Plan B Forum

Time again to get a list of the worst holiday movies you can think of. I'll put in a few:

A Christmas Carol--the Jim Carey Version; I'm no fan of most of his comedy work, but this one is especially bad. Given all the good versions of this story, from Alistair Sims to Mr Magoo, why was this even made?

Santa Claus, The Movie--coming from the team that made Superman, I expected a lot more, but we all ended up with a lot, lot less.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians--a pretty bad combination of schlock horror and holiday movies, that makes you yearn for Plan 9 from Outer Space.

One Magic Christmas--in 1985, Disney made one of the worst Christmas movies of all time, with Harry Dean Stanton as an angel who looked like every man your parents told you to avoid (and you told your kids as well) and a Mary Steenbergen who had to have everything taken away from her (including having her husband, her kid's father, gunned down in a bank robbery) because she didn't believe in Christmas anymore. Yes, it ends up happy (thanks to some time shifting of the pedophile/angel who took the kids with him to the North Pole), but it's a horrible ride (and watching the angel say "don't tell your mother anything" gave me the creeps). I took my 6 year old niece and 8 year old nephew to it when it came out, expecting something quite different, and they still recall hating it.

Ernest Save Christmas--it stars Ernest, need I say anymore?

Contribute yours.

I don't have such a list. Movies are just not an important part of my winter holiday experience. BUT ! !

The first Amazon review that came up is a classic. For me it has all the earmarks of a hack writing 5 star reviews in bulk.
"Seren
5.0 out of 5 starsfilled with a wholesome goodness that can't be denied
December 30, 2016
Format: Prime VideoVerified Purchase
From my husband, who has decreed this movie to be required viewing every time this year:

"This timeless Christmas tale has many lessons to impart. In addition to the usual Christmas niceties, it expresses through it's plot, a deep sense of loss that is then reconciled, causing a principle character in the story to re-discover the Christmas spirit in a truly cathartic way.
Harry Dean Stanton, recognizable as a "bad guy" in many a western, gives a memorable performance as the angel Gideon sent to look after the family the story is centered on.
The film is filled with a wholesome goodness that can't be denied."

Well, how can anyone argue with that?"

How? Easily. RR did it quite nicely. Snailgate

I can't post an image (the damn system here won't support it), but google the movie and images and look at Harry Dean Stanton's character and tell me he's "wholesome"; more like his picture would be in the dictionary next to pedophile.

One other thing, as I thought about it, another thing that was a problem; after the guy was shot, the bank robber took off with the kids in the car and eventually drove off a bridge and drowned them (Mary Steenbergen had to lose everything after all, damn non Christmas lover); yes, it all ends happily, but come on.

eta: One other thing; a little after college I always took a Christmas job to supplement our income. One year I played a Santa at the mall; I'll never forget the time a little kid whispered to me that the only thing she wanted for Christmas was for her daddy to "come back"; I don't know if he died or just left, but all I could say is that, wherever he is, I am sure he wanted to be with her (but my heart ached for her). But in this movie, Santa and the angel turn back time once Mary believes in the chirstmas spirit again and makes a Christmas wish; how many other kids made the same sort of heartbreaking wish?

Hey Little Girl, want some candy?