Beside Die Hard, what are some "unofficial" or covert holiday movies?

Submitted by hkkhpr t3_z73clo in movies

What movies do you consider a Christmas or holiday movie that isn't really marketed as one or intended to be one? Those that are either set during the jolly season or have heavy holidays elements, but in which Christmas is not really part of the plot? The movies that gives you a cozy wintery feels akin to the holidays without being branded as such?

Another example could be Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which have the Yule Ball scene and a holiday season context without being a literal Christmas movie.

What say you?

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CraptainPlasma t1_iy4gqhg wrote

Batman Returns. It takes place around Christmas and wrapped gifts are often bombs and stuff.

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wiedmaier t1_iy4m9y5 wrote

You know, mistletoe can be deadly, if you eat it.

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2KYGWI t1_iy4p6dh wrote

But a kiss can deadlier if you mean it.

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Initialised t1_iy4hvn8 wrote

Gremlins

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TheBeardedSingleMalt t1_iy57c4n wrote

The whole movie takes place during Christmas, Gizmo was purchased as a christmas gift, an important character trait of Phoebe Cates was her dad who died during Christmas dressed as Santa, it opens with Darlene Love singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).

It's a christmas movie

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JC-Ice t1_iy5diee wrote

Yeah, though it's not usually advertised as one. Just recently I talked with some friends who hadn't seen it in years, and they completely forgotten it was set at Christmas.

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klimero271 t1_iy4gmvy wrote

Mamy movies from Shane Black, long kiss goodnight, kiss kiss bang bang, iron Man 3,...

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riegspsych325 t1_iy4igbx wrote

IM3 even has the Die Hard teddy bear in it, it’s when the Miguel Ferrer is revealed to be a traitor and he greets a kid who as the bear on her lap

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mdmnl t1_iy4ooav wrote

I did not know that. Now I'm going to have to rewatch it. IM3.

And Die Hard.

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_plantknuckles t1_iy5bjux wrote

To steal from another comment, Lethal Weapon is also written by Shane Black.

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IDKimnotascientist t1_iy6sfnc wrote

The reasoning behind setting so many of his movies is really cool to. He says that lonely, down on their luck protagonists are always heightened against a Christmas backdrop

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RenandMorty t1_iy4j4vl wrote

Trading Places.

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Thepsi t1_iy5j1t7 wrote

Merry New Year!

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miner88 t1_iy749rv wrote

It ain’t cool being no jive turkey so close to Thanksgiving…

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Ambartenen t1_iy4h48v wrote

Batman Returns (1992)

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Hook (1991)

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BedaHouse t1_iy4mby2 wrote

I had completely forgot about Lethal Weapon, but upon re-watching it hit me that it took place during the Christmas season. I think its LA setting made me forget that fact. Not only at the end at Murtaugh's house, but there is also Riggs at a Christmas tree stand in the intro of the movie. I do not know I missed that all these times prior.

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TheBeardedSingleMalt t1_iy57g6w wrote

The movie opens with Jingle Bell Rock.

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BedaHouse t1_iy58gyw wrote

You know, totally missed another one. Only music from the very first part of the movie is when the daughter climbs onto the railing and jumps off. Again, showing how much I missed all these views.

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DWPCanada t1_iy4j3mc wrote

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

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Fortnussy t1_iy4hxyj wrote

Eyes Wide Shut for sure. Also The Shining with all of it's snow

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jw198223 t1_iy4jqjr wrote

I’ll say Rocky 4…

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ReputationOk3923 t1_iy4j7my wrote

Jumanji - Christmas party at the end of the film. Not sure why, but the first Harry Potter film always gives me a festive feel. Bridget Jones's Diary as there are Christmas parties in those. Mean Girls (also doubles as a Halloween film). Apologies for my taste in films 💜

ETA: My husband and I have this childish thing where if we are watching a non Christmas film and a Christmas song plays or there is something Christmassy, like a Christmas tree or anything like that we will say "Christmas film!". This started in one of the Iron Man films years ago when there are Christmas lights and maybe a song playing.

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Sonny_Crockett_1984 t1_iy4gtxx wrote

I read somewhere recently that Se7en is a Christmas movie because people talk about the Bible and Brad Pitt gets a present at the end.

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MutantLeader t1_iy4kk9b wrote

Yikes, that’d be a pretty bleak holiday experience 😆

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4lzeq wrote

Christmas can definitely be about the seven deadly sins, such as gluttony when you eat too many Xmas cookies and chug too much egg nog, or greed you when ask for a new XBOX console or $1500 Meta Pro VR goggles and your parents can't really afford it

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ValCruise t1_iy4q1dq wrote

Cobra.

