Thanksgiving means the start of my favorite Holiday movies,
which I will watch endlessly until sometime in late January, much to the
chagrin of my family. I was worried that the move to California might take away
some of my delight in these movies. I wasn’t sure if they would feel the same
when surrounded by palm trees, blooming rosebushes, and green grass. I’m used
to watching them with frosted trees outside, snow on the ground, and freezing
air.
So, pre- and post-dinner with all the trimmings, I watched my
holiday favorites.
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| Scene from "Funny Farm" |
I started with “Funny Farm,” with Chevy Chase and Madolyn
Smith. I love the scenes where the townspeople make Redbud into a Norman
Rockwell village filled with holiday merriment—all for a price, of course. The
Christmas tree in the town square and the snow-covered countryside did make me
homesick for my little town of Walker in northern Minnesota. It’s a wonderful town with its own cast of
characters.
“Funny Farm” gets followed up by “The Holiday” with Kate
Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, Jude Law, and Rufus Sewell. This one makes
me less homesick for Walker, but more homesick for England and my brother’s
family. It makes me want a cottage in the English countryside some day.
Watching Kate Winslet spend the holiday in Southern California does make my
current location seem a little less out of place, though.
The grand finale, the movie that will be nearly worn out by
the end of the season (not to worry, I have a back up copy), the one that I
love the most and can just about recite by heart, is “Love Actually.” (Word of
warning: Do not watch this one with kids in the room.) Any movie that casts
Liam Neeson is already off to a good start, but the rest of the cast is just as
fabulous. I can’t get enough of this movie! Bill Nighy playing a washed up rock
star is a riot. Hugh Grant plays a great prime minister (“Who do I have to
screw around here to get a cup of tea and bisquit?”), and Colin Firth is a
perfect lonely writer (“Alone, again…naturally.”).
I know how each of the storylines will end in “Love Actually,”
but I never get sick of the movie. Fritz can’t understand how I can watch a
movie over and over when I know how it is going to end, but it is the journey I
love. I take comfort in the familiar. I’m in agony as each of their hearts
break (“We need Kate, we need Leo, and we need them now!”), even though I know
it will all work out in the end—at least for most of them.
My holiday movies are like old friends. I only see them for a short time each year, but they always put a smile on my face.
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