GIRL ON FILM
Storytelling is my passion, film is the vehicle and after graduating from UCF, I was hired by the Sundance Film Festival. I trudged through snow to happily consume it – or have it consume me. Currently, I am the marketing and public relations manager for the Florida Film Festival and Enzian, Central Florida’s only art house theater showcasing independent film year-round. Everyday the good, bad and quirky of the indie film world flops on my desk and it’s in this column that I’ll spoon out my personal musing on it to you.
Learning to knit miniature jellyfish is certainly much easier than it looks–there’s probably a YouTube tutorial on it. But to then box, wrap, and present it as a gift to a loved one with a straight face – that’s the difficult part.
When times are this tough, creativity has to stretch further than the dollar. That’s why alternative, cost-effective gifts for the holidays are the way to go. A friend suggested baked cupcakes as an inexpensive present. He said we could knock out an offensive amount of mini desserts in one day, all while watching a marathon of Christmas movies throughout the process. I almost put the kibosh on the plan right then and there, as films reeking in holiday themes aren’t my cup of whisky-spiked eggnog. There are a few I can sit through, but I guarantee they’re less Hallmark and more… um, hellmark (apologies for that).
Of course, the obvious and sure bet for excellent, unconventional Christmas entertainment is BAD SANTA. Billy Bob Thornton plays a vile, habitually drunk version of himself, and this movie makes Kris Kringle hot tub sex, alcoholism, and mild child abuse look as hilarious as an angry African-American little person costumed as an elf. Plus, the late Bernie Mac’s small but irresistibly callous role solidifies this as a worthy re-watch.
Titles like THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE REF, which stars Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey, or even EYES WIDE SHUT could be considered, but I’m still feeling the itch of puffy, cable knit sweaters from these, or maybe I’m just really creeped-out by the thought of watching Tom Cruise copulate on-screen.
A lesser known film (but one of my personal, all-time favorites), MORVERN CALLER, stars Samantha Morton (MINORITY REPORT) and is an acclaimed indie that features all the great elements of an alternative Christmas flick. After she discovers her boyfriend has committed suicide in the kitchen, Morton inspects the body, which lies next to a flashing Christmas tree, and acquires a couple bucks from his back pocket before she heads out to an all-night rave in Scotland. If that doesn’t warm your heart…
GO is another excellent title to add to the queue. One can never have too many holiday raves, and its fantastic B-list cast, which includes Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Scott Wolf, Timothy Olyphant, and Taye Diggs, is too irresistible to pass up.
But my all-time favorite Christmas film for those who don’t like Christmas films isn’t explicitly set during Christmas. FARGO–arguably one of Joel and Ethan Coen’s best. Its brilliant dialogue and story coupled with a harsh, snow covered winter setting, crafts a stark, frigid, and wondrous tone all at once. The sing-song Minnesota/North Dakota accents are far more charming than any story about a wonderful life or holiday ghost haunting, and watching Steve Buscemi skitter about as the funny looking little fella creates is strange nostalgia, about what, I’m not too sure. The film culminates in one of the most inventive yet thoroughly unfriendly winter wonderland methods of getting rid of a body, which makes FARGO the head of the reindeer pack as a great non-Christmas-Christmas film for the season.
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