Ten Christmas movies to watch these days on Netflix

by Gabriele Giannini , published on 17/12/2020
Categories: Cinema, theater and TV / Disclaimer

Classic movies, romantic movies, cartoon movies, comedy or funny movies: filmmakers of every latitude indulge in Christmas movies. And these days, movies about Christmas abound: we have selected ten of them running on Netflix to give you a few holiday-themed moments!

1. Love Actually - Love Really, by Richard Curtis, starring Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman and Keira Knightley (GBA/USA, 2003, running time 135 minutes)
A choral comedy with a stellar cast about the many loves that blossom or end right around Christmas time: the newly elected prime minister, a handsome, single young man, falls in love with one of the maids at his Downing street residence; his sister discovers that her husband, a manager at a design agency, no longer loves her (he is attracted to her secretary), but pretends otherwise so as not to upset their children; Juliet and Peter just got married, but the latter’s best friend confesses to the girl that he is in love with her; Sarah, one of the wedding guests, is unable to fulfill her dream of love as she has to take care of her mentally ill brother; writer Jamie, after discovering that his girlfriend was cheating on him with his brother, moves to Marseilles where he falls in love with his maid; a widower helps his 11-year-old son win the heart of a girl his age; a blowhard bellboy becomes convinced that he cannot get a girl because all the girls in England are frigid and moves to America convinced that he will be more successful there; two porn film extras, despite their occupation, are shy, but as they mimic sexual intercourse, they nonetheless establish a beautiful relationship. All this while rock and roll singer Billy Mack climbs the charts with his new Christmas song.

2. Klaus - The Secrets of Christmas, by Sergio Pablos, with the voices of Marco Mengoni, Francesco Pannofino, Ambra Angiolini, Carla Signoris, Renato Ceccetto and Neri Marcoré (Spain, 2019, running time 98 minutes)
How and where did the myth of Santa Claus originate? It all begins when lazy and spoiled young letter carrier Jesper is assigned to open a post office in Smeerensburg, a fictitious village located on an island in the Arctic Circle, where he must deliver at least 6,000 letters within a year. The village is divided into two factions that are always fighting each other on a daily basis, making Jesper’s stay and work difficult. He soon discovers that Klaus, the lonely, gruff woodsman who lives in the nearby forest, has an innate talent for inventing fantastic toys that beguile children, so the letter carrier exploits this discovery to persuade children to write letters to Klaus. Initially out of interest, Jesper will see that his new activity brings joy to Smeerensburg, and his collaboration with Klaus, initially reluctant, will turn into a beautiful friendship. Both ironic and poetic, the film teaches how one act of goodness is enough for another to be born. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Film and winner of the BAFTA and Annie Award (the Animation Oscar) in the same category.

3. Gremlins, by Joe Dante, with Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Corey Feldman, and Keye Luke (USA, 1984, running time 106 minutes)
A famous horror comedy by Joe Dante, “Gremlins” tells of teenager Billy Peltzer’s unusual Christmas present: a “mogwai.” This cuddly pet, who will be christened Gizmo, must be cared for by observing three basic rules: do not feed it after midnight, do not expose it to strong light, especially that of the sun, which can even kill it, and do not bathe it or give it water to drink. The boy, little by little, transgresses two of these rules with the result that the baby mogwai will give birth to other mogwai who will soon turn into grotesque and mischievous beings that will wreak havoc throughout the town. Produced by Steven Spielberg.

4. A Prince for Christmas, by Alex Zamm, starring Rose McIver, Ben Lamb, Alice Krige, Honor Kneafsey and Sarah Douglas (USA, 2017, running time 92 minutes)
Young journalist Amber Moore is assigned to travel to Europe, to the fictitious kingdom of Aldovia to attend a press conference of Prince Richard, who, according to rumors, would like to shake off his inheritance to the throne to continue living the good life. When the conference is canceled at the last minute, Amber pretends to be the new guardian of Richard’s paraplegic sister, Princess Emily. Her stay at the palace will not only lead her to become attached to the little princess, but also to get to know Prince Richard better, so much so that she falls in love with him. There are also two sequels to the film: A Prince for Christmas - Royal Wedding (2018) and A Prince for Christmas - Royal Baby (2019).