Edit: Also forgot to mention strange days.

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SantaRosaJazz t1_iy4rq30 wrote

Planes, Trains and Automobiles takes place at Thanksgiving.

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grjjr91 t1_iy4hhnu wrote

Iron Man 3

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4nz7j wrote

"Sound of Music" was always played during the holidays in the 80's and 90's but for some reason mysteriously disappeared from cable in the past 15 years or so --- not sure why it became associated with Christmas, but prolly had to do with a bunch of Austrian kids singing around the house and making their "Scroogey" father suddenly become cheery and pleasant again LOL

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The_Funkhouse t1_iy4ohj3 wrote

The Long Kiss Goodnight.

“When you make an assumption, you make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and .. ‘mption’”

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VausTheMaster t1_iy4jsei wrote

The where Don get shot in The Godfather takes place around xmas, does that count?

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IceColdBurski_7 t1_iy4lakm wrote

Lethal Weapon gets the double feature treatment after Die Hard. That combo really gets me in the Christmas spirit.

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4oh8l wrote

Killing a lot of people makes Santa proud of how naughty you been

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CyFrog t1_iy4yuyr wrote

Grumpy Old Men

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lenflakisinski t1_iy5mgwi wrote

Tangerine

What’s more in the Christmas spirit than a gay Armenian going down on a trans prostitute, before she abducts her pimps side bitch

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DickiesAndChucks t1_iy4hx0m wrote

Gremlins, The Apartment, Edward Scissorhands, Most Shane Black movies (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3 come to mind), The Ref, and my personal fave, A Midnight Clear which is a WW2 movie that takes place over the holidays but isn't typical by any means.

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sideshow_em t1_iy4q751 wrote

Came here looking for The Ref. It's one of my go-to xmas movies.

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adamtheundead t1_iy4mnj3 wrote

On her majesty secret service

It's not Chrismas before I see Blofeld decorating his Christmas tree. 😂

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transformerjay t1_iy4ofcv wrote

Lethal Weapon

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4p5g9 wrote

After all these years I can't figure out why that movie took place during Christmas time --- maybe it's because Riggs was sad and alone after his wife died and Murtaugh was trying to cheer him up, which is a Christmas-y thing to do

It reminds me a lot of the first Rambo movie because it focused on the PTSD that a cop or soldier is going through, whereas the sequels are just corny action movies without all the psychological baggage

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boxofkangaroos t1_iy4pzf0 wrote

Sean Baker’s Tangerine is a Christmas movie and I’ll die on this hill

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TheBeardedSingleMalt t1_iy57tr6 wrote

My xmas movie watching goes...

Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Gremlins, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, It's a Very Sunny Christmas, Christmas Vacation and Scrooged

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kronicfeld t1_iy5is5r wrote

Hi, Buzzfeed writer.

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shinola80 t1_iy5lrko wrote

“The Lion in Winter.”

It’s a GREAT movie, based around Christmas, which was a hit when it was released and I rarely hear anything about it nowadays.

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Large-Candidate-3174 t1_iy5qnby wrote

Gremlins, it's a classic 80s film and it's set in a Christmas environment ( snow, Christmas lights, ect.. )

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Danc777 t1_iy6fd61 wrote

Watched Pig on Thanksgiving, and then realized that it made a pretty good (if dour) Thanksgiving movie.

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orangemaroon25 t1_iy4hz44 wrote

Seconding Iron Man 3, and here's a weird one for you:

The NFL Network Thursday Night Football theme song and the ads previewing the games always felt like Christmastime car commercials. I think it was the bells. I'm unfamiliar with what Amazon's TNF theme is.

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Hollow_Rant t1_iy4p78o wrote

Stalag 17 takes place during the Christmas season.

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BrexitFool t1_iy4sz5s wrote

Enemy of the state is a good one 👍

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Boring_Guess8888 t1_iy4tlk5 wrote

The girl with the dragon tattoo. The American version. It a Christmas movie.

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nkleszcz t1_iy4v78j wrote

1941 by Spielberg most definitely. Many Christmas gags, and a final heartwarming Christmas speech by Ned Beatty at the end of the film.

If you’ve never seen it, or have avoided due to its bad publicity, I’d encourage you to give it a try… it’s slapstick heavy, so if you’re a fan of Home Alone or Christmas Vacation you’d most likely enjoy it.

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AaronWYL t1_iy53491 wrote

I consider "Catch Me If You Can" a Christmas movie.

