The Christmas Movies Tag

I love Christmas.  I love movies.  Today, I'm inviting you to join me in combining those two delightful parts of life so we can talk about our favorite Christmas movies! 

The Rules:

• Fill out the prompts (expound as much or as little as you like)
• Tag some friends (however many or few you feel like)
• Have fun (this is mandatory)

The Tag:

1.  A favorite funny Christmas movie:  We're No Angels (1955)

It's only one of the absolute funniest movies I've ever seen, AND it's a Christmas movie!  Who can resist the hilarious tale of three escaped convicts (Aldo Ray, Humphrey Bogart, and Peter Ustinov) who set out to rob a storekeeper (Leo G. Carroll) so they can get off Devil's Island and instead end up helping him and his family escape the clutches of a merciless relative (Basil Rathbone).  Comedy genius AND Christmastime gold all at once!  (And if you think Humphrey Bogart isn't funny, boy, do you ever have another think coming.)

2.  A favorite poignant Christmas movie:  It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is the perfect blend of darkness and hope.  It's remarkably gritty, with enough desperation and anger simmering in it to fuel several noir films, and yet it's also imbued with so much hope and love.  

3.  A favorite romantic Christmas movie: The Holiday (2006) grows more loveable every time I watch it.  Yes, there's a bit of "adult content," but most of it is alluded to, not shown on-screen.  But the themes of standing up for yourself, learning who to trust and how to trust them, and caring for others even when you've only just met -- all so good!  And "W-i-d-o-w-e-d" never fails to make me tear up.  If you know, you know.

4.  A favorite feel-good Christmas movie:  White Christmas (1954)

Have I seen White Christmas a few dozen times?  Of course!  Will I be watching it next weekend when it's on the big screen at our local theater?  Absolutely!  Man, this movie has everything I love in a Christmas movie -- soldiers, war zones, trains, horseshoes, romance, sparkly dresses, earworm songs that make me happy every time I think of them, miraculous snowfalls, and the occasional small, internal muscular hemorrhage.  Magic!

5.  A favorite movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol:  For me, it's a tie between A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) and A Christmas Carol (1999) starring Patrick Stewart.  They both bring me to tears, make me laugh, and make me want to clap.  Sometimes I do clap. 

6.  A Christmas movie you watch any time of year:  While You Were Sleeping (1995)

I mean, it's technically a Christmas movie.  You have a Christmas gathering and a Christmas tree and a gift exchange and snow and mistletoe.  But I watch it any time of year because the fact that it's Christmas is only a sort of backdrop.  And also because it was released in April, and I saw it in late spring at the second-run theater with the girls who were becoming my best friends, and... it's so Christmassy, but I almost never watch it at Christmas time ::shrugs::

7.  A Christmas movie that surprised you:  Holiday Affair (1949)

The first time I watched Holiday Affair, the story and characters kept taking these random left turns that would seem to come out of nowhere, but yet made absolute and total sense.  I just could not ever see them coming, and that entranced me.  Which is a bit odd, because usually when movies start zigging when I am quite sure they will zag, I start to get frustrated.  But every single surprising turn of events made the story So Much Better, and I was spellbound.  I now tend to watch this during the week before Christmas after everyone else is in bed, while sitting on the floor in the living room and wrapping gifts.  It's a private, cozy little pleasure I look forward to and savor.

8.  A favorite "but is it really a Christmas movie?" movie:  The Three Godfathers (1948) is kind of hard to describe.  It's a John Wayne Christmas movie.  You've got three desperadoes and an orphaned baby and a desert and people quoting the Bible, and Ward Bond playing a guy named Perley Sweet... and it's generally considered a Christmas movie, but I am not sure I have ever watched it at Christmastime.  

9.  The oldest Christmas movie you've seen:  The Thin Man (1934), which is one of the most delightful murder mysteries ever filmed.  I think we will introduce it to our kids this Christmas season.  Nick and Nora Charles are #MarriedCoupleGoals, and I find this movie funnier every time I watch it, which is pretty rare.

10.  The newest Christmas movie you've seen:  A Christmas Love Story (2019), which was also the first Hallmark Christmas movie I had ever seen!  My mom is living with us part of the time now, and we don't have the Hallmark Channel.  She was missing getting to watch lots of Hallmark Christmas movies, so I hunted up a few on DVD that sounded like I would also enjoy them, and which were made before Hallmark kowtowed to the pressure to push unbiblical agendas on their audience.  We watched this last week, and it was cute and fun.  I'm pretty sure my youngest is going to want to see it because it stars Kristin Chenoweth, and my little ballerina was just in a ballet version of Wicked, which led to her being a bit obsessed with all things Wicked at the moment.  And you know what?  This movie would be totally fine for her watch.  Yay!

