With the same old films in heavy rotation on television every December — think Home Alone, A Christmas Story and Love Actually — you may be sleeping on other yuletide favorites from the silver screen.
1988’s Scrooged, for example, marked Bill Murray’s first film since Ghostbusters, and it puts a modern-day spin on Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. The underrated movie also featured appearances from three of Murray’s brothers, actors Brian Doyle-Murray, Joel Murray and John Murray.
While You Were Sleeping, A Very Murray Christmas, The Family Stone. Shutterstock (3)
And nearly three decades later, Scrooged’s lead star teamed up with the likes of George Clooney and Amy Poehler for the 2015 Netflix musical A Very Murray Christmas.
“If you ever are going to have a Christmas show that you are going to watch with another person, and you are going to turn to them and kiss them and they are going to kiss you back, this will be that show,” Bill told Variety in December 2015.
2005’s The Family Stone, on the other hand, puts the “fun” in family dysfunction, as a tightly-wound Sarah Jessica Parker joins Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams at her “mean girl” best.
“I think Meredith was probably somebody who had very high standards for herself and lived in a world that was about discipline, appearance, success, ambition, and personal achievement. I think it made her actually quite touching,” Parker told Vulture in December 2018 of her flawed character. “I really liked her, and I was sorry that she suffered so much, that she was so hard on herself and so hard on others. She was making an attempt to have a full life, a life that she thought was a portrait of success. I found those qualities very human.”
When it comes to more conventional holiday rom-coms, fans shouldn’t miss 1995’s While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock as a hapless romantic who comes to the rescue of the handsome stranger she’s been crushing on for eons.
Meanwhile, if you like action flicks, Hollywood classics, or Mary-Kate and Ashley movies, we’ve got you covered, too. Yes, the Olsen twin’s To Grandmother’s House We Go is a staple of the season despite being left off most people’s must-watch lists.
Us is even throwing in a New Year’s Eve-themed film for good measure — so check out all our selections in the video above.