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ohsinboi t1_iy5aqa1 wrote

Iron Man 3. My first Christmas movie of the year

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soliddd7 t1_iy64ep4 wrote

Batman returns

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Panelak_Cadillac t1_iy6ge4r wrote

My cousins in Italy consider "Trading Places" a Christmas movie.

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MediumClerk1847 t1_iy6kijo wrote

GoodFellas, watched it every christmas since I was 12

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Apprehensive_Offer15 t1_iy6ow19 wrote

LA Confidential. Takes place at end of December. Has character redemption. Features hookers. It says Christmas to me.

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FantasiaDolls t1_iy6ynhi wrote

Trading Places and Ghostbusters 2 for Christmas/New years. I know both have one of the two holidays fairly prominent but I don't think they were ever advertised as such.

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NbdyFuckswTheJesus t1_iy6ytkx wrote

It’s an oldie but still an excellent film, The Apartment. The climax takes place over Christmas to New Years.

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wnose t1_iy6yzzn wrote

Love Actually

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I_Keep_Trying t1_iy7308c wrote

The Sure Thing (1985). John Cusack’s first starring role. It takes place over a college winter break and there’s a scene where they drunkenly sing The Christmas Song.

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ploppetyploppetyplop t1_iy77jtc wrote

James Bond used to be on tv every Boxing Day in the Uk. So it became an adopted holiday movie for some reason. I used to look forward to it when I was a kid but nowadays I think it was a bit weird. You know, for that to be the sit down family fun.

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ryangw1982 t1_iy84ttf wrote

In Bruges, Lethal Weapon

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DRUGEND1 t1_iy8m1lt wrote

Inside (À l'intérieur) (2007)

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CheeseNBacon2 t1_iy4h4uh wrote

The Star Trek Movie series because it's Christmas in Picard's Nexus vision

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R_iO t1_iy4ilkg wrote

Would “Home Alone” count?

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ReputationOk3923 t1_iy4jce4 wrote

I think so! I always think of it as a Christmas film, but it does play on TV throughout the year. It's not really a film about Christmas when you think of it, it just happens at Christmas time.

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4oou0 wrote

It's definitely a Christmas film --- not sure why some people in here are trying to make it seem like it's not

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BELLASPAWN t1_iy4kdik wrote

Eastern Promises and The Drop are both not quite Christmas movies

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Ha1rBall t1_iy63hiy wrote

> The Drop

This takes place around the Super Bowl. Nowhere near Christmas.

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PaddyFever t1_iy5201f wrote

Black Christmas (1974)

Hobo with a Shotgun

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EnSabahDuh t1_iy5fcec wrote

Look Who’s Talking Too

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MattyLaa2022 t1_iy5h6ss wrote

The Long Kiss Goodnight - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116908/

The most insane action movie, Sanuel L jackson is quoted as saying this was his favourite role, and the actually burnt down a historical building with one of the (many) explosions.

Epic underrated mostly forgotten about films. Its a Shane Black film I think Christmas Christmas is his Gimmick. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is also set around christmas.

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Otroroboto t1_iy5kty8 wrote

I consider John Carpenter’s The Thing to be a Christmas movie. It’s cold, nobody trusts anyone, people argue and it ends with people drinking by a fire, sounds like the holidays with my family.

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Stilswagen2 t1_iy5mt1u wrote

Catch me if you can. Every time Hanks and DiCaprio talk it at or around Christmas time

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kresbok t1_iy5vkpc wrote

Better Watch Out (2016)

Only check the poster, don't read the synopsis or watch the trailer.

You will thank me, enjoy.

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Mooseterious1 t1_iy6vq40 wrote

Die hard 2 and 3. Shame they never made more than that.

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Mipo64 t1_iy4tags wrote

Planes,Trains,and Automobiles.

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Nobodycares2022 t1_iy4usgx wrote

Its not unofficial or covert its a man trying to get home for Thanksgiving.

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Nobodycares2022 t1_iy4u9dk wrote

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Simon Birch

The Family Man

The Toy

Toy Story 1 & 2

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Boo-Man404 t1_iy4xhu7 wrote

Jurassic world lmao

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Cranestoique t1_iy50f4i wrote

Joyeux Noel (film that shows how Xmas amnesty happened in WWI)

Silent Night (with Linda Hamilton)

A Midnight Clear

All those movies are set during a war

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strghtwhtmale t1_iy58if9 wrote

Children of Men, the baby can be seen as a new Jesus Christ who'll bring peace.

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oliverdeer t1_iy5o9ek wrote

"When Harry Met Sally" really is a christmas movie

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