The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 10: 'Trading Places'

If you haven’t seen Trading Places I’m going to ask you to turn off your computer and immediately go to your nearest TV and start watching, it’s available on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, so assuming you have one of those services (if you’re reading this site I’d say that’s a certainty) it won’t cost you a dime. Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd in their prime, a young and gorgeous Jamie Lee Curtis and more classic 80s comedy moments than you can shake a stick at (where did that saying come from…like, who was shaking sticks at things in the first place? Is it a witch reference…like with a wand? Can you tell I’m somewhat ADD?). As a matter of fact, one could argue that Trading Places invented many of those 80s comedy tropes being as it came out relatively early in the decade, 1983. Today we know Eddie Murphy as the quintessential buddy comedy actor, this film gave him those roots. Sure, he had 48 Hrs. prior to this but really that movie was much more action and Nick Nolte is far from a comic counterbalance.

For the 3 of you who don’t know, Trading Places is about two guys who have their lives swapped by the old grumpy guys from The Muppet Showon a $1 bet. Ok, I made up the Muppet show bit but there’s no way that you can deny the similarities. Basically Dan Aykroyd plays Louis Winthorpee III, a spoiled yuppie and president of Duke & Duke, a stock trading firm. After literally running into homeless con man Bill Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) Winthorpe accuses Valentine of trying to steal his briefcase and has him arrested. Meanwhile the Duke Brothers place a $1 bet that if they make the two switch stations in life Winthorpe will turn to crime and Valentine will become a success, basically a nature vs. nurture scenario. The next thing you know the Duke’s are bailing Valentine out of jail and giving him Winthorpe’s job, home, and butler. Meanwhile they frame Winthorpe for stealing and plant drugs on him to have him arrested. In comes the prostiture with a heart of gold, Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) who sees Winthorpe as a good investment opportunity and agrees to help him get back his life if she pays him back plus interest.

Where do I start? Like I stated earlier this is Aykroyd and Murphy at their best. Watching Aykroyd play this snooty pampered rich boy is nothing short of perfect. Obviously the highlight of the funny is Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray Valentine, look no further than the prison scene for proof of that. The glue of the film is the chemistry, not just between Aykroyd and Murphy, but also the group as a whole when you mix in Jamie Lee Curtis and Denholm Elliot who plays Coleman the butler. The funniest scene of the flick, in my opinon, is when all four of them are together on a train during New Year’s Eve in disguise.  Of the movies made by that 80’s comedy crew (Aykroyd, Murphy, Chevy Chase, etc) this one sits near the top, a lot of people would put Caddyshack in front of it, but not me.

So where’s the Christmas angle? All around my dear friend, all around. The movie takes place during the holiday season and really has the benefit of being the only film on our list to tackle both Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The atmosphere of the film is drenched in yuletide trimmings, with one of the most memorable scenes having a drunk Winthorpe crashing the Duke & Duke Christmas party in a dirty Santa suit. This is another one of those films that has less to do with the sugary sweet Christmas spirit and more something to watch as a buffer between the more saccharine faire. As we talked about before with Lethal Weapon these buffer films are essential so you don’t get burned out too quickly but can still stay in the Christmas theme. 

I leave you with Billy Ray Valentine's Karate Man demonstration

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The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 9: 'Scrooged'

Charles Dickens was probably unaware that when he wrote A Christmas Carol he was writing the most prolific Christmas tale in history. A story that has spawned a thousand incarnations including, but not limited to, both a Muppet and Disney version of Ebenezer Scrooge’s tale of redemption. Needless to say it takes a lot to stand out in a pool that deep. We shouldn’t be surprised though, if anyone can stand out in a crowd its Bill F%#king Murray.

Scrooged takes on the classic A Christmas Carol format with the story of Frank Cross, an ultimate 80s business man/capitalist type who’s forsaken all of the good things in life like love, family and friends, for his career as the head of television network. Framing the story is the production of IBC’s (the network) live production of, you guessed it, A Christmas Carol. So right there you know a little about Frank, he’s making the entire production work all night Christmas Eve to put on a live show. The film starts with Frank firing an executive, Elliot Laudermilk (played perfectly by Bobcat Goldthwait), giving his brother the shaft both in the gift he’s sending and by not attending his yearly Christmas party, and screwing over his long suffering assistant Grace. Summary: Frank’s a dick. In comes the ghost of his mentor warning Frank of a visit from three ghosts and we’re on our way.

