Ya know I’m not really a Christmas guy, well I’m no longer a Christmas guy, there was a time I guess, as there was a time for all of us, and some of you may still revel in the season, especially if you have littles, or your littles have littles or even if you find yourself finding some sort of magic still, but I haven’t felt the pull in too long a year, there is a jaded life and a world that cries anything other than Christmas thoughts, especially now, so much despair and horror and evil despotic desires from cliche’d though real cartoon devils, how could I even?
But I still find myself wanting to watch Christmas movies for some reason, maybe for just THAT reason, not the cheese of Hallmark things though (well, yes, even the cheese of Hallmark things, actually, especially the cheese of Hallmark things), Carla of the big city being forced for some blunt unsubtle cinematic reason to go back to her hometown with her tail between her legs only to discover that Jake, her old high school flame has been magically and tragically stuck waiting in some sort of small town movie limbo hell and just happens to still deliver groceries, including to Mrs Mason, Carla’s aunt, who somehow hasn’t dropped over dead yet after all these years and has photo’s of her dear Maplethorpe adorning every wall.
Oh, Carla and Jake will accidentally bump heads by the way.
And of course George on a bridge and Clarence granting soon discovered unwelcome wishes? That still gets me, always gets me, damn you Frank Capra.
So in this spirit of the season I recently watched the new Eddie Murphy Christmas flick, “Candy Cane Lane” which was not well received. Bah Humbug I say minus the rattling of chains or redemptive coins tossed out windows for a Christmas bird. I loved it! Such light happy Christmas fun. And I also re-watched “A Boy Called Christmas” from a couple of years ago, a Santa origin story. It’s not great but it is good looking and full of heart and great enough for me to love it again, plus it has an eventual talking mouse who sits on shoulders and a fluttering sprite. ‘Nuff said.
I thinks me thinks to find another today, maybe something completely different, maybe a story of Janice who has been forced to go back home for the holidays after being let go from her big city job only to find that that guy who made fun of her in high school, Bill, is now the owner of and delivery driver for a small farm who delivers groceries in a small Hallmark town hell, including to Mrs Johnston, Janice’s Aunt, who has pictures of her dear Henry adorning every wall.
Janice and Bill might even accidentally bump their heads together to start.
Just gonna change things up.
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