The Matt Walsh Show - Matt Walsh Reviews CHRISTMAS MOVIES

00:00:00.000 All right, we have some more content for you today.

00:00:02.420 It's important that we keep churning out content.

00:00:04.780 If you go a day without content, then the world will explode.

00:00:07.460 Merry Christmas, you filthy animal.

00:00:09.620 That's what I've been told anyway.

00:00:10.680 So anyway, so today we're going to talk about Christmas movies.

00:00:14.340 And you may have noticed that it's December,

00:00:16.140 which is why we've chosen this very topical subject.

00:00:18.400 I don't know what to say except it's Christmas and we're all in misery.

00:00:23.080 Specifically, what I'd like to do is pass down from on high

00:00:26.100 the official list of the top two Christmas movies.

00:00:29.340 There are only two.

00:00:30.400 And then because this wouldn't be a Matt Walsh video

00:00:32.320 without complaining about something,

00:00:33.740 I'm also going to officially declare which Christmas movies

00:00:35.660 are the most overrated.

00:00:36.900 So we're going to do, you know, positive and negative,

00:00:38.840 both ends of the spectrum.

00:00:39.880 Let's begin with the top Christmas movies.

00:00:42.360 And there's one important stipulation here.

00:00:43.700 This is very important.

00:00:44.480 Charlie Brown's Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,

00:00:46.920 the cartoon, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

00:00:48.820 are all delightful.

00:00:50.020 I watch them with my kids every year.

00:00:51.400 They're great.

00:00:52.380 They're not feature-length films,

00:00:53.920 so they're disqualified from consideration.

00:00:56.300 If we're doing a video about the best Christmas TV episodes

00:00:58.760 or short films,

00:00:59.760 it would have only three titles on it,

00:01:01.480 and it would be the three I just mentioned.

00:01:02.740 But that's not the video we're doing here.

00:01:03.760 As for great Christmas films,

00:01:05.420 there have been two.

00:01:06.500 Only two.

00:01:07.100 Tis the season to be merry.

00:01:08.440 There have also been some decent Christmas movies.

00:01:10.620 There have been some good ones.

00:01:11.980 There have been some passable ones.

00:01:13.100 But the two great ones are these.

00:01:15.540 And we'll go down the list, starting at two.

00:01:17.460 Number two, A Christmas Story.

00:01:19.100 You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

00:01:24.880 Now, there are some people who argue

00:01:26.400 that A Christmas Story is overrated.

00:01:29.460 And those people are Philistines and scoundrels. 1.00

00:01:32.420 A Christmas Story is a movie that I've seen

00:01:34.440 probably 30 times in my life, if not more.

00:01:36.960 I enjoy it every time.

00:01:38.840 No movie has ever captured the magic and wonder of Christmas

00:01:41.660 as a child like A Christmas Story does.

00:01:44.360 It's a timeless film in that every generation of children

00:01:47.380 can watch it and relate to Ralphie

00:01:49.620 and his quest for the Red Ryder BB gun,

00:01:51.660 just as every generation of adult can watch the movie

00:01:53.620 and feel nostalgic,

00:01:54.660 even though we didn't grow up in the 50s.

00:01:57.080 Fragile.

00:01:58.140 It must be Italian.

00:01:59.520 It is, in many ways, a perfect film.

00:02:01.940 You know, there isn't any change that I would make

00:02:04.620 to any of the performances, the script,

00:02:06.920 everything about it.

00:02:07.740 You know, the movie perfectly accomplishes

00:02:10.280 what it wants to do.

00:02:11.120 A movie like The Princess Bride

00:02:13.340 is in a similar boat.

00:02:14.820 These are perfect films.

00:02:16.260 They're perfect.

00:02:17.840 Not top 10 or top 20 films ever made,

00:02:20.280 but they're still perfect.

00:02:21.220 They're perfect at doing the thing

00:02:22.640 that they're trying to do.

00:02:23.800 There's a shortage of perfect films in this world.

00:02:26.220 It would be a pity to damage yours.

00:02:27.400 And one thing I love about the movie

00:02:28.400 and something that modern Christmas movies

00:02:30.300 and modern movies in general, I think, get wrong

00:02:33.860 is that the stakes in the story of a Christmas movie,

00:02:39.600 the stakes remain very personal and very contained.