I Tag:

18 Cinema Lane

I'm Charles Baker Harris (and I Can Read)

Ink Calamities

The Maidens of Green Gables

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Movies Meet Their Match

Musings of an Introvert

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies

Sidewalk Crossings

Silver Scenes

Taking Up Room

YOU, if I didn't tag you and you want to play!  

Here's a clean copy of the questions, if you want them:

1.  A favorite funny Christmas movie:

2.  A favorite poignant Christmas movie:

3.  A favorite romantic Christmas movie: 

4.  A favorite feel-good Christmas movie:

5.  A favorite movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol:

6.  A Christmas movie you watch any time of year:

7.  A Christmas movie that surprised you:

8.  A favorite "but is it really a Christmas movie?" movie:

9.  The oldest Christmas movie you've seen:

10.  The newest Christmas movie you've seen:

She IS Family: "While You Were Sleeping" (1995)

While You Were Sleeping (1995) came out the weekend I turned fifteen. A couple of months later, I went to a sleepover hosted by a girl I was gradually becoming friends with. The next morning, the hosting mother took us to see this at the local second-run theater. It was the first movie I had seen in the theater since I was eight. I was enthralled by the experience. I can still remember exactly what that theater looked like: a tiny auditorium with only maybe a dozen rows of seats, covered in worn pseudo-velvet. My friend’s mom let us sit together wherever we chose, while she and her little son sat in the very back. He fell asleep clutching Skittles candies that dyed his hands all sorts of colors. 

To this day, nearly twenty years later, Skittles always make me think of this movie. Of a grainy filmstrip image interrupted now and then by hair and lint. Of sharing popcorn and giggles with three or four other teenage girls, two of whom are still my close friends. 

But, nostalgia is not the main reason why I love this movie. I love it because it gave me my first real taste of the idea of a “found family.” I grew up in a very close-knit family, and I’m very attached to the idea of having people who love and accept you; people you belong to and who belong to you; people to be with in troubles, celebrations, and everyday life. So as the movie began, my heart ached for Lucy (Sandra Bullock) as she struggled to celebrate Christmas alone, with no family at all to share her joy, no one she belonged to. With both her parents dead, no siblings, and really no friends, she embodied a loneliness so potent it felt contagious. 

And then the Callaghan family embraced her, literally, giving her a giant group hug when they learned she was their comatose son’s fiancée. Which she wasn’t, but they believed she was, and before Lucy could gather the courage to explain the truth, they made her part of their family. They gave her the love, acceptance, and belonging she’d been missing. (She then fell in love with their other son, Jack [Bill Pullman], but I’m not going to go into the whole plot because you’ve probably seen this movie a million times, too. And if you haven’t, go rent it, stream it, borrow it, or buy it.) 

I was fascinated by this idea of finding a family if you didn’t have one, of joining other people and forging the bonds that are so dear to me. I’ve been drawn to stories about “found families” ever since: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, the X-Men movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, The Avengers, and Lost. One of my favorite television shows from childhood, Five Mile Creek, also dealt with this theme, though it took me years to realize that. 

While You Were Sleeping first brought the idea to my attention, and made me wonder, “What if I didn’t have a family?” I’ve often imagined myself ending up like Lucy: alone with a cat and plenty of acquaintances, but no one I belonged to. What would I do? Would I go find or create a family for myself? How does one even go about that? 

I make friends fairly easily. If you like books or movies, I’m happy to hang out with you and discuss them. We can totally be friends. But close friends, friends that feel like they belong to you—I make those very slowly. It can take me years to get to the point where I’ll feel that bond of kinship, not just friendship. It does happen eventually, if I let it. I’d like to think that, had I never met my husband, never gotten married, and for some reason not lived anywhere near my parents or brother, I would have formed a family of sorts around myself. Not quite the way Lucy does, of course—I’m pretty sure I would never have the opportunity to rescue a man from an oncoming train and then pretend to be his fiancée. But somehow, I would find people to be my family. 

Toward the end of While You Were Sleeping, Lucy’s boss tells her, “You are born into a family. You don’t join it like the Marines.” I like to believe he’s wrong, that if you need a family, you can find one… or one will find you.

(This post originally appeared in the November/December 2014 issue of Femnista magazine.)

