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home by Christmas to receive a classic Porsche as a gift. But on the way, he’s left in the desert by the football team, and his girlfriend (played by Biel) thinks he abandoned her! What is a Porsche- seeking, love-sick college kid to do? Find out when you watch “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
opposite of him in every way. Fred gets into legal trouble once again, so his brother punishes him by sending him to the North Pole to make toys. Ultimately, Fred and Nicholas find a way to work together despite their differences, upgrading the
‘SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT’
This one is for the horror fans (and for parents after the kids have gone to sleep). After witnessing the death of his parents at the hands of Santa around Christmas, Billy grows up to eventually become a Santa Claus killer himself. Despite the darkly humorous and odd premise of the movie, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” has amassed a huge cult following. It’s become so well-known that multiple sequels were made, and talk around Hollywood suggests a remake is coming in 2022. If you’re a fan of bad movies that are actually kind of good, check out “Silent Night, Deadly Night.”
Christmas operation to a well- oiled machine. Unfortunately, critics say the humor of “Fred Claus” fails to land with any crowd. Watch it for yourself and see what you think! If you get a chance to watch these too-terrible-to-be-bad movies, I would love to hear your take, and if you’re looking for more holiday movie flops, check out the list put out by Rotten Tomatoes at RottenTomatoes.com.
‘FRED CLAUS’
Happy holidays!
For a more modern tale, check out this movie starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. The “Fred Claus” plot theorizes that St. Nick wasn’t the only Claus, and that his brother, Fred, is likely the
RUDOLPH, YOU’LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY Behind the Evergreen Christmas Special
You know Dasher and Dancer, and you definitely know Rudolph. Everyone’s favorite red-nosed reindeer was first born as a 1939 short story, but he truly shot to fame when his tale was adapted into a song by Gene Autry in 1949. Rivaling even the song’s fame is the Rankin/Bass stop-motion special that airs like clockwork every year around Christmas. Generations have now grown up with Rudolph, so it may be surprising to learn that his journey to the small screen started as a General Electric promotion. The company had a running television special on NBC called the “GE Fantasy Hour,” which they used to market their products directly to viewers. The better the story they told, the more viewers they got — and the more toasters they could sell. The script introduced crucial new characters like Hermey the elf, Yukon Cornelius the prospector, and of course, Bumble the abominable snowman. GE hired innovative Japanese animators to create the film using stop-motion techniques that were highly advanced for the time. GE invested the modern equivalent of $4.5 million into the production of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and the special first aired in 1964. Those who are familiar with the film know that it ends with Rudolph enlisting Santa to save the Misfit Toys from earlier in the movie — but it didn’t originally. The version that aired in 1964 concludes with Rudolph leading Santa’s sleigh but forgetting all about his homeless friends. The backlash was swift, and viewers wrote in to express displeasure at the
heartless resolution. GE decided the special had to be corrected and played again with the proper ending in 1965. And so, a tradition of annual airings was born. Today, “Rudolph” is the longest-running Christmas special in history, and our favorite misfit deer shows no signs of slowing down after 57 years. The movie has transformed into a marketing bonanza, with new Christmas decorations, figurines, and toys being produced each year. Though it’s somewhat shocking to our modern sensibilities to see Santa bullying his reindeer employees and their children, fond childhood memories mean that parents continue to pass the special down to their kids. Even as we recognize its flaws, the dazzling animation and famous songs continue to bring joy and Christmas spirit to households around the country. Just as sure as Santa comes every year, so does Rudolph.
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