When you look at Christmas movies being shown on television, they seem to fall under three categories. First, you have the old standbys, the classics that have stood the test of time, such as Miracle on 34th Street, or more recently, A Christmas Story. Second, you have the dross, the Lifetime & Hallmark specials that are churned out by the score, and are usually pure saccharin (and often just a bland romance movie with a Santa hat stuck on it). They usually have titles like A Girlfriend For Christmas. And third, you have the Christmas movies from the last five years. There’s always at least one Christmas movie released each year, and the networks will try to milk them for advertising dollars for a few years after their theatrical debut. But no further than that; if something didn’t make a big impact, it doesn’t seem to be aired by anybody after it’s more than half a decade old. There doesn’t appear to be any room for the concept of a “cult classic Christmas movie”.
So if 2006′s Deck the Halls is going to find an audience, it may be now or never for the Danny DeVito / Matthew Broderick film. Continue reading