My Ten Favorite Christmas Movies -- 2021 Update

I made my first list like this back in 2013, but it is high time for an update because I have seen several Christmas movies since then that just have to be on this list, while others have dropped off.  So here we go!

1.  White Christmas (1954)

A team of showbiz stars (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) try to rescue a retired general (Dean Jagger) from bankruptcy by staging a show at his ski lodge.  I've watched this almost every single Christmas season for three decades, and I never get tired of it.

2.  We're No Angels (1955)

Three escaped convicts (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray) try to rescue a bumbling businessman (Leo G. Carroll) from his unscrupulous cousin (Basil Rathbone).  Possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen, and also one of the most heart-warming.  DO NOT get the 1989 remake by mistake.

3.  While You Were Sleeping (1995)

When a lonely train fare collector (Sandra Bullock) rescues a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher) from being hit by a train, his family mistakes her for his fiancee.  My favorite romantic comedy, my favorite Sandra Bullock role, my favorite Bill Pullman role, and another of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

4.  It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

George Bailey (James Stewart) decides he's worth more dead than alive, and it takes an unlikely angel (Henry Travers) all of Christmas Eve to convince him otherwise.  There's a reason it's so famous -- it's really that good.

5.  A Christmas Carol (1999)

Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart) learns not to be so stingy.  A stellar performance from Stewart elevates this above the usual made-for-TV Christmas movie.

6.  Holiday Affair (1949)

An unconventional sweetheart (Robert Mitchum) and a convention-bound widow (Janet Leigh) work very hard convincing themselves they haven't fallen in love over a toy train, a Christmas dinner, and a very loud necktie.  I love this weird little movie more every time I watch it.

7.  The Holiday (2006)

An unhappy LA woman (Cameron Diaz) trades houses with an unhappy British woman (Kate Winslet) for Christmas, and they find happiness and love in their new surroundings.  Did I mention Jude Law?  And Rufus Sewell?  But my favorite part of the whole movie is everything that involves Eli Wallach's sweet, elderly Hollywood writer.

8.  The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) learns not to be so stingy with the help of a lot of Muppets.  My kids really love this movie too :-)

9.  The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) needs money.  And he needs his career to stop fizzling.  And he needs these grumpy characters in his head (especially Scrooge, played by Christopher Plummer) to cooperate.  And he needs people to stop pestering him so he can just write his next book.  I was WAY more charmed by this movie than I expected to be!

10.  The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is tasked with shutting down a Catholic school run by Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), who is determined to save it.  I like this a lot better than Going My Way (1944), Crosby's other turn as O'Malley.

Well, that's my list!  Did you notice that the posters for two of them mirror each other?  I just think that's neat.  And probably deliberate, don't you suppose?  Anyway, are any of your favorites here?  Got any suggestions for me of Christmas movies you think I might need to see?

A Sunshine Blogger Award for the New Year

Cordy has awarded me the Sunshine Blogger Award on her blog, Any Merry Little Thought.  Thanks, friend!

Sunshine Blogger Award Rules  

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog. 
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you. 
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions. 
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog. 

Cordy's Questions

What is your favorite color of ink to write with?  Blue.  I go through a pack of blue pens every year or two.

What is a book on your to-read shelf that you secretly know you'll never get to? Well, I don't have a good answer for this because I spent a lot of time over the past year culling books from my TBR shelves that I've realized I just don't want to read as much as I thought I did.  I've gotten them down to where all the books on it are ones I definitely expect to read.  Like these:

(All pictures are mine from my IG account.)

What's a movie you've discovered that everyone but you likes? Maybe not everyone, but I'm not a big fan of Vertigo (1958), and many people are.

Do you prefer your hair to be long or short? Long.  I've never had it short.

What is a book you wish more people knew about? More people need to read Charity Bishop's Tudor Throne series!  They're so much fun, and I've learned a lot of British history from them.

Who is a fictional character that you relate to? I see a lot of myself in Lucy (Sandra Bullock) in While You Were Sleeping (1995).

Would you rather play a main character or be a stunt double in a movie? I'd rather play the main character because I'm klutzy and would probably die doing a stunt.

Depending on your answer to the last question, what movie would you choose to act/stunt in? Hmm. How about a movie version of The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, where I get to play Lottie Wilkins?  Let's film it on location so I can really visit a crumbling villa in Italy.

What instrument would you play if you could? Hmm.  I think it would be fun to learn to play the bagpipes.

