# Underrated, lesser known Christmas movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 24, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038 "2022-12-24T15:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mislav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/1 "2022-12-24T15:58:35Z")
What are some underrated, overlooked or simply unconventional, but good Christmas movies? Like I mentioned a few times before, I really like “Faith, Fraud & Minimum Wage” (2011). The movie, taking place in Nova Scotia around Christmas time, centers around Casey McMullen, a troubled teenage girl who works at the local garden mall. Casey is raised by a single father, while her sister has been in a coma for a year, following a car accident. One day, in frustration, Casey throws her cup of coffee at the back wall of the mall, and leaves without cleaning it up. Some people see the stain the next morning, and decide that it looks like the face of Jesus. The word gets out, and many people soon start seeing it the same way, and claim that it is a miracle. Casey’s accidental hoax even makes the news, and attracts the tourists to Nova Scotia. Casey wants to tell the truth, but she can’t bring herself to do it, not only due to a fear of punishment, but also because she feels that the “miracle” gives people hope and makes them feel better. The movie is pretty well acted, especially for a low-budget film, with Martha MacIsaac’s and Callum Keith Rennie’s performances standing out especially. The setting is beautiful. I also really liked the character of local priest; Andrew Bush’s performance was spot-on. It is also an interesting role-reversal. In most movies that are somewhat critical of religion, priests are portrayed as judgmental and hypocritical, while most common people, even religious, are portrayed as good, albeit misguided. In this movie, it is the opposite. The ending, as unsettling and unexpected as it may be, is very well done. One would expect the movie the end in one of two ways (either Casey finally admits the truth, is forgiven and everyone learns an important lesson; or the people lose an interest in the “miracle”, everything returns to normal and she gets away with it). But instead, the movie goes with the third option, and it works very well. Some scenes really are great directing: such as when Casey stands aside and considers her choices while the tourists (attracted by the news of the miracle) stand around and sing Christmas songs, or when Casey stands outside of her house at night and considers whether to go in or not. Another good, unconventional Christmas movie is “The Ref” (1997). It is a black comedy about a married couple going through counseling around Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, they are taken hostage by a burglar who just stole jewelry and is desperately trying to get in touch with the getaway driver who bailed on him. The couple continues to argue throughout the whole ordeal, to the point that their captor needs to tell them to shut up. Their teenage son seems to like the criminal taking them hostage more than his own parents. Some of the lines/comebacks are so bitter and hateful that it’s hilarious. (“Your husband ain’t dead, lady. He’s hiding.”) This movie truly drives home how, more often than not, some people just can’t put aside their petty grievances; not during the holidays, and not even in gravely dangerous situations. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/2 "2022-12-24T16:08:28Z")
_Better Watch Out_ (2016). It’s hard to describe it without giving away the plot, but consider… what if we had something like _Home Alone_, where the Kevin McCallister kid is a manipulative little sociopath _and it’s not funny_ (except in a dark and twisted sort of way). That’s _Better Watch Out_ in a nutshell. Oh, and rated R. > **[Better Watch Out (2016) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4443658/)** > > Better Watch Out: Directed by Chris Peckover. With Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic. On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it's far from a normal home... I gave it 7 out of 10 as a standalone film, but it’s easily a 10 as a re-evaluation of certain _Home Alone_ tropes. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/3 "2022-12-24T16:11:32Z")
> [@Mislav](#): > > Another good, unconventional Christmas movie is “The Ref” (1997). It is a black comedy about a married couple going through counseling around Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, they are taken hostage by a burglar who just stole jewelry and is desperately trying to get in touch with the getaway driver who bailed on him. The couple continues to argue throughout the whole ordeal, to the point that their captor needs to tell them to shut up. Their teenage son seems to like the criminal taking them hostage more than his own parents. Some of the lines/comebacks are so bitter and hateful that it’s hilarious. (“Your husband ain’t dead, lady. He’s hiding.”) This movie truly drives home how, more often than not, some people just can’t put aside their petty grievances; not during the holidays, and not even in gravely dangerous situations. When I saw your OP title, this is the movie that immediately comes to mind. I watch it every year- everyone is so great in it, especially Glynis Johns, Judy Davis & Christine Baranski . I was a huge Denis Leary fan when he was first popular so I saw this in the theatre. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/4 "2022-12-24T21:14:15Z")
[The Silent Partner](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078269/reference/) I have only ever seen this little, forgotten thriller in the cinema in 1978. Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York and John Candy star in a horrifying tale of a Christmas time bank robbery executed by a Santa suit clad psychotic. Enough said. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/5 "2022-12-24T21:23:45Z")
All I remember about that movie is the Santa suit and the fish tank. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/6 "2022-12-24T21:48:30Z")
> [@Mislav](#): > > “The Ref” (1997) Is that the movie with Judy Davis? I’m a huge fan of Judy Davis-- somehow it slipped my mind that this happened on Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/7 "2022-12-24T22:06:30Z")
‘Rare Exports’ springs to mind: [Rare Exports (2010) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401143/) …though it might be well known by SDMB buffs. I remember it being surprisingly good for a low-budget film. Maybe reminiscent of those early Peter Jackson schlock-horror films, but with better effects. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/8 "2022-12-24T22:12:25Z")