00:02:42.720 Now, in modern Christmas movies,

00:02:44.860 and I've seen a lot of those too with my kids, unfortunately,

00:02:47.660 like every single one, there's always the thing at the end

00:02:50.180 where somebody has to rescue Santa or whatever

00:02:53.080 from somewhere or something,

00:02:54.900 because if they don't, you know,

00:02:57.000 there will be no Christmas for anyone ever again.

00:02:59.420 It becomes this like global thing.

00:03:02.760 A Christmas story doesn't do that.

00:03:04.420 The story remains intimate and personal.

00:03:06.900 The stakes are that the kid wants a BB gun.

00:03:09.800 And that's it.

00:03:11.260 It never becomes a planetary crisis.

00:03:13.720 And for that reason, the movie feels nostalgic

00:03:16.360 and charming and relatable.

00:03:18.760 It feels like Christmas in a way

00:03:20.480 that many modern Christmas films don't.

00:03:22.460 Okay, so that's number two.

00:03:23.420 Number one, the top Christmas movie of all time,

00:03:26.320 hands down, no contest, not a competition,

00:03:28.640 is It's a Wonderful Life.

00:03:30.140 Yay! 0.99

00:03:30.620 Now, this is, in fact, one of the greatest films ever made.

00:03:35.740 Not just Christmas film, but films in general.

00:03:37.900 It's one of the all-time, probably top 15 films ever made.

00:03:42.780 It is iconic.

00:03:43.880 It is perfect.

00:03:45.040 Again, there's not one beat or frame or moment

00:03:49.340 or performance or anything that I would change.

00:03:53.760 What is it you want, Barry?

00:03:55.420 What do you want?

00:03:56.760 You want the moon?

00:03:58.500 Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it 0.99

00:04:00.680 and pull it down.

00:04:01.480 It cannot be topped.

00:04:02.460 It cannot be remade.

00:04:03.720 If anybody ever tries to remake it,

00:04:05.340 they should be boiled alive in hot oil

00:04:07.280 and then buried in the desert in an unmarked grave.

00:04:10.180 I'm not kidding.

00:04:11.560 I mean, for YouTube's sake, I am.

00:04:13.100 But I'm not.

00:04:14.800 Anyway, It's a Wonderful Life captures the Christmas spirit

00:04:17.280 better than any other film.

00:04:18.960 And it brings in the supernatural element of the holiday

00:04:21.200 in a way that the Christmas story does not,

00:04:23.380 which is why it gets edged out on the list

00:04:25.200 by It's a Wonderful Life.

00:04:26.380 Now, yes, yes, George Bailey is a bit of a commie.

00:04:30.240 Sure, he is a bit of a commie.

00:04:31.980 But, you know, the film is still great.

00:04:33.580 I don't know.

00:04:34.020 It's able to overcome that.

00:04:35.420 That's how great the film is.

00:04:36.580 Now, on a personal note,

00:04:37.780 I will say that the major challenge in my marriage

00:04:41.560 is that I don't want to get into airing Dirty Laundry,

00:04:44.900 especially not in my own family, my marriage.

00:04:48.120 But this is a major challenge,

00:04:50.060 is that my wife refuses to watch this movie with me. 1.00

00:04:53.920 She won't watch it.

00:04:54.880 We go through this every year.

00:04:56.200 She calls it boring.

00:04:57.720 Every time she says that, it cuts me.

00:05:00.380 It cuts me to my core.

00:05:01.800 I weep hysterically in my heart.

00:05:03.720 I mean, not physically, but in my soul, I'm crying.

00:05:08.000 So not everybody appreciates this movie.

00:05:10.020 Sometimes in a tragic situation,

00:05:11.700 there may be people close to you who don't appreciate it,

00:05:14.220 but they're wrong.

00:05:15.600 This is the greatest Christmas film of all time, period.

00:05:20.020 I mean, that's it.

00:05:21.420 Natural disasters are becoming more frequent

00:05:23.260 and devastating, folks.

00:05:24.340 From the Maui fires to Hurricane Helene,

00:05:26.700 we're seeing entire towns wiped out in 24 hours

00:05:29.100 with barely any warning.

00:05:30.340 And what happens?

00:05:30.900 People are left without basic resources,

00:05:33.260 scrambling to survive.

00:05:34.420 Now, I know what you're thinking.

00:05:35.160 It won't happen here.

00:05:36.200 That's exactly what everyone thinks

00:05:37.440 until they're in the middle of a catastrophe.

00:05:39.020 Being prepared isn't just smart, it's essential.

00:05:41.000 That's where the wellness company's emergency kit comes in.

00:05:44.240 These aren't your run-of-the-mill first aid kits.