If your life had background music, what would be your theme song? In college, my friends picked out "Windy" by The Association as my theme song, and that's stuck pretty well all my life.

What's one of your favorite fictional couples? I love Valancy and Barney in The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.

My Questions

1. Fantasy or sci-fi?
2. Tragedy or comedy?
3. Fiction or nonfiction?
4. Snow or rain?
5. Orange juice or apple juice?
6. Christmas or Easter?
7. Middle-earth or Narnia?
8. Marvel or DC?
9. Star Wars or Star Trek?
10. Old movies or new movies?
11. Old books or new books?

My Nominees:

• Heidi at Along the Brandywine
• Samantha at Bookshire
• Marian at Classics Considered
• Gabby at Finding Freedom, Living Loved
• Anna and Irene at Horseback to Byzantium
• Faith at I Like That
• Grace and Katherine at The Maidens of Green Gables
• Carissa at Musings of an Introvert
• Phyl at Phyllis Loves Classic Movies
• Natalie at Starry Ramblings
• Lois at You, Me, and a Cup of Tea

Play if you want to!

Four Fictional Characters Tag

MovieCritic of Movies Meet Their Match tagged me with this a while ago.  Thanks, MC!  I'm pretty fascinated by what makes me relate to characters, and I spend a good bit of time thinking about this sort of thing, so it's fun to share four of those with you.

The Rules: 
1. Link back to the person who tagged you. 
2. List four fictional characters (use pictures if you want! They can be from movies or books) and, if you like, describe what they're like and why you believe they relate to you. 
3. Tag a few other blog people! Three, or four, or even twenty. :) Share the fun! Be sure to let them know you've tagged them!

1.  Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015).  Illya and I share the tendency to get obsessive when we're on a quest for something.  We follow what we want in the most relentless way we know.  We're also both hesitant to begin new relationships, be they friendships or romances, and very cautious about who we trust.  And I'm afraid we both tend to want to smash stuff when we're angry.  He actually does it, I just want to, but it's still there.

2.  Lucy Moteratz (Sandra Bullock) from While You Were Sleeping (1995).  Lucy is the first fictional character that I ever looked at and said, "That's so me."  If I were single, I would decorate a Christmas tree just for me and my pet.  I've totally worn my dad's old clothes just to feel close to him (even though my dad's still alive).  We're both helpful, we both like to feel needed, and we're both fond of giving Christmas presents to random people who might not expect them.

3.  Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) from The Hobbit films (2013-14).  Everything Bard does, he does for his kids.  He's a devoted, caring, protective parent.  Me too.  Bard and I both tend to reluctantly assume authority if no one else is willing or able to step up to the task.  And like Bard, I tend to give people second chances even when others say they don't deserve them.

4.  John Reid from The Lone Ranger (2013).  John and I are both loyal -- sometimes so loyal it causes us problems.  Once you gain our trust, we will trust you forever, and with just about anything.  We both like boxing.  Neither of us are quite as cool as we'd like to think.  We both will take only so much annoyance before we blow our tops and start stomping around shouting.  Shouting very sarcastic things, I might add.  And we're both prone to rescuing kittens.

Okay, those were my four!  I'm going to tag four people:

Cordy at Write On, Cordy!
DKoren at Sidewalk Crossings
Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness
Hayden Wand at A Singular and Whimsical Problem

Play if you want to :-)  And if I didn't tag you and you want to do this, I hereby tag you too!

Why Yes, It's Another Liebster Award!

Hey, guess what?  Constance and Diana of Silver Scenes nominated me for the Liebster!  Over a month ago.  Sigh.  I am STILL catching up on blog reading, tag responding, and so on.  But anyway, thanks for tagging me, ladies!  Here are my answers to your questions:

1. If you could travel back in time, which year would you travel back to? And why? 

Too many to choose from!  Do I go back to see John Gielgud perform Hamlet?  Do I go back to Shakespeare's day and see it performed with Shakespeare himself as the Ghost?  Do I go back to 1926 and convince Rudolph Valentino to go to the doctor for his ulcers so he doesn't die of peritonitis?  (If time-travel is possible, so is me convincing Valentino of something, obviously.)  Do I go to 1973 and remind Bobby Darin to take his antibiotics before he goes to the dentist so he doesn't get the infection that eventually stops his heart?  Or do I go to 1982 and, as an adult now, see my favorite movie on the big screen again?  I could visit the time of Christ, I could hang out with Jane Austen... I can't pick today.  Too many choices.

