It's the time of year when I watch my favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard! Not a Christmas movie, you say? I beg to differ! Let's look at the evidence:
- It takes place at Christmas time, at a Christmas party;
- It has a typical Christmas movie plot of an estranged husband and father trying to reunite with his family for the holiday;
- Christmas is referenced several times in the dialogue;
- The hero uses Christmas decorations to aid his quest (the Santa hat, the Christmas tape);
- Jingle bells can be heard from time to time in the score, hilariously during many suspenseful scenes, and the soundtrack includes Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC and Let It Snow;
- The hero's wife's name is Holly (get it?).
Clearly, Die Hard is a Christmas movie disguised as one of the best action movies ever. It not only established Bruce Willis as an action star (he'd been a largely comedic actor up until that point), it launched the film career of the incredible Alan Rickman (no one could have made the line "I read the article in Forbes" more compelling). It may not be a typically heartwarming Christmas movie, but the part where Bonnie Bedelia punches the obnoxious reporter is certainly very satisfying. So take a break from the usual fare, and enjoy a more exciting movie this Christmas. Yippee ki-yay!