00:05:46.180 We're talking about a personalized mini pharmacy

00:05:48.400 right in your own home.

00:05:49.880 No more relying on overworked doctors

00:05:51.540 or understocked pharmacies when disaster strikes.

00:05:54.040 Bacterial infections, staph, bite wounds, UTIs,

00:05:56.980 strep throat, respiratory illnesses.

00:05:58.520 These kits have you covered.

00:05:59.680 It's like having a doctor in your pocket,

00:06:01.520 minus liberal indoctrination from med school.

00:06:03.660 Look, you keep a fire extinguisher handy, right?

00:06:05.840 Well, consider this your medical fire extinguisher.

00:06:08.120 It's not paranoia, it's preparedness.

00:06:10.100 Here's how it works.

00:06:10.640 Just fill out a form online,

00:06:12.200 a pharmacist reviews it, and boom,

00:06:14.140 the kit arrives in two weeks.

00:06:15.540 It even comes with a medical board-approved guidebook.

00:06:18.220 It's that simple.

00:06:19.040 And right now, when you go to urgentcarekit.com

00:06:21.360 slash Walsh and use promo code Walsh,

00:06:22.940 you'll save 60 bucks plus.

00:06:24.520 Get free shipping.

00:06:25.440 That's urgentcarekit.com slash Walsh to save $60.

00:06:28.220 This is preparedness simplified.

00:06:29.840 Invest in your family's self-managed insurance plan today.

00:06:33.020 Urgentcarekit.com slash Walsh.

00:06:35.480 USA residents own. 0.54

00:06:36.660 Now, as for the most overrated Christmas films,

00:06:39.420 and I'm not going to get into like listing, you know, actual titles,

00:06:45.400 because the most overrated and the worst Christmas movies of all time,

00:06:51.880 those are every Christmas movie made after the year 1994.

00:06:56.900 No shit.

00:06:57.320 Every single one, without exception.

00:07:00.640 The Santa Claus in 1994 was the last decent Christmas film.

00:07:06.460 Not great.

00:07:08.520 Not great.

00:07:09.700 But decent.

00:07:11.140 Home Alone was a couple years before.

00:07:12.560 I think it was 1992 or something.

00:07:14.940 That was good.

00:07:18.300 Better than decent.

00:07:19.300 Not great.

00:07:20.100 Flemwad.

00:07:20.620 Everything after that.

00:07:22.120 Everything after that has been trash.

00:07:24.580 It has all been bad.

00:07:26.040 Same for Christmas songs, too, by the way.

00:07:27.620 This is also the cutoff for Christmas substance.

00:07:29.840 I don't want a lot for Christmas.

00:07:33.080 I just want a thing like me.

00:07:36.040 1994.

00:07:36.920 No good Christmas song or movie has been made after night.

00:07:39.600 I don't know why, but that's it.

00:07:42.200 Exactly 30 years ago.

00:07:44.000 Don't come to me talking about elf.

00:07:46.160 Drop the whole elf thing. 0.98

00:07:47.120 Okay, I can already hear some of you people.

00:07:50.280 What about elf?

00:07:51.200 Elf came out of...

00:07:52.720 Elf, no.

00:07:53.480 You disgust me.

00:07:54.680 How can you live with yourself?

00:07:56.040 No.

00:07:56.380 I just watched elf again with my kids.

00:07:59.040 Like pretty much every Will Ferrell movie during that run,

00:08:03.420 elf was a funny idea for an SNL skit, maybe,

00:08:08.060 stretched out about 20 times longer than it should have been.

00:08:11.720 It wears out its welcome midway through the first act.

00:08:14.640 And by the third act, whatever charm it had has long since died,

00:08:18.660 along with my Christmas cheer and my hopes for the future,

00:08:22.240 all of it is dead by the end of that movie.

00:08:24.640 You also see in Elf this thing that they do now in Christmas movies,

00:08:28.120 where by the end of it, it's like, whatever,

00:08:30.820 they're out in the city and all the people are there

00:08:33.060 and they're all watching and there's some big, you know,

00:08:35.380 dramatic scene unfolding and all that kind of stuff.

00:08:37.760 It's just not, it's just not good.

00:08:39.740 What else is there?

00:08:40.660 I mean, don't you dare suggest the Jim Carrey Grinch abomination.

00:08:45.440 The Grinch!

00:08:46.660 I certainly don't want to hear about whatever bullsh** The Rock just put out.