Bill Murray, it’s Bill Murray. There are a ton of reasons that this movie is a top 3 choice for me around Christmas but none of it works without Murray. We know he’s great at playing the jerk so that’s no surprise, but it’s what makes him likeable that really cements it. There’s a fine line between that funny sarcastic guy in your social group and the jerk-off that no one wants to hang out with, Murray has always expertly towed that line and it’s no more on display than it is during Scrooged. There’s also the little things that he always brings to his performances that are so endearing, things that I can’t really put a finger on. Things like a certain inflection he puts on words and the way his voice gets really high when he’s excited, it all wraps together to create the perfect Ebenezer Scrooge-esque character.

Murray alone does not a classic make, the ensemble really launches this flick into the atmosphere. I already mentioned Bobcat Goldthwait, who I’ve always had a soft spot for. Then there’s Karen Allen as Cross’s long lost love Claire, who’s impossibly cute doe-eyed look makes you believe she could melt the ice around Frank’s heart. Alfre Woodard’s Grace in the Bob Cratchit role. It’s her section of the story that really brings the Christmas spirit. The scene where Frank sees her family in their small apartment, a grandma, Grace, and four kids without a Christmas tree because they couldn’t afford it, this is where the change begins to happen. It’s really a life lesson for everyone around Christmas, here’s this family with little to nothing and still they are the happiest bunch in the whole film. I challenge anyone to not get misty eyed when Grace’s son (the tiny Tim of our story) says “God Bless us every one” in the closing minutes.

It’s got everything you need to get the story of A Christmas Carol with added laughs and an updated (well, not really anymore but more recent than Victorian England) atmosphere. 

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

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The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 2: Lethal Weapon

You’re not really questioning why the best buddy-cop action comedy of all time is on our 12 Days of Christmas list are you? Nah, I doubt it. It’s pretty universally known that Lethal Weapon and Die Hard (a later entry in this series) are the top 2 unconventional Christmas movies of all time.

One could argue that there are Christmas themes like redemption throughout but, honestly, I’m not here to sell you on Lethal Weapon maintaining the Christmas spirit. No, it’s on the list because one can only take so much fa-la-la-la-la before you’re ready to become a Lethal Weapon yourself and become sick of all this yuletide joy. That’s here Lethal Weapon comes in…Riggs and Murtaugh provide you with a funny, action filled environment to detach from Christmas but thanks to the background of the film being the Christmas season you never get pulled completely out of it. They do it in kind of a genius way too. For instance, take our introduction to Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs. It’s a standard undercover cop doing a deal gone wrong setup BUT they set it in a Christmas tree lot, the scene has nothing to do with Christmas but you’re able to keep the season in your peripheral thanks to the setting. It’s the cinematic equivalent to going to get your haircut during December…you’re not buying presents or going to a party but you aren’t out of the season.

Of course, no Christmas film would be complete…conventional or not, without a family gathered around a decorated house on Christmas morning. This scene at the Murtaugh residence gives us the most “Christmasey” moment when Murtaugh gives Riggs his gift, the bullet Riggs intended to kill himself with. Redemption complete, and to all a good night. 

Just as an added bonus, I'll include the greatest gift given to the world by Lethal Weapon. The greatest mullet of them all!

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The 12 Days of Christmas- Day 1: Love, Actually

Welcome to the Punch Drunk Critics 12 days of Christmas, told with movies of course. We’re starting this the way I start my Christmas season every year, with Richard Curtis’s interweaving tale of Christmas magic, Love, Actually. Just a word of warning, this flick gets me sappy. I promise, not every entry in our 12 days will be sugary sweet but Love, Actually, well it gets me right in the feels.

The Christmas spirit, that’s what this movie gets most right, that’s why it is such an important part of my yuletide viewing experience. I can sit here and pontificate on the commercialization of Christmas and how we totally miss the point of the season, but I won’t. Yes, partly because I like getting gifts as much as the next guy but also because that aspect has become part of the season itself, a primal hunt for what we need. No, the reason I’m avoiding that part completely is that the movie does the same thing, it doesn’t damn us for mall fever it gently reminds us that the greatest joy comes from the original reason we are buying those gifts in the first place, so we can show those we love just how much we care. It’s funny, the film was made over ten years ago but its opening monologue stays more relevant today than ever. It’s a bit of dialogue that we should all read/hear at least once a year, preferably once a month. In today’s world of social media and constant commentary contributing to the overwhelming negativity that can cloud the world it’s increasingly important to sit down and be reminded that not only is love still out there, and I’m stealing Hugh Grant’s line here, Love, actually, is all around. So I’d ask you just to read this excerpt from the film, its opening lines and let it sink in, cheesy as it may be.

