Every year around Christmas this topic comes up for discussion, is hotly debated, never settled and then kept aside till the following year. The topic being ‘Which is the best Christmas movie- Love Actually or Die Hard?’ There are memes, jokes, articles (and podcasts too, I’m sure) which hold forth on the pros and cons of each movie. I think the fun is more in the discussions than in watching the movies, which is why this debate gets recycled endlessly.
Having watched both movies several times – yes, I’m a fan and yes we do still exist- my vote goes unequivocally to … Love Actually. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard and read all the arguments that point out what a problematic movie it is and my response is still the same- Save your breath, I don’t care. Although I do agree with the popular opinion that Alan Rickman deserved what he got in Die Hard because of what he did to Emma Thompson in Love Actually!
So, there is actually a Christmas movie called ‘Love Hard’ and it’s on Netflix. It’s a story of a boy and a girl- one likes Love Actually. the other is a fan of Die Hard and the twain does meet in time for the expected happy ending. I’m mentioning this because Love Hard happens to be less insipid, less trite and less vapid than the barrage of Christmas movies that flood the streaming platforms during this season.
Fortunately, there are also a equal number, if not more; of reels and videos that spoof these movies and I watch them all. For once I’m grateful to the algorithm because it keeps my Instagram feed well supplied with parodies of Christmas movies and they are a hoot! Every year I promise myself that I won’t watch any of these movies, but it’s like trying to keep away from an unhealthy snack that you know will make you feel sick later but which you want to take a bite of anyway. I began this month with Champagne Problems (meh+) moved on to Jingle Bell Heist (just meh), then Secret Santa (meh++) and finally landed on Love Hard. It was only after sitting through the first 15 minutes that I realised I had already seen it last year. Which only goes to show how trite and predictable these films are. One can never tell if the feeling of ‘deja vu’ that sets in is because the movie has been watched before or because the story is so predictable and cliched.
And this brings me to the point of this post- if I have a to watch a problematic, predictable Christmas movie, I would rather just pick one that I have seen several times, enjoyed thoroughly and maybe even know the script and dialogues. Why should I put myself through the ordeal of surfing across movies that look and sound the same and are as appealing as a bowl of vanilla ice cream without the nuts or toppings or any other flavour?
It’s another matter that neither Love Actually nor Die Hard are available for viewing on any of the platforms I have access to. Those good old days of DVDs, DVD players and DVD drives are sorely missed at times like this. Do better, Netflix!!
As to why I choose to subject myself to movies that I know will fail to hold my interest after the first five minutes… that’s a matter for another post. Yipee-ki-yay!!
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