Well it's that time of the year again the Christmas season is filled with those Rankin Bass classics and sitcoms paying homage to the Christmas Carol in full Scrooge glory. And I would like to propose to Holly jolliest of people to mix it up a bit and throw in one of the lesser known Christmas classics. In the past, I offered up Die Hard and Lethal Weapon as healthy festive changes of pace. This year let me suggest the "timeless" thin storyline of a Bruckheimer version of a Christmas parable: The Enemy of the State.
Okay, first knee jerk reaction is that Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer don't do Christmas. They do and they blow it up nice with all the fixing you expect from a Blockbuster. On top of that, I would argue this is the perfect holiday classic. No need to watch every second of this flick as you wrap presents, cook a turkey or deal with Santa anticipating kids. If you miss a bit of "story", no worries, every 20 minutes the plot will be reiterated to you by one of the players. If you don't get the less than subtle message of the movie, let me sum it up real quick: you better watch out, you better not cry, someone is looking if your naughty or nice.
So, It's pretty fun, in the sense it's basically a straight up chase movie centered around Christmas gifts gone bad. As usual, I am not going to give away the less than basic plot but it's all about the holiday giving and sometimes the giving invokes exploding buildings. Merry Christmas with a bang.
Some notable other reasons to watch this new holiday classic is the cast old and new. Will smith in one of his early staring roles that would eventually lead to his super stardom. Jack black, Seth Green, Jamie Kennedy, all up and comers showing glimpse of their comedic future in the confined of the Tony Scott stylistic extravaganza. Jon Voight as the villain, Lisa Bonet and Gabriel Byrns all add to the roster of the cast.
Most importantly , Gene Hackman reprising his role of Harry Caull, the sound expert from the 70's classic, the Conversation. This movie is arguably Francis Ford Coppolas best movie. If you haven't enjoyed this masterfully crafted movie made/directed by Francis Ford Coppola (edited and sound design by Walter Murch!) and the cast and crew of film icons, you haven't seen or experienced true cinema.
Yes it's one of my favourite movies, I studied it and watched repeatedly throughout film school. Moreover, it is set in ... Christmas time. This does't really make the cut of a Christmas classic but definitely a Boxing Day screener.
Please sprinkle these classics during you holiday break and have a safe and Happy holidays!