2. Who is your favorite underrated actor/actress? 

Is Alan Ladd underrated?  I feel like he is, but maybe he's more "under-remembered" than "underrated," as those who are familiar with his work do tend to appreciate him.  How about Armie Hammer?  I enjoy the heck outta a lot of his movies, but people kind of write him off as just another handsome guy.

(Which is not to say he's not a handsome guy, cuz yeah, he obviously is.)

3. What movie/television show do you enjoy as a guilty pleasure? (The program that you would never admit to anyone that you really like.) 

I get a kick out of Friends even though it's fluffy, mind-idling silliness.  I don't own it on DVD or anything, but if it happens to be on and I've got time to kill, I'll have fun hanging out with Joey and Phoebe.

4. Do you listen to old-time radio? If so, which is your favorite program? 

YES!  I absolutely love old-time radio.  Right now, I've been listening to lots of Alan Ladd's show, Box 13, but my favorite is probably The Six-Shooter, which starred James Stewart and had quite interesting plots.

(Do you suppose he dressed like this for every performance?)

5. How many hours do you spend staring at screens (computer/television/phone)? 

Probably between 1 and 4 a day.  That would be 1-2 hours of computer, scattered over the course of a day in little 5-15 minute chunks here and there, and then I watch a movie once or twice a week, so those days it would be more like 4.

6. If you could be mayor of your town what would be the first change you would make? 

I'd put up more "free-flowing right turn" signs, specifically on two corners where I regularly encounter people stopped when they don't need to be.

7. What is one subject/skill you feel all students should learn before they turn 20-years-old? 

How to do laundry by themselves.  It's ridiculous how many people turned up at college not knowing how to even sort their clothes, much less run a washing machine.

Good mama.

8. What would you like your obituary to read? ( Aside from "he/she died too soon" ) 

The beloved author of dozens of western novels, many of which were made into films starring Armie Hammer and Chris Hemsworth.  She leaves behind three children, nine grandchildren, and a rich literary legacy that will continue to delight and entertain for generations.

9. Which movie character do you feel the strongest bond with? To clarify, list which character you think is the most similar to yourself in nature and appearance. 

Lucy Eleanor Moderatz in While You Were Sleeping (1995).  As I said in my review of it, "If I was in her situation, family-less, basically friend-less, I would behave the way she does. I'd have a cat, I'd put up a Christmas tree just for me and the cat, I'd obligingly work on Christmas so people with families don't have to, I'd give a Christmas present to my landlord. I'd even wear my dad's old coat and sweaters just to feel connected to him. "  Also, we both have dark hair and eyes, and somewhat similar coloring maybe?

(But I haven't had bangs for 20 years now.)

10. What is your favorite classic television show? 

Finally, an easy one!  Combat! (1962-67).  In fact, I co-run a fansite dedicated to it, Fruit Salad.

(Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders in the foreground, slouchy and splendid as always.
Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley is driving the Jeep, with... maybe Fletcher Fist?)

11. Do you watch classic British films? If not, ( shame on you! ) state why.

Um, maybe?  Does Monty Python and the Holy Grail count?  How about the James Bond films?  Oh!  I liked Kind Hearts and Coronets.  I've seen a few of Hitchcock's earlier films too, is that classic British film?

(They look sooooooo deceptively serious here.)

I'm not tagging anyone because, like I said the other day, I've been catching up on So Very Many tags this month that I don't want to wear out my welcome.  But these were fun questions to answer!

5 Female Characters Tag

Sarah of How to Watch a Movie tagged me with this ages ago, and I've finally got time to post about it.  Thanks, Sarah!  This is a nice companion to the Ten Favorite Screen Characters Tag I did a couple months ago.  I ended up listing all men, and was thinking of doing a second list of all women, but never did.  Truth is, I tend to not pay much attention to gender when it comes to identifying with or loving a character -- it's who they are, not whether they're male or female, that interests me.  Be that as it may, I've been trying to pay more attention when I find a strong, well-rounded, compelling female character, as the world keeps telling me they're few and far between.  I'm not convinced of that, but whatever.  Here's the tag.

Rules 

1. List 5 of your favorite female characters (book or screen).
2. Tagging other people is optional
3. If you are tagged link back to the person that tagged you.
4. Link back to Revealed In Time

Choose one character from each category:
1. Protagonist
2. Villain
3. Superhero
4. That I would want to be friends with
5. That I wish had better development

I'm very happy that this tag specifies these can be "five OF your favorite female characters" because I could choose five or ten for each of these categories.  So here are the ones I feel like talking about today:

1.  Protagonist:  Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) in While You Were Sleeping (1995).

I wrote here last year about how much I identify with Lucy.  More than with any other fictional character.  She's quiet, loyal, protective, generous -- wonderful character.

