In the postmodern landscape full of witty self-acknowledgement and sincerity undercut with cynicism, Christmas movies have undergone a critical reevaluation. Holiday films with heartwarming messages about love, family, spirituality, and giving are considered such clichés — in the bad sense of the word. Instead, the Christmas movies currently celebrated in the holiday canon have some underlying darkness to them. With cynical times comes a celebration of cynical movies, and thus, the perception that the best Christmas movies are also the saddest. We are attracted to these types of Christmas stories, dubbing many of them the best because their dose of depression in the jolly season introduces a unique complexity.
Christmas Films and the "Outcast" Trope
These Christmas stories often adopt the trope of a lonely, sad character who is "othered" from the cheer, such as in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tokyo Godfathers, Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, most if not all interpretations of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and both Christmas-set films directed by Tim Burton, Batman Returns and Edward Scissorhands. The protagonists of those movies discover Christmas as something to look in on rather than participate in. They may want to participate in the holiday cheer, but society has deemed them outcasts. Considering how many people in real life either do not celebrate Christmas or find the season lonely, these films gain popularity through their relatability. Even those who have felt Christmas was something they just didn’t get can understand these protagonists.
Christmas Films and the "Tragic Backstory" Trope
Similarly, there is the movie where Christmas brings up previously existing underlying sadness that exists in the desire for something someone doesn’t have. Though it has a nostalgic take overall, this melancholy undertone is felt throughout A Christmas Story and its less-than-Norman-Rockwell style portrait of a family Christmas. More often, these desiring protagonists exist in movies that are considered non-traditional in the holiday canon. For John McClane (Bruce Willis), an awkward party is just a reminder of his relationship problems in Die Hard. This can also apply to any of Shane Black’s action flicks, where the main character finds the winter months cold and bleak for financial (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), or memorial (Lethal Weapon) reasons. The contrast between the jolliness of the holiday and the dark subject matter also adds to the sadness, as in The Long Kiss Goodnight and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. The sadness isn’t caused by the Christmas season, but rather emphasized by it, underlining tragic backstories and relationship difficulties in colorful lights.
The best classic in the depressing Christmas movie genre is It’s a Wonderful Life. When George Bailey (James Stewart) wants to throw his life away, he is haunted by his daughter playing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” on the piano, his son asking about spelling for his Christmas play, and his wife preparing evening plans. But classifying the movie as depressing focuses only on the surface. Visionary film critic Pauline Kael famously took down the movie for the exact opposite reasons. “Capra takes a serious tone here,” Kael wrote, “though there’s no basis for the seriousness; this is doggerel trying to pass as art.” Kael implies a kind of silliness to the text. The “gee whiz” script is full of jokes and lighthearted reassurances that, to put it tritely, no man is poor if he has friends. Yes, the premise is in a way depressing, but the movie’s power lies in turning itself around for the better. It has to balance its silliness and seriousness or else it would be only melodramatic.
Christmas Grouches and Cynics
In another group of depressing Christmas movies, there are the protagonists who may be able to participate in the festivities, but find them a chore rather than a blessing. This is found classically in old school family comedies like the Home Alone movies and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and most recently reemerged in the holiday B-comedy category, including the very premise of Christmas with the Kranks. These characters have a problem with the rituals of the holidays, whether it's Macaulay Culkin and Chevy Chase’s characters’ annoyance with their respective families or the massive amounts of spending involved with the holiday for the Kranks. The enduring sadness of these Christmas films comes from the sort of loneliness that can only happen in a crowded room; for some, the holidays are just too much darn work.
Finally, there are the cynics about Christmas itself that make the mood depressing, turned towards acceptance at the last second by some epiphany. For Tom Hanks' child character in the recently canonized The Polar Express, this takes the form of simple disbelief in holiday magic. But the most classic examples are Scrooge in the many interpretations of A Christmas Carol, whether Robert Zemeckis or the Muppets interpret him, and the Grinch, in his Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Carrey, and even Boris Karloff tv special forms. For Scrooge, Christmas is simply another day to make more money, and although this is spurred by a tragic backstory like previous protagonists, his coldness appears outwardly philosophical. Meanwhile, the Grinch finds Christmas a nasty, noisy, consumerism-based thing. Carrey’s version makes it explicit; the Whos down in Whoville may celebrate the holiday, but along with the Grinch, they too must learn to appreciate it for its power to make us thankful rather than craving. This character type, whether by a supernatural night or an act of joy, finds it within their heart to appreciate Christmas for its magical ability to make us better, more believing, and more giving people.
All these depictions of depression inherent to Christmas are perhaps best represented in one of the most well-regarded Christmas staples, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Upon reconsideration, every archetype listed here could be applied to the tv special’s protagonist. Clearly feeling like an outsider during the Christmas season, Charlie Brown mutters, “I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?” Christmas underlines this previously existing depression Charlie Brown has within himself. When he ultimately does try to participate in the rituals in the form of a Christmas play, he finds the hassle of his directing role not worth its effort. And of course, proven by his reaction to aluminum Christmas trees and Snoopy’s “gone commercial” dog house decorations, Charlie Brown has a philosophical cynicism about Christmas. “It’s run by a big Eastern syndicate you know,” Lucy tells him. The main character finds everything about the Christmas season corporate, selfish, and messy. Even spending time with his friends is trying to keep a fragile idea of Christmas afloat in their selfish desires.
During this time of year, it’s easy to feel the weight of the loneliness, want, stress, or even cynical corporatization within this time of year. However, this shouldn’t be the point of our viewing or our designation for these holiday classics as better than less cynical works. Sure, some of the greatest Christmas movies have a sad voice to them, but we watch these films because, like John McClane, George Bailey, or Scrooge, we need the reminder of the purity of our celebration’s purpose, and the joy of doing so with the people whom we love. “And that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”