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinions starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.

I’m a kind of sucker for the emotional but I think we can all agree that this is a beautiful and needed sentiment. Once that actually outlines the film. The interconnected stories serve to show that the love shared through the season comes in many different shapes and sizes. From a recently widowed father trying to connect with his stepson to a pampered, past his prime rock star realizing that the friendship he shares with his much-maligned manager may just constitute the love of his life (it doesn’t have to be romantic love to make you happy, what a great thing to point out!). From the Prime Minister himself falling for his less than proper house maid, to a goofy twenty-something going to America to use his “cute British accent” to pick up girls. Each tale not only shows a different perspective on love and a different way in which it can be experienced, but also goes to great care to point out that love is love…one way is not better or worse than the other. Even the film’s least happy tale, of a husband and father contemplating an affair with his much younger secretary, shows his realization that lust and its immediate benefits pale in comparison to the long term feeling of real love, even if it’s not always as exciting.   

All of this is for not if it’s not done well. I’m not going to get into a full review here but I will say a two things, first, this is one of the most talented casts of the last 40 years and everyone seems to be all in…there isn’t a single performance I would say was “phoned in”. Second the locales, mostly London, are gorgeous and really feel like the prototypical picturesque Christmas. I mean, is there a more beautiful place than Britain during Christmas? I think I’ve made my case but I’ll reiterate once again that this should be the first movie for everyone to start the season, there’s no better way to be reminded of what it’s all about from the start. 

Let's all do something this holiday season that makes us feel like this!

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The Minions Spread some Holiday Cheer in New Promo

By now the Thanksgiving hangover has begun, and while most are recuperating from a long day of football and turkey, the Minions are busy getting ready for Christmas. The holidays have only just begun for the breakout stars of the Despicable Me films, and with their self-titled film coming next year AMC Theaters and Universal have come together for a Minion "Jingle Bells' promo.

Basically this spot is to promote a special offer for buyers of AMC holiday gift cards, but fans of Gru's yellow sidekicks will find it the perfect way to spread some Christmas cheer. Minions opens next year on July 10th 2015 featuring the voices of Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm.


MINIONS PROMO CLIP HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2015 by orangeanimation

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Bill Murray to Sing Christmas Carols in Sofia Coppola-Directed Holiday Special

The last time Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola hooked up the result was Lost in Translation, one of the actor's most acclaimed performances. It's also one of my personal favorites and features my favorite Murray scene ever...



So I dig it when Murray grabs the mic and busts out a tune, and his Christmas comedy Scrooged is pretty much required viewing each year. Which is why it's cool to learn Murray and Coppola will be reteaming on a holiday project for television that will see the actor singing Christmas carols. He tells Variety....

"It’s not going to be live.  We’re going to do it like a little movie.  It won’t have a format, but it’s going to have music. It will have texture.  It will have threads through it that are writing.  There will be prose… It will have a patina style and wit to it.  It will be nice.”

Pretty vague, and Coppola's confirmation doesn't make things any clearer. 

“We’re working on a Christmas special.  Not sure when it will air, but my motivation is to hear him singing my song requests."

Yeah, let's make this happen. Chances are it won't be ready by this Christmas, but you one can hope.

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Anthony Mackie Joins Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Christmas Comedy

After finding a way to make a movie about cancer pretty funny with 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Jonathan Levine decided they wanted to get back together for a Christmas movie. While the trio's reunion is reason enough to keep this film on the radar, it's now become even more promising with the addition of Anthony Mackie to the cast.

Mackie, last seen soaring through the air in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, has joined the comedy about three childhood best friends who reunite in New York City for their annual tradition of going out and partying on Christmas Eve. Chances are Mackie will play the third buddy, making for a terribly likable cast. Who wouldn't want to party with these guys? Levine's typical approach is to blend genres and one can only wonder what his twist on this film will be.

Filming is set to begin this summer.

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50 Christmas Movie Spoilers in 3 Minutes

Yeah, the Fine Brothers are back with another in their series of "Movie Spoilers" videos. This one is aimed squarely at the holiday season, spoiling some of the best Christmas themed flicks in three minutes. I double dog dare ya to watch it.

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