00:08:50.240 We got snowmen! 0.87

00:08:52.860 You know, every year it's stuff like that now.

00:08:55.400 The Rock is playing whoever and the Santa's an action hero now.

00:09:00.180 Time for some season's beatings.

00:09:03.140 It's all bad. All of it is bad. It's all terrible.

00:09:05.620 Hollywood for the last 30 years has forgotten how to make Christmas movies.

00:09:08.900 Even the mildly entertaining ones are still missing something, okay?

00:09:13.240 They're missing the essence of the Christmas film.

00:09:16.300 They're missing Christmas spirit.

00:09:17.680 I'm going to stick my whole fist up your... 1.00

00:09:19.720 That's what they're missing.

00:09:20.860 You can't, it's, uh, it's unquantifiable,

00:09:23.860 but you can't quite figure it out.

00:09:26.520 It's like, it's, it's just not there.

00:09:28.240 For some, there's something. It's just not there.

00:09:30.400 It's the same with the Christmas songs.

00:09:31.620 They just don't have that spirit.

00:09:33.220 You listen to a Christmas song that was made in the 40s or the 50s.

00:09:36.200 Christmas, all of them have Christmas spirit.

00:09:38.440 And you listen to those songs, you're like, that's a Christmas song.

00:09:40.640 It's what a Christmas song is supposed to sound like.

00:09:41.860 It feels like Christmas.

00:09:43.540 Every single song in the last 30 years doesn't feel like Christmas.

00:09:46.800 It just doesn't feel like it.

00:09:48.000 So they're all bad. That's not up for discussion.

00:09:50.140 But it's okay, because we don't need new Christmas movies.

00:09:55.000 We have the two greatest,

00:09:56.540 which you can watch every year as we do in our family.

00:09:59.880 Well, I, I, it's a wonderful life.

00:10:01.980 I have to watch alone.

00:10:03.700 I have to sit and watch it alone because nobody will watch it.

00:10:05.880 My kid's been poisoned against this movie by my wife. 0.98

00:10:08.960 She's told them all it's, it's,

00:10:10.500 I almost got them to watch it the other day and I put it on.

00:10:13.180 And then my son goes, oh, it's black and white.

00:10:15.460 Yes, it's black and white.

00:10:16.760 Okay.

00:10:17.180 You don't need, it's,

00:10:20.060 the story is what colors it in.

00:10:22.320 You won't even notice that it's black and white when you start watching it.

00:10:24.960 It's so magical that you don't even,

00:10:26.540 it doesn't need to be in color.

00:10:27.920 That's what I said.

00:10:28.500 They didn't want to watch it.

00:10:30.160 No, they didn't want to watch it.

00:10:30.840 It's black and white.

00:10:32.120 Anyway, you don't need any other Christmas movies.

00:10:34.980 You have two.

00:10:36.220 That's all you need.

00:10:37.760 Don't be greedy, you brats. 1.00

00:10:40.160 Also, Merry Christmas.

00:10:42.220 Hey, Matt, I have a question for you.

00:10:43.660 Actually, two.

00:10:45.060 What about Jingle All the Way?

00:10:46.440 That was in 96.

00:10:47.460 How do you fall on that?

00:10:48.440 Jingle All the Way?

00:10:49.540 Are you kidding me?

00:10:50.660 Is that a serious question?

00:10:53.380 Okay.

00:10:54.340 That's actually, that's, that's where Christmas movies,

00:10:56.400 well, I'm glad you brought that up.

00:10:57.680 That's where Christmas movies, that, that, that's where they broke.

00:11:00.400 Put that cookie down now. 0.76

00:11:03.000 Arnold Schwarzenegger killed Christmas movies.

00:11:05.220 Okay.

00:11:05.680 And then what about Polar Express?

00:11:07.740 When did that come out?

00:11:09.100 2004.

00:11:12.700 Look, there are exceptions to every rule, I guess.

00:11:16.080 That one has it.

00:11:17.160 Yeah.

00:11:17.360 That one does have the Christmas spirit.

00:11:19.120 It's not, it's not great.

00:11:20.320 That's decent.

00:11:21.040 So whatever.

00:11:22.060 So there's been one.

00:11:22.840 There's been one in 30 years.

00:11:24.340 Okay.

00:11:25.280 I'm glad we had a clarification.

00:11:26.400 Okay.

00:11:26.640 Good.

00:11:27.180 Bye.

00:11:27.380 Thank you.

The Matt Walsh Show - December 23, 2024

Matt Walsh Reviews CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript