly a month afterward, as I recall).
Instead we spent part of the day watching movies – Little Women and Candleshoe (possibly others, but I don’t remember) – and eating a Swiss Colony gift pack that I had intended to give to my brother and sister-in-law. (No, I don’t remember why I decided not to give it to them.) And we played some card games. It was a good day. The kids were 12 and 14 at the time, so I guess I caught them just before the “ugh, I don’t want to spend that much time with my mom” stage.
The next year we ordered more food from Swiss Colony or Figi’s, and watched some Christmas movies. Over the years our collection of movies and Christmas episodes of TV shows grew, and the kids grew into some that they were too young to watch/be interested in before. We stretched the viewing back to watch at least one movie each week starting the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and then would finish off the rest on Christmas Day. And this is where we are at now, though now that the younger kid has their own home and family, it’s mostly just me and the older one. (The husband generally is working Christmas Day, but he's not really a holiday person so none of us are too bothered about it.)
This year we started off with one of my old favorites, Bernard and the Genie. Made for British television and released in the late 80s (I’m pretty sure I first saw it in 1989), this movie clocks in at just 70 minutes, not one of which is wasted. It tells the story of Bernard (“Bernie if you like”) Bottle, an art dealer who’s fired just before Christmas for the high offense of suggesting that the firm he works for should give the two old ladies he bought a painting from half of the 50 million pounds the firm made from the painting. As if that weren’t bad enough, Bernie’s fiancée dumps him the same day and cleans out their apartment. And then, while dusting off an antique oil lamp (a gift from the fiancée ), Bernie’s injured in an explosion!
The next day Bernie returns to his apartment to find a large man with a scimitar, who promptly tries to kill him. While fighting off the scimatar-wielding maniac, who’s yelling at him in Arabic, Bernie wishes aloud that his attacker could speak English. Remarkably, he can – and even more remarkably, it turns out he’s a genie whom Bernie released from the lamp. And Bernie’s wish is his command.
Yes, this movie was rebooted last year. I didn’t watch the reboot, and had no desire to, especially after reading the reviews. Accept no substitutes! The original has a cute young Alan Cumming as Bernard, a typically boisterous Lenny Henry as Josephus the genie, a slimy Rowan Atkinson as Bernie’s former boss, Dennis Lill as the oddest doorman/elevator operator since Rhoda’s Carleton (hey kids, that goes back a bit!), and a brief appearance by Bob Geldof as Bernie as Bob Geldof. It may be streaming somewhere; I have it on DVD from Wham!USA.
Our shorter viewing that week was the (only?) Christmas episode of the original Quantum Leap, “A Little Miracle” (S3 E10, 1990). Sam leaps into Reginald Pearson, the valet of super-rich (for 1962 anyway) businessman/corporate raider Michael Blake. Blake is played by Charles Rocket, who I believe holds the distinction of being the only Quantum Leap guest star to play two different major characters in two episodes. Blake is planning to tear down a Salvation Army mission to make way for his latest big project, Blake Plaza. Sam and Al team up with the mission’s director to give Blake the Ebenezer Scrooge treatment, saving both the mission and Blake himself.
For my money this is one of the best Quantum Leap episodes, particularly since Al gets to play an unusually large part in the proceedings (it turns out Blake can see Al’s hologram, so Al plays the role of the ghost of Christmas Future). It always makes me feel a bit sad though. When Al shows Blake his future, it’s revealed that Blake dies by suicide. Knowing that Charles Rocket actually did die by suicide gives the episode a somewhat chilling effect on the holiday cheer.
This past Saturday we watched a less-Christmassy Christmas movie, White Christmas (1954). This is one of my cousin Cheryl’s favorite movies, and a few years ago she and I saw it at the Fargo Theater (our local “art house”). I hadn’t seen it before and I rather enjoyed it. As with many musicals of the time, it’s mainly a showcase for its stars’ singing and dancing chops; the plot is secondary. Basically it’s Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as WWII Army buddies who go into showbiz together after the war. They team up with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to put on a big show and save a Vermont inn owned by their former commanding officer (Dean Jagger). There’s singing, there’s dancing, there’s romance, there’s a Big Misunderstanding that (temporarily) breaks up the romance. And of course there’s a great big Christmas finish with the title song. I call it less-Christmassy because the story probably could have taken place any time of year. But there’s nothing like Christmas to bring on the big sentimental stuff that a 1950s musical needs. So why not.
As a side note, there really does seem to be a big theme of “saving” something or other around Christmas movies. Save the inn, save the mission, save Bernie from being depressed at Christmas (and from the machinations of his ex-boss). Even when it’s not a religious story, they kind of slide the Jesus thing in there anyway. (Bernie and Josephus actually have a hilarious and poignant conversation about Jesus, who “helped out with the wine” at Josephus’s brother’s wedding.) I’m not big on religion, but I don’t mind a little low-key salvation. Hey, it’s Christmas time.
I intend to write about some other favorite movies and shows, as well as Christmas music, Christmas foods (not just Swiss Colony and yes, there will be fruitcake), a delightful quintet of seasonal essays by Washington Irving, and a bit of Mary Poppins. But right now, my hand hurts.