Christmas Movie: ***^ Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)

While Home Alone 3 had different characters, Home Alone 4 is back to the original characters but with different actors.  The family is going through a period of separation, Peter McCallister (Jason Beghe) has a new girl friend, Natalie (Joanna Going). The three children, Kevin, Buzz and Meghan (Mike Weinberg,  Gideon  Jacobs and Chelsea Russo) decide to spend Christmas with their mother, Kate McCallister (Clare Carey).  Buzz treats him very poorly, making him do all the chores with his harrassment.  Kevein changes his mind and walks to his dad's house, where he is welcomed.  However Kevin recognizes Marv (French Stewart), bad guy from the first two, there with his girlfriend, Vera (Missi Pyle).  There are also two staff, Prescott (Erick Avari) and Molly (Barbara Babcock).  When Kevin sees the thieves come through the door, with a house device to tell the doors and alarm what to do.  Kevin repells the crooks, but in doing so he floods the house.  Kevin figures there is an inside man, and it feels it is Prescott, who runs security.  A prince is coming for Chirstmas and the plan is to kidnap him.  Will Kevin be up to the task of taking back the house after He and Prescott are thrown in the cellar?  Molly is Marv's mother.

Robin Williams Christmas Movie Review: ***^ A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2004)

 This movie is an irreverent look at Christmas and the family get-together.  Boyd Mitchler (Joel McHale) does not like his father (Robin Williams) who did allow him Christmas spirit as a child.  He does not go home for Christmas.  But this year is different.  His brother, Nelson (Clark Duke), has a new baby and asked Boyd to be Godfather.  The baptism is Christmas Eve.  Boyd and his wife (Lauren Graham) head home, four hours, for Christmas.  He really wants his youngest son, Doug to have the spirit of Santa Clause.  His mother's (Candice Bergen) Christmas dream is that the whole family be together.  This includes sister, Shauna Weinke (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and her husband Dave Weinke (Tim Heidecker) and their two older children, who do not believe in Santa and are pretty rowdy.

When they get there they discover they left Doug's present home.  Boyd decides to go home to get it.  If he hurries he can just make it.  His car breaks down and dad comes to rescue him.  Dad is a porta-potty delivery man.  They discover Nelson in one of the potties.  He had fallen asleep.  A police men pulls him over a few times as he speeds.  Last time he doesn't stop but the policeman lets him go, it is Christmas.  They run over a drunk hobo Santa Clause (Oliver Platt).  He appears dead, but just as they are going to chop him up to bury him he wakes up.  They take home home, arriving too late for gift opening, ao the hobo Santa takes thre gift in, a sleigh.  They have no snow, but a different gift pleases Doug.  

Some chuckles, but not the greatest film.  It does display Williams' wit and humor but as a grouchy old man, who is overcoming addiction.  There is some growth as Boyd interacts with his father, and gets past some of his childhood trauma.

Christmas Movie Review: **** Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

 Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a cooking column for a magazine.  In her column she talks of her farm in the country, and her cooking skills, her husband and baby.  Problem is these are things only in her column and not in real life.  Her boss, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet) wants to host a returning seaman, Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), for Christmas.  He was shipwrecked for sometime with little or no food and needs Christmas with a family with good food.  After inviting the seaman, the boss also invites himself.  

In coming up with a solution she decides to marry a friend, John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner) who has been asking her about marriage, and spending Christmas at his farm in Connecticut.  She also invites her uncle, who is a chef, Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall) to come and cook.  The baby will be handled by an actual baby who is tended by Sloan's maid.  The preacher will marry them before anyone arrives; but the others arrive too soon and they are not married.  

As she gets to know the sailor, Lane is more and more stricken.  However she lays her part as a married woman with a baby.  Comedy comes in as Lane doesn't know cooking, or caring for babies.  As she gets to know Jones better, she also has to postpone the wedding,  Felix helps her in this regard.  

Except for her budding love for the sailor, things are going well.  However she and the sailor get in a sleigh, and the horse takes off with them.  They are arrestrd for horse stealing.  Felix is left to ten the baby.  When the mother picks up, she is observed by Yardley, who proclaims kidnapping and calls the police.  Everything now has to come out.  She is fired, but then rehired with a raise as Felix tells hr boss she is going to a different magazine.  

I found this movie to be fun.  The humor is nice and there are some slapstick situations.  Felix tells Jones what has been happening and he funs fun chasing her around while she pretends to be married,  but really wants him too.

Christmas Movie Review: ***^The Man Who Saved Christmas (2002)

 This is a made for TV movie feature released on TV  in 2002 and in DVD in 2008.  It tells the story of Alfred C. Gilbert (Jason Alexander) and his wife Mary Gilbert (Kelly Rowan). Gilbert has the dream of being a toy maker, but his special toy is not dong well, the erector set.  His wife suggests taking it out of the box so people can actually see them.  With that simple change the business takes off and they are quickly hopping off the shelves.  The business is one people want to work for with daycare and bonuses.

WWI comes along and things change.  Alfred's brother (Ari Cohen) is drafted, and Alfred is called to stop making toys and move to munitions and gas masks for the war effort.  The business prospers but no longer pays extra for overtime, nor bonuses nor are the able to provide for children.  Alfred's brother is missing in action.  What is worse is the government wants to cancel Christmas, and come up with a media campaign based on something Alfred said.  Alfred is backed into a corner, and comes across a dictophone message from his brother about Alfred being a dreamer.  

Alfred goes to Washington to petition to start making toys and to not cancel Christmas.  For this he was known as the man who saved Christmas.  His father (Ed Asner) supported him in this.  And the brother makes it home Christmas Day. 

Christmas Movie Review: *** Beyond Tomorrow aka Beyond Christmas (1940)

 Three older men (Harrey Carey, C. Aubrey Smith and Michael O'Brien) are bored at Christmas time with just themselves for entertainment.  Their dinner guests fell through.  They each toss a wallet out the window with ten dollars, in hopes someone honest will bring the wallet back, and then stay for dinner.  They actually have success twice, and as a result put together a couple, James and Jean (Richard Carlson and Jean Parker), who become more attached over the year.  James and Jean love each other and were on the point of announcing their engagement when they get word the three old men had died in a plane crash.  Phil has some talent with singing, and gets a part on the radio.  However another woman enters in,  Arlene (Helen Vinson) and she is a manipulative person.  She sings with James, and convinces him they should run off together.  The ghosts of the three men are distressed, knowing things will not turn out well.  

They don't.  Arlene's husband tracks them down and shoots them both.  James is given the opportunity to come back and he takes his second chance.

This movie is in black and white.  Their idea of the after life is a bit different than mine but the story seems to work.

Christmas Movie Review:*** Scrooge (1935)

Scrooge (Seymour Hicks) starts out a very scary man with his white unkempt hair and his grouchy attitude.   This movie is shorter than most, so skips some very important parts.  It does have his nephew (Robert Cochrane) inviting him to dinner.  Christmas past shows him his old girl friend (Mary Glynne) and his terrible stinginess.  He put a couple out for shipping to different places.  Christmas present shows him the family of his employee, Bob Cratchit (Donald Calthrop).  They find happiness in Christmas despite being very poor.  It isn't until the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-be when he finally finds the Christmas spirit.  This ghost shows him how he will not be missed when he dies if he does not change his ways.  And when he does he makes a hearty turnaround.