Maybe not lesser known, but clearly underrated. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HnEJrwYXXsI/hqdefault.jpg "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (Trailer)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnEJrwYXXsI) ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/9 "2022-12-24T22:36:11Z")
Ehhhh IDK. I caught that (on PBS I think) about 3 decades ago. Even as a kid, I was unimpressed. Anything in particular (other than the premise—which could have worked as a comedy sci-fi adventure for kids) what’s there to recommend it? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/10 "2022-12-24T22:39:49Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Anything in particular (other than the premise—which could have worked as a comedy sci-fi adventure for kids) what’s there to recommend it? The MST3K version? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/11 "2022-12-24T22:47:20Z")
I love “Tokyo Godfathers” for our family Christmas movie list!! Very hard to track down some years - Netflix had it last year, but not this year. Highly recommended! > **[Tokyo Godfathers (2003) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388473/)** > > Tokyo Godfathers: Directed by Satoshi Kon. With Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka. On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/12 "2022-12-24T22:48:18Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > what’s there to recommend it? The theme song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/M-TGnBOZj1U/hqdefault.jpg "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians 1964") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-TGnBOZj1U) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/13 "2022-12-25T21:16:30Z")
I had never heard of **this one** until it turned up at two in the morning on CHCH: > **[The Great Rupert (1950) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042524/)** > > The Great Rupert: Directed by Irving Pichel. With Jimmy Durante, Terry Moore, Tom Drake, Frank Orth. A little squirrel with lots of charm accidentally helps two poor, down-but-NOT-out families overcome their obstacles. Likewise, I know of **these two** only from having seen them on TCM: > **[The Bishop's Wife (1947) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039190/)** > > The Bishop's Wife: Directed by Henry Koster. With Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley. A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church. > **[It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039502/)** > > It Happened on Fifth Avenue: Directed by Roy Del Ruth. With Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore. Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/14 "2022-12-26T00:59:40Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > > [@Mislav](#): > > > > Another good, unconventional Christmas movie is “The Ref” (1997). It is a black comedy about a married couple going through counseling around Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, they are taken hostage by a burglar who just stole jewelry and is desperately trying to get in touch with the getaway driver who bailed on him. The couple continues to argue throughout the whole ordeal, to the point that their captor needs to tell them to shut up. Their teenage son seems to like the criminal taking them hostage more than his own parents. Some of the lines/comebacks are so bitter and hateful that it’s hilarious. (“Your husband ain’t dead, lady. He’s hiding.”) This movie truly drives home how, more often than not, some people just can’t put aside their petty grievances; not during the holidays, and not even in gravely dangerous situations. > > When I saw your OP title, this is the movie that immediately comes to mind. I watch it every year- everyone is so great in it, especially Glynis Johns, Judy Davis & Christine Baranski . I was a huge Denis Leary fan when he was first popular so I saw this in the theatre. It’s not Christmas without **The Ref**. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/15 "2022-12-26T01:37:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Is that the movie with Judy Davis? I’m a huge fan of Judy Davis Speaking of underrated, yeah, **Judy Davis** is awesome. My contribution to the list will once again be **In The Bleak Midwinter**. A lesser known **Kenneth Branagh** indy gem. A group of unemployed actors come together for a Christmas production of Hamlet. Drama, comedy and romance ensue, not necessarily in that order. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare, a fan of Branagh, or you love a theater geek, you should see this movie. I used to have to tell people ‘good luck finding it’, but now the whole thing is up on Youtube. Enjoy. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1lhT0QrVSA) ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/16 "2022-12-26T01:49:09Z")
I call Bell, Book and Candle my favorite Xmas movie ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/17 "2022-12-26T02:56:37Z")
Bernard and the Genie “Bernard Bottle, a mild mannered art buyer, is fired by his greedy boss, abandoned by his girlfriend and discovers a genie in an old bottle. The genie immediately embraces the modern world and helps Bernard on the side.” Lenny Henry plays the genie, Rowan Atkinson is the greedy boss, and a young Alan Cumming is Bernard. Great fun! [Bernard and the Genie (TV Movie 1991) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101435/) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/18 "2022-12-26T05:27:23Z")
> **[A Christmas Without Snow (TV Movie 1980) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080532/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)** > > A Christmas Without Snow: Directed by John Korty. With Michael Learned, John Houseman, Ramon Bieri, James Cromwell. A divorced woman moves to a new city, trying to build her life again. She joins the choir of a local church and is inspired by the... Church choir prepares Handel’s Messiah. Side/back stories of choir members provide the plot. Trials and tribulations are met and overcome. John Houseman plays Prof. Kingsfield as choir director. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/19 "2022-12-27T14:27:13Z")
The Family Stone is a good family comedy drama. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underrated-lesser-known-christmas-movies/977038/20 "2022-12-27T15:11:13Z")
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