2.  Villain:  Drusilla (Juliet Landau)

This is hard for me to answer, because I tend to dislike villains, and there are very few I'm actually fond of.  But I get a kick out of Dru, and I love the tenderness of her relationship with Spike, its sweetness contrasting with their ruthless ways so niftily.

3.  Superhero:  Rogue/Marie (Anna Paquin) in the X-Men movies.

Yes, I chose Rogue over Black Widow.  I've loved her longer, you see -- ever since I first saw X-Men (2000).  I already loved Wolverine from the comics, and I knew he had a habit of semi-adopting young female characters as a sort of younger sister/daughter, so I absolutely loved the movie's depiction of his relationship with Rogue.

She grounds my Wolvie, gives him someone to care about and come home to, someone to protect and even mentor a little.  She reminds him that he's human, I think.  I love her mix of honesty and tentativeness, and the way she blooms over the next few movies into a confident young woman.

4.  That I would want to be friends with:  Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) from the Thin Man movies.

I must admit I have only seen the first 3 Thin Man movies, but I'm working on seeing the rest :-)  They are delicious!  Nick (William Powell) was a working stiff, a private investigator at that, and Nora is a socialite who scandalized her family and friends by marrying "beneath her."  They are an adorable couple, always pretending to bicker but really being the best pals ever, and I would love to hang out with them.

5.  That I wish had better development:  Kate McKay (Meg Ryan) in Kate & Leopold (2001).

I have issues with this movie and its character development. I do enjoy it, because how can I not enjoy Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber?  But Kate bothers me.  She's whiny and selfish and unpleasant and needy.  And she doesn't change much by the end.  So I wish she could go from being all those annoying things into someone happier and nicer, but I never feel like she really does.

Okay, I am not tagging anybody in particular because it took me sooooooooooooooooo long to do this myself.  But if you want to do this tag, please do!  It's a fun one.

"While You Were Sleeping" (1995)

I saw this in the theater when I was fifteen, the first movie I'd seen in the theater since I was eight.  It ignited my passion for seeing movies on the big screen, and I've been seeing movies in the theater whenever I can ever since.  Until then, I just didn't realize what the difference would be like.  I thought it would be bigger, but I didn't realize that the combination of a massive picture with darkness and few distractions would create a magical realm, almost a different reality.

But anyway, if you haven't seen this movie, I'll tell you what it's about (some spoilage ahead, but not of how it all turns out).  Lucy (Sandra Bullock) works for Chicago's elevated train system.  Her dad died a year ago, her mom died when she was really little, and she has no siblings.  She lives with her cat in a small apartment.  Her only friends are the person who works in the other half of her fee-collecting booth, her boss, her landlord, and her landlord's son who keeps hitting on her.  She is as lonely as possible.

A handsome guy named Peter (Peter Gallagher) starts going through her ticket booth every morning.  She imagines what it would be like if one day, he said 'hi' to her.  She imagines what it would be like if she said 'hi' back and they fell in love and got married.

Lucy works on Christmas because she has no family to spend Christmas with anyway.  Peter comes through her booth and says "Merry Christmas."  Then he gets mugged, falls on the train tracks, and is rendered unconscious.

Lucy rescues Peter.  She accompanies him to the hospital.  She says, "I was gonna marry him!" out loud.  A nurse hears that, thinks she's serious, and tells everyone Lucy is his fiancee.  His family believes this.  Peter is in a coma and can't straighten things out.  Before Lucy can figure out how to tell them the truth, the family invites her to their Christmas gathering and basically adopts her.  Suddenly she has a family, friends, people who care about her and who she cares about.

And she hasn't even met Jack (Bill Pullman) yet.  Jack, who alone of all the family is skeptical of her being Peter's fiancee.

And I'm totally not telling you any more about this movie because if you haven't seen it yet, what ARE you waiting for?  This is an adorable movie.  I love it.  My mom loves it.  My dad loves it.  YOU might as well love it!

(Also, my article in the last issue of Femnista was all about it.)

I realized a few months ago that of all the movie and book and TV show characters I have ever encountered, I identify with Lucy the most.  If I was in her situation, family-less, basically friend-less, I would behave the way she does.  I'd have a cat, I'd put up a Christmas tree just for me and the cat, I'd obligingly work on Christmas so people with families don't have to, I'd give a Christmas present to my landlord.  I'd even wear my dad's old coat and sweaters just to feel connected to him.

