Today, I remove myself briefly from grading to answer one of life’s perpetual questions. Several people on #LawTwitter have asked me to opine on a matter whose conclusion I think should be fairly obvious to all who are truly close observers. Namely: Is Die Hard a “Christmas” movie?
I have done some thorough research on this matter. There are many Christmas movie lists that have included Die Hard on it. Others eschew it. However, what I find most prominent is that most do not define their terms first. What is a Christmas movie?
To me, a “Christmas movie” must envision the spirit of Christmas, for better or worse. It must have Christmas woven into the central plotline. It must not just be a mere prop for what would otherwise be some basic action or rom-com movie. Let’s call this the “Charlie Brown Christmas” standard.
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**SPOILER ALERT: MOVIE SPOILERS AHEAD**
A Charlie Brown Christmas: Charlie Brown feels down during the Holiday Season. He looks to not feel depressed and isolated. Thanks to his friends and an inferior Christmas tree, he finds the meaning of Christmas and a brief moment of peace and friendship. These are all classic Christmas themes. And while it isn’t a movie, it sets the standard I will apply.
Contrast that with Lethal Weapon. If you recall this 1987 police drama film, Riggs is suicidal during the holidays as he mourns the loss of his spouse. His partner Murtaugh, who has his 50th birthday near the holidays, is feeling old. As the two feud, they come together to solve the crime. In the aftermath, Murtaugh invites Riggs to join his family for Christmas. The central themes of isolation and mortality wind throughout the plot, and there are several scenes in which those themes are heightened (a jumper, for example).
It’s not that the mental health issues are well addressed (they aren’t) or that it is a particularly amazing movie, but the thing of it is: I feel the Christmas angst. From Riggs’s pain and isolation to the destroyed Christmas tree due to a car crashing through a house (this actually happened to friends of mine, by the way). It embodies those things that are awful about Christmas. It’s not a feel-good Christmas movie, but it’s a Christmas movie.
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Love, Actually: I have to admit in advance: This film makes me cringe. It’s a popular film around the holidays that is purported to be a Christmas movie. Its subplots include two employers having relationships with their employees, one employee having no intimate relationship because of a codependent relationship with her brother, two work colleagues dating, one dude trying very hard not to bust a move on his best-friend’s wife, one infatuated boy engaged in Freudian issues, and finally, a guy who goes to Wisconsin to get laid. The worst part of it is that the dude orders a Budweiser (“King of Beers”) in Wisconsin! WTF!!! Not even something symbolic like a New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat? You can find online better explanations of the themes at work. The movie’s repeated line “Because it’s Christmas” suggests you can say how you truly feel. It’s a drop-in to remind you that the setting of the movie is Christmas. Hell, the lobster reminded me of that. But for the lobster in the Nativity scene, I wouldn’t have noticed Christmas in this movie at all. The end scene where everyone is apparently on the same damned flight (or at least at the same airport at the same time), including the Prime Minister, makes me sad. NOT a Christmas movie, except for the lobster.
Die Hard: McClane attempts to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly. He goes to L.A. to attend her company’s Christmas party. You probably know the rest. But what you probably didn’t focus on during the course of all the action sequences is how much Christmas is mentioned in the movie. And not just like Love, Actually drop in lines (“I can kill you because it’s Christmas”). The terrorists have the best Christmas lines, complete with references to holiday songs and stories. There is even a foreshadowing debate about what is Christmas music, in a movie whose place during Christmas would be much debated.
But there are symbols of Christmas here. There’s hope. McClane hopes for reconciliation with Holly. The hope of the terrorists who have an ambitious plan, as demonstrated by Han’s speech to Theo: “It’s Christmas, Theo. It’s the time of miracles. So be of good cheer… and call me when you hit the last lock.”
LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here. He is way funnier on social media, he claims. Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at [email protected].