By: By Matthew Jackson

HUNTSVILLE —     It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, these are the films much of the American population thinks of when they’re thinking about classic Christmas cinema. This is a justifiable stance. After all, each of these films is a bona fide classic, a film with serious credibility as an immortal work that’s both beautiful and very appropriate for the holiday season.
    But sometimes you want something else.
    We should never throw these films out completely, but in the last three decades or so a field of “new classics” has emerged in every genre, and the remarkable and varied subgenre that is Christmas Movies is no different. With that in mind, when you’re gathering around the TV this year, consider these new Christmas classics, the other Christmas movies you should be adding to your holiday film rotation.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1990)
    This is the one that’s most likely to already be ranked among the films you feel you must watch every year, and with good reason. It’s been around for just over two decades now, and even though it’s corny and over the top and filled with improbable plot points, it just won’t go away. Why? Well, because there’s something universal about the sheer mayhem that ensues when Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) sets out to craft the perfect Christmas holiday for his entire extended family. We’ve all been there. We’ve all tried to make our house look perfect and to get everyone exactly what they wanted and to make sure the turkey is the most beautiful and delicious bird that’s ever been placed on a dining room table. But does it ever, ever work out that way? No, of course not. Christmas Vacation takes this understanding that the holidays will always be a series of blunders and plays it for laughs, but it also reminds us that even amid all the blunders, memories are being made. And if you don’t buy that, just keep in mind that it’s really, really funny.

Elf (2003)
    I know, the idea of Will Ferrell prancing around in tights and pretending to be an elf might not appeal to you right away, but trust me on this. Elf is among the most life-affirming, bright and purely joyful of all Christmas films. Some people just don’t get it, and that’s OK, but if you watch and you do get it, you’ll get hooked and it’ll stay with you for life. Will Ferrell’s comedy works because even when he’s playing the most savagely obnoxious of characters, there’s an inherent layer of sweetness that always shines through. With this character, an elf called Buddy, the sweetness of his performances finally gets to come to the forefront, and the results are wonderful.

Black Christmas (1974)
This is the oldest film on the list, but it really is a modern classic for anyone who likes something a little darker to watch during the holiday season.  I mentioned it in our October issue because it’s a slasher film, but it’s also set right in the middle of Christmas break at that most archetypal of slasher movie destinations: the sorority house. Director Bob Clark helmed the film nearly 10 years before he made the now-classic A Christmas Story, and part of what makes Black Christmas so compelling is that its atmosphere is so convincingly Christmasy…until people start getting murdered, of course.

Home Alone (1990)
It freaks me out how many people, especially people of my generation, seem to have missed out on this film despite year after year of reruns on television. Home Alone far from a perfect film, but it is a relentlessly entertaining one thanks to the writing of the great John Hughes and the enthusiastic direction of Chris Columbus. But part of  what makes it completely watchable over and over and over is the amazing feeling of Christmas that permeates every bit of it, from the gingerbread house on the kitchen counter to the wonderful and atmospheric music of John Williams.

The Holiday (2006)
    Yes, it’s time for the romantic comedy portion of our program, kids. When people tell me they’re sick of romantic comedies (yes, even guys), I tell them they’re just not watching the right ones. Nancy Meyers is one of the few filmmakers these days that’s consistently producing good romcoms, and The Holiday might just be her best. The romance part is derived from the self-sabotaging behavior of her two heroines (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) and the men who try to get them to see the inherent wonder that is them (Jude Law, Jack Black and a very charming Eli Wallach). The rest is a charming Christmas film. It won’t change your life, but it’s an excellent way to pass an evening.