And if I ever met up with a guy like Jack... actually, I did meet up with a guy like Jack.  Solid, grounded, unselfish, kind, gentlemanly, funny, and thoughtful.  I just call him Cowboy instead of Jack.

So anyway, a lot of this movie takes place around Christmas, and I put it on my list of Ten Favorite Christmas Movies, and also my Ten Favorite Romantic Comedies.  In fact, this is probably one of my top twenty favorite movies ever.  Now would be a great time to watch or rewatch this!  I'm just sayin'.

Is this movie family-friendly?  It does have a couple of bad words, a couple instances of God's name taken in vain, a mention of 900 numbers, a short discussion of black underwear, and a misunderstanding where someone thinks Lucy is pregnant and she tells someone she's not because she hasn't had sex.  Only for little kids if they're with an adult who's seen it before who knows what they do and don't deem appropriate.

My Ten Favorite Romantic Comedies

I have all my comedies shelved together, but I decided that since Valentine's Day is only a week away, I would make an extra list from that section, one of movies that revolve around boy-meets-girl.  

You'll notice there are no Classic Hollywood movies here.  I kind of feel like rom-coms are a genre that began in the '80s.  Before, you had romantic dramas, and you had comedies that happened to involve romance, but you didn't really have funny movies that focused entirely on people falling in love.  There are of course a few exceptions -- the original Sabrina has a lot of humorous moments, and I almost put How to Steal a Million on here, except that its focus is really the art thievery, and the romance happens because of that.  Hmm.  Maybe I'm splitting hairs here.  Oh well.

And yes, While You Were Sleeping is on my list of Ten Favorite Christmas Movies too.  Overlaps happen, especially with movies I love very much.

1. While You Were Sleeping (1995)

When a lonely train fare collector (Sandra Bullock) rescues a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher) from being hit by a train, his family thinks she's his fiancee. I love the entire cast, from Sandra Bullock to Glynis Johns, and it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

2. Sabrina (1995)

When Sabrina (Julia Ormond) returns from Paris, suddenly dazzling instead of dowdy, her father's employer (Harrison Ford) pretends to woo her to prevent his younger brother (Greg Kinnear) from having a fling with her.  A lot sweeter than it sounds, and I much prefer it to the 1954 original because the cast has better chemistry and the whole thing works better.

3. You've Got Mail (1998)

Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks) are online penpals and real-life bookstore-owning rivals, and they don't realize who each other is until they've started falling in love.  Another remake, this time of a Jimmy Stewart movie called The Shop Around the Corner (1940), and another Greg Kinnear movie where he doesn't get the girl.  Sensing a trend here!

4. French Kiss (1995)

Kate (Meg Ryan) chases her fiance (Timothy Hutton) to Paris to win him back, and enlists the help of impossible Frenchman Luc (Kevin Kline) on the way.  Another Meg Ryan movie -- yeah, I'm a fan, especially of her '90s work.  Also, this is the only rom-com I've ever seen that involves smuggling and chase scenes.

5. Someone Like You (2001)

Jane (Ashley Judd) gets dumped and develops a theory that she thinks explains why men leave women, but her co-worker Eddie (Hugh Jackman) thinks she's both adorable and wrong.  The trend is official!  Greg Kinnear loses the girl again.  This time he's a a bit of a jerk, though, so I don't care.  

6. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Widowed Sam (Tom Hanks) and complete stranger Annie (Meg Ryan) are clearly M.F.E.O (made for each other) even though they don't meet until the end of the movie.  Far-fetched, implausible, and delicious.

7. Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)

Single, homeless, and pregnant, Connie (Ricki Lake) is mistaken for a dead man's wife and taken in by his wealthy mother (Shirley MacLaine), though his brother (Brendan Fraser) remains skeptical of her.  Also far-fetched and implausible, but very sweet anyway.  Especially the tango scene!

8. Runaway Bride (1999)

Maggie (Julia Roberts) has been to the altar three times, but never married, and newspaper columnist Ike (Richard Gere) stakes his career on her running away from her fourth fiance too.  I like this way better than the first Roberts/Gere movie, Pretty Woman (1990).

9. Moonstruck (1987)

Loretta (Cher) falls for her fiance's weird brother Ronny (Nicholas Cage), which throws her Italian family into turmoil.  More turmoil than usual, anyway.  This has all the big-ethnic-family charm that My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) needed more of.

