Home Alone‘s Kevin McCallister set the standard for spending the holiday alone. His example has never been more relevant than now—when some of us will be spending the 2020 holiday alone. We may be able to jump up and down on our beds, eat junk food, and establish an elaborate array of bobby traps (if you so desire), but it won’t be as meaningful a large gathering of loved ones. That said, it’s time to inject a little cheer/spirit (good and bad) into your streaming schedule via Christmas classics, old and new. A stay-at-home holiday isn’t ideal but we’re here to make it the best it can possibly be. Hence the Mandatory Streaming Guide For the Best 2020 Holiday Alone.
Cover Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
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Holiday streaming guide
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'The Christmas Chronicles 2,' Netflix
Three years ago, if you would’ve told us a movie about kids trying to catch Santa on camera and that Claus would be played by Kurt Russell, we’d have passed. However, The Christmas Chronicles worked, really, really well. This year, Snake Plissken dons red once again, along with real-life partner Goldie Hawn (Mrs. Claus), for The Christmas Chronicles 2 directed by Harry Potter and Home Alone vet, Chris Columbus.
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'Bad Santa,' VOD
No Christmas movie subverts the expectations associated with a Christmas movie better than Bad Santa. The dark comedy follows drunk and depressed conman Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) as they pose as a mall Santa and his elf, ripping off shopping outlets on Christmas Eve.
Rent it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, or wherever else you can find it.
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'It's a Wonderful Life,' Amazon
It’s a Wonderful Life follows suicidal George Bailey (James Stewart) as his guardian angel, Clarence, shows him what life would have been like had he never been born. Confined to his hometown, George feels like he missed out on seeing the world. Throughout the film, George learns how much of an impact his deeds have had on those around him, no matter how big or small. If there’s one film that can help us appreciate the seemingly mundane, it’s Frank Capra’s classic.
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'Home Alone,' Disney+
The boy, the myth, the legend—8-year-old Kevin McCallister’s story about being mistakenly left home alone for the holiday. Enter two con men (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern), and Kevin must access his inner Jigsaw and torment the pair until they leave.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York is also streaming on Disney+.
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'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' Disney+
The Henry Selick directed/Tim Burton produced, The Nightmare Before Christmas, follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, and his beef with Christmastown—which is a much more joyful place than Halloweentown. Therefore, Jack attempts to kidnap Santa Claus (as you do). This stop-motion classic is necessary viewing during the holiday season.
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'A Christmas Carol (1951),' Amazon
The grand poobah of all adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Alastair Sim churns out a nuanced performance as stern Victorian businessman Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future—showing him the error of his parsimonious ways and revitalizing his love of life and Christmas cheer.
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'Scrooged,' VOD
A modern take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with Bill Murray playing the titular scrooge (how can one resist that?)—Frank Cross, a television executive whose cold nature alienates the love of his life, Claire Phillips (Karen Allen). Similar to the story that inspired it, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts that give him a chance to right the wrongs of his past.
Rent it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, or wherever else you can find it.
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'Lethal Weapon,' HBO Max
Director Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon (written by Shane Black) is the quintessential buddy cop film. Following the epic pairing of Mel Gibson's reckless (understatement) Martin Riggs and Danny Glover's "I'm too old for this" Roger Murtaugh as they uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring. Lethal Weapon, like Die Hard, is an unconventional Christmas movie that doesn't want to associate with the holidays. Because yes, it takes place during the "silly season."
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'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,' VOD
Writer/director Shane Black loves buddy cop films and Christmas in L.A. This under-appreciated noir parody classic follows crook Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) after stumbling into an audition and winning a role while running from the cops. Harry and private eye Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer), who’s hired to give Harry on-the-job tutelage for his screen test, find themselves tangled up in a Hollywood conspiracy involving Harry’s childhood sweetheart, Harmony Lane (Michelle Monaghan).
Rent it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, or again, wherever else you can find it. Good luck.
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'Miracle on 34th Street (1947),' Disney+
This classic story is about a mall Santa by the name of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gween) who takes his job very seriously. In fact, he actually believes he’s the real Santa Claus—which leads to a court case to determine his mental health as well as the truth of such a claim. Miracle on 34th Street challenges not only its characters' disbelief in fairy tales but its audience's.
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'The Santa Clause,' Disney+
'90s Tim Allen was basically a god (Toy Story, Home Improvement, etc.). He was also Santa Claus ergo the plot of 1994’s The Santa Clause about a man who accidentally kills Santa and must take up the big red mantel. However, divorced dad Scott Calvin has to do more than grow a white beard and gain 100 pounds (that happens overnight) in order to fill the big guy’s boots.
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'Happiest Season,' Hulu
A fresh take on the holiday rom-com stars Kristen Stewart as Abby, a young woman planning to propose to her girlfriend, Harper (Mackenzie Davis), while at the latter’s family Christmas party. Twist: Harper hasn’t told her super-conservative family that she’s gay—they think Abby is just a friend. Happiest Season’s stellar cast is rounded out by Dan Levy, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Mary Steenburgen.
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'Soul,' Disney+
Existential crises have become commonplace at Pixar. Their latest outing, Soul, follows Joe (Jamie Foxx), a jazz musician/middle-school band teacher who finally gets his big break. Unfortunately for Joe, he falls down a manhole shortly after. When he travels to another realm, unwilling to move on, Joe teaches another soul (one that has not lived), 22 (Tina Fey), the beauty of life. This may not be a Christmas movie but it is certainly a celebration.
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'Black Mirror: White Christmas,' Netflix
All you need to know about this episode of Black Mirror is that it follows two men (Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall) who share a Christmas meal in a mysterious and remote outpost. In their isolation, they swap tales of how they ended up there. In typical Black Mirror fashion, season 2, episode 5, “White Christmas,” will make you question everything about how you engage with technology and social media.
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'Die Hard,' Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube TV, Amazon
Die Hard is the most hotly-debated “Christmas movie” of all time. Let’s set the record straight: it is indeed a Christmas movie. New York City policeman John McClane's holiday trip to California—in which he thwarts a group of terrorists plan to steal $640 million in bearer bonds—epitomizes Christmas gone wrong.
Yippee Ki-Yay: 'Die Hard' Is a Reminder That Christmas Isn't Always as Advertised
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'Elf,' Hulu, Starz, Amazon
Everyone’s favorite Will Ferrell Christmas movie about Buddy the Elf’s (human raised by Santa’s elves) journey from the North Pole to New York in search of his father (James Caan). We’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, and it’s time to watch it again.
Also available on YouTube TV, Sling TV, FuboTV...pretty much everywhere.