5. The Grinch, by Ron Howard, starring Jim Carrey, Bill Irwin, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, and Taylor Momsen (USA, 2000, running time 105 minutes)
First adaptation from life of the children’s book of the same name by Dr. Seuss (born Theodor Seuss Geisel), the film features the energetic and squishy Jim Carrey playing the grumpy and malevolent green fur-covered being who hates Christmas so much that he steals the decorations, presents and food supplies for the banquets in the nearby town of Chinonsò disguised as Santa Claus, only to discover later, when the townspeople continue to celebrate by singing even deprived of their possessions, that Christmas is about more than consumerism and materialism. As the original book is a short novel of only a few pages and written as a nursery rhyme (all Dr. Seuss books have this structure), the film lengthens the story by explaining, through flashbacks, what drove the Grinch to hate the most beloved holiday of the year and by giving more space to the character of Cindy Chi Lou, becoming the first to notice the good side of the mischievous antagonist and doing everything possible so that the other Nonsochians notice it as well.

6. Someone Save Christmas, by Clay Kaytis, starring Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp and Kimberly Williams-Paisley (USA, 2018, running time 104 minutes)
After the death of his father, Teddy Pierce no longer believes in Santa Claus, unlike his younger sister Kate who wants to obtain filmic evidence of his arrival in their home. As it happens, Santa arrives and is filmed, but the two brothers even go so far as to sneak into his sleigh and accidentally damage it. Thus begins a struggle against time to deliver all the presents before Christmas is over. Kurt Russell plays an unusual Santa Claus who, to instill Christmas spirit in a police station, performs an engaging musical number. Produced by Chris Columbus, director of Mama Lost the Plane and the first two Harry Potters, who directed the sequel released this year that adds Goldie Hawn to the cast as Santa’s wife.

7. Love Doesn’t Take a Holiday, by Nancy Meyers with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black (U.S., 2006, running time 136 minutes)
The director of What Women Want directs a Christmas-themed romantic comedy with a stellar cast. A British journalist (Winslet) and a film trailer editor from Losa Angeles (Diaz) decide to spend the Christmas vacation exchanging homes via an Internet ad by the former. Both veterans of sentimental disappointments, the two women will find love in each other’s homeland: the journalist will fall in love with the editor’s sympathetic collaborator (Black), while the latter meets the brother of the owner of her house (Law), a handsome widower with two delightful daughters.

8. In the Shoes of a Princess, by Michael Rohl, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Sam Palladio, Nick Sagar and Suanne Braun (USA, 2018, running time 101 minutes)
Yet another reimagining of The Prince and the Pauper, the film sees a young pastry chef travel with her partner and his orphaned daughter to Europe, to the fictional kingdom of Belgravia, to participate in a televised pastry competition in the presence of royalty. During the rehearsal, she will meet the betrothed of the local prince who, to the surprise of both of them, is a look-alike of her. As the future princess is a reserved woman who wants to stay out of the spotlight, she proposes to her twin that they swap roles for a few days. Inevitably, the confectioner will fall in love with the prince of Belgravia, while the duchess will harbor feelings for her doppelganger’s friend. There is a sequel to the film, where there are now three look-alikes, and another one is in the works.

9. Il peggior Natale della mia vita, by Antonio Genovese, starring Fabio De Luigi, Cristiana Capotondi, Antonio Catania, Laura Chiatti, and Diego Abatantuono (Italy, 2014, running time 89 minutes)
A Christmas sequel to La peggior settimana della mia vita (The Worst Week of My Life), the film sees Paolo (De Luigi) and Margherita (Capotondi) spending Christmas with her family at Alberto Caccia’s (Abatantuono) castle. The clumsy Paolo will get up to all sorts of mischief, even leading everyone to believe that Alberto is dead. Also available on Netflix is Soap opera, another Christmas comedy by Genovese, again starring De Luigi and Capotondi.

10. Holidate, by John Witesell, starring Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Andrew Bachelor, Frances Fisher, and Kristin Chenoweth (USA, 2020, running time 104 minutes)
Sloane is tired of spending Christmas with relatives who nag her about her disappointing love life. Jackson, who lives far away from his family, resorts to blind dates to avoid spending the holidays alone, but the last one did not go the way he wanted. The two boys meet by chance at the mall and, confiding in each other’s disappointments, decide to spend all the holidays of the year together as friends. From New Year’s Eve to Easter, from the Fourth of July to Halloween, the two will end up having feelings for each other, amid uncertainties, awkward moments and eventual jealousies. After fighting on Thanksgiving, they will reunite as Christmas approaches.

Ten Christmas movies to watch these days on Netflix

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