10. A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

Robert (Ewan MacGregor) kind of accidentally kidnaps his employer's daughter (Cameron Diaz), and two wacky angels have to get them to fall in love or lose their jobs.  Yes, it's a very odd, very quirky movie.  But worth seeing for Ewan's rendition of "Beyond the Sea" alone.  Rated R for violence an profanity, though, just FYI.

Also, the soundtracks for While You Were Sleeping, Sabrina, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and Runaway Bride are some of my favorite soundtracks of all time.  In fact, Sabrina was one of the first soundtracks I ever bought.

My Ten Favorite Christmas Movies

I haven't watched a single Christmas movie yet, and a whole week of December has passed already.  Argh!  Anyway, I decided to list my favorite Christmas movies even though several of these will show up on other lists too.  I don't think of a couple of these as strictly Christmas movies, but they either occur during Christmas or involve Christmasy stuff, so in they go.

I was originally doing these lists in order of how genres are arranged on my shelves, but I'm skipping over a few sections to get to this one because it wouldn't make much sense to post these in February, hee.

1.  White Christmas (1954)

A team of showbiz stars (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) try to rescue a retired general (Dean Jagger) from bankruptcy by staging a show at his ski lodge.  I've watched this almost every single Christmas season for two decades, and I never get tired of it.

2.  We're No Angels (1955)

Three escaped convicts (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray) try to rescue a bumbling businessman (Leo G. Carroll) from his unscrupulous cousin (Basil Rathbone).  Possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen, and also one of the most heart-warming.  DO NOT get the 1989 remake by mistake.

3.  While You Were Sleeping (1995)

When a lonely train fare collector (Sandra Bullock) rescues a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher) from being hit by a train, his family mistakes her for his fiancee.  My favorite romantic comedy, my favorite Sandra Bullock role, my favorite Bill Pullman role, and another of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

4.  It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

George Bailey (James Stewart) decides he's worth more dead than alive, and it takes an unlikely angel (Henry Travers) all of Christmas Eve to convince him otherwise.  There's a reason it's so famous -- it's really that good.

5.  A Christmas Carol (1999)

Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart) learns not to be so stingy.  A stellar performance from Stewart elevates this above the usual made-for-TV Christmas movie.

6.  The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) is tasked with shutting down a Catholic school run by Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), who is determined to save it.  I like this a lot better than Going My Way (1944), Crosby's other turn as O'Malley.

7.  Love, Actually (2003)

Lots of Londoners (played by a star-studded cast) learn that love is actually all around us.  This is my guiltiest pleasure, as it's chock full of naughty bits.  But it's so sweet and so funny that I can't help loving it.

8.  The Santa Clause (1994)

When single dad Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) accidentally kills Santa Claus, he's informed by Bernard the Elf (David Krumholtz) that now he'll become Santa Claus instead.  Silly, with some overly childish humor, but very enjoyable.

9.  Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

A skeptical little girl (Natalie Wood) meets a man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) who tries to convince her he's the real Santa Claus.  One of my favorite Maureen O'Hara movies.

10.  The Nutcracker (1977)

A beautiful version of Tchaikovsky's ballet about a little girl who dreams her toy nutcracker comes alive and takes her on an adventure.  Starring the amazing Mikhail Baryshnikov, who also choreographed it.

Do you have any favorite Christmas movies?  Got any recommendations of things I should try to find and watch?  Please share!

Unexpectedly Joyful Morning

At the public library on Saturday, I walked past the CD collection on my way to the stacks, and happened to see the soundtrack for While You Were Sleeping (1995).  I thought, "Hey, I love that movie -- why have I never listened to the soundtrack?"  I got it, put it on top of the little CD player in my kitchen, and forgot about it until this morning when I was making breakfast.

I popped it in (had to take out the Les Miserables soundtrack, a birthday gift from my dad), turned it on, and didn't stop grinning for several minutes.  I hummed and whistled along with nearly every cue.  Before I'd even listened to the whole thing, I went to Amazon.com and ordered my own copy.  It's such happy, bouncy music (with some pensive tracks thrown in), and brings back so many great memories of the movie, of people I've watched the movie with... I love it!

I first saw While You Were Sleeping in the theater with two of my best friends, the morning after a sleepover.  A year or so later, I rented it and watched it with my mom -- not sure where my dad and brother were.  She loved it too, and before long, we owned a copy.  My dad and brother then watched it too, and also found it hilarious.  Really, just a fun, sweet movie. I watched it many times in college with various friends too.

Anyway, you can listen to the soundtrack on YouTube here.