Showing posts with label Muppet Christmas Carol. Show all posts

When Love is Gone

My family always watches The Muppet Christmas Carol before Christmas. This morning we're watching it again, and I have to mention the one thing that bugs me when it's on TV. The song "When Love is Gone" is cut out every time. That annoys me to no end. Ooh, that scene is about to start right now...aaaand it's over. I've read that it wasn't shown in theaters either, but that's no excuse. Without it, the scene is too short. Scrooge says he loves Belle. She says he did once and walks away. Everyone is in tears, but it seems unearned and it was odd to me when I was young. Then I saw the full version at some point and can't see why it wasn't worthy of inclusion. The song gives emotion and build up to the breakup, Scrooge breaking down before the end. The song also mirrors the one in the closing scene, "When Love is Found." It has opposing lyrics set to the same melody. Here a sad memory gives way to happy, new beginnings; an old man singing to a ghost and crying alone turns into that man having a wealth of friends. It never made sense to me to remove it since it was so tied into the fabric of the narrative in that way.

I used to watch only the version with that song in it every year. Now that we've been DVRing it since we no longer have a working VCR in the living room to watch that old tape, we haven't heard that song for a few years now. (Keeping the tape, though. I have a VCR in my bedroom and can't throw it away.) We continually forget to replace the movie, though I swear I remember buying it. And as I was wondering this out loud, I discovered that we got the Blu-ray for Christmas. I hope it plays in its entirety or that it's in deleted scenes.

Read More
, , ,

A Very Short Conversation About Bad Acting

Mom: "I changed to Hallmark Channel to see if they were playing any Christmas movies. This has really bad acting." 

Me: "Oh, you finally noticed! You know why?"

Mom: "Why?"

Me: "Because you've watched John Noble on Fringe."

Mom: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Because he's awesome!"

Mom: "Oh... Yeah, he's very believable as an actor." 

YES! John Noble is one of the greatest (and most overlooked) actors ever and he's at the top of his game. He couldn't get any better. Noble is believable in every word, action, and expression, with a talent that's incredibly deep and a heart to match.

My mom usually ignores bad acting to watch any cutesy romantic Christmas movie just because she wants to get in the mood for the upcoming holiday and it doesn't really require her to pay attention. Perfect while doing other things. As for me, if I want to get in the mood it will be with Christmas Vacation or A Christmas Story. If I want to both laugh and shed a tear, then it's The Muppet Christmas Carol (Blu-ray, DVD). Michael Caine is superb in it. It's such a wonderful movie that I randomly whistle tunes from it all year long.

You know what hasn't been on in forever? Santa Claus: The Movie with Dudley Moore. Not the best thing ever, but I loved it as a kid anyway. Hmm, what else? I think I'm the only one in my family who likes Scrooged. Also, Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special, which I finally watched a few weeks ago. It's hilarious and sweet.

That's all I can really think of for Christmas movies right now. There are plenty of others I'm sure, but these are the ones I love and could never get sick of watching, the ones that are good enough to watch for 24 hours straight.

Edit (1/21/14): Um, how did I forget the first two Home Alone movies? Shame on me.

Read More
, , , , ,

The Summer of the Soul in...Mid May

Somewhere around the end of January the cravings to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol fade. You think you can make it to next Christmas, but you're always wrong. But as summertime approaches you start whistling...


Is it just me and my brothers who randomly start singing these songs at any time of year?
Read More
, , ,

It is the Summer of the Soul in December

So, where are all the Christmas movies? Seems like they're mostly nothing but low quality, badly acted Lifetime and ABC Family productions. All I've seen so far is The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is a yearly (sometimes seasonal) ritual, and Home Alone 2; and we DVR'd A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott. Uh, Christmas Vacation, you're on for a month straight in the summer. Are you waiting now until Christmas Day? (Update: Nope, just until Christmas week) Why must A Christmas Story only be shown for 24 hours on one day of the year? Why does no one ever show Santa Clause: The Movie, with Dudley Moore and John Lithgow? I sometimes forget that The Grinch Who Stole Christmas even exists. White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and It's a Wonderful Life? All nowhere to be found. I guess that's why I never saw them in my life until last year, because they only get played on that one busy travel and family day. Halloween movies get the entire month of October and more, so why be so stingy with the Christmas movies? Come on people.

But if you watch only one Christmas movie this year, and for some reason you need a suggestion, I would say it has to be The Muppet Christmas Carol. I was going to write my own review about it, but I know of one that has done all the work for me. Robert Berg is an insightful reviewer that goes in-depth and catches things the average viewer misses. I still must say in my own words, though, that this is not only my favorite Christmas movie but one of my favorite movies period. I could watch it at any time of year and have. The Muppets are always funny (realized I'm wearing an Animal shirt right now), but the biggest draw for me is and always has been the incredible Michael Caine, who treats his fellow felt actors as flesh and blood. There isn't one moment where his performance seems insincere. Caine is whole-heartedly engaged in this world and brings a tear to your eye with no more than a tear in his.

If you buy the DVD and watch in widescreen, a song was cut from the Ghost of Christmas Past scene with Belle that was essential to breaking through to Scrooge and breaking him down. The performance of "When Love is Gone" is where we get to see the depth of Scrooge's pain after reliving his worst moment, but they cut it so drastically that he gets there with no effort whatsoever. It also has a companion piece at the end called "When Love is Found." Why they didn't show it, and still don't on TV, is a mystery to me.

Update: I have the old tape from 1992 that my family watches a number of times a year. The DVD has been out for years and I never bought it because the song was missing from the widescreen version. Although, it's included in the pan-and-scan on the same disc. I kept waiting for a new version, and now that Blu-ray exists there's still no sign of it. I'm doing some last minute shopping today, the 23rd of December, and I don't think I can hold out any longer. Have to get it. As soon as I do, that's when Disney will announce the Blu-ray, which you can watch for at the Blu-ray.com forum. You can watch the fan forum for the announcement. Coincidentally, I'm also going to see The Muppets today before it's out of theaters. It will be a day of Muppety goodness.

Read More
, ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)