Although all god-fearing film buffs are spending time with their families or huddling en mass in some stiff wooden pews on December 25th, some studio execs think it's a great idea to release movies. Maybe they think it's like a little present for those of us who've invested so much money and time in their products over the course of the fiscal year-they are a sort-of cinematic holiday stocking stuffer. Then again, more often, these Christmas Day releases sit more like a lump of coal than visions of sugarplums and whatever-the-hell else.
Ali, Dir. Michael Mann (2001).
Christmas gross: $10,216,625
Can anyone say 'Willenium'? Will Smith's measured ascent out of the mire of smart-alecky black guy typecasting (Men in Black, Independence Day) culminated in a deft portrayal of Cassius Clay in this typically 'inspiring' sports biopic. But strong performances by Jon Voight as Howard Kossel, Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X and Smith himself, who received an Oscar nod for his portrayal of a young free-floatin' heavyweight powerhouse, managed to make this more than standard big-budget holiday fare. 'Cos nothing shouts Christmas more than a flick about a draft-dodging boxer who ditches his slave name and joins the Nation of Islam, right?
Catch Me If You Can, Dir. Steven Spielberg (2002). Christmas gross: $9,882,063
This cat-and-mouse 'true story' of professional confidence man Frank Abagnale Jr. and his obsessive FBI pursuer put a far share of asses in the seats Christmas Day, which probably has a lot to do with the combined dreamboat star-power of Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio and some Steven Something-or-other who directed it. A cool bebop score by John Williams and all the bad daddy subtext make it fairly standard Spielberg fare.
Dreamgirls, Dir. Bill Condon (2006).
Christmas gross: $8,726,095
Based on the Broadway play of the same name, here's a conventional musical that (astoundingly!) doubles as a period piece and triples as a showcase for Eddie Murphy acting so decently you'd swear that wasn't him who starred in Daddy Daycare (or The Haunted Mansion or Pluto Nash or Vampire in Brooklyn or whatever else he was in since Beverly Hills Cop II). Fellow comic-cum-serious thespian Jamie Foxx puts in a similarly passable performance. Apparently this movie was nominated for a bunch of awards, too.
2008 Woodie Awards
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