It’s that time of year: the air is crisp, the ground is frozen, Christmas trees and decorations are everywhere, and the 25 Days of Christmas marathon is in full swing. The Christmas spirit is alive, and movies are hitting theaters left and right. You can’t go wrong with a Christmas movie… but can you? As a movie lover who’s watched more holiday films than I care to admit, Christmas movies can be magical and heartwarming, but they don’t all hit the mark—and I’m here to call out the ones that don’t. Join me as I break down the festive flops that are better left off your watchlist this season!
Medea’s Christmas:
Tyler Perry’s movies are a big deal in the Black community, and for good reason—he’s given us some great ones that we’ve laughed and cried over. But let’s be real, Medea’s Christmas didn’t hit like it should’ve. There were just way too many long, unnecessary scenes where the jokes took forever to get to the punchline. By the time the joke finally landed, it wasn’t even funny anymore. It’s like, okay, we get it, but where’s the humor? It’s a shame because Madea as a character is hilarious, but the pacing in this one really dragged everything down.
Santa Clause:
Let’s talk about the Santa Clause sequel. They had the budget, they had the vision, but somewhere along the way, they just dropped the ball. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t have the same magic as the first one. You know when you’re watching something and it’s not bad enough to turn off, but you’re sitting there thinking, “This could’ve been so much better”? Yeah, that’s this movie. It’s like they tried, but the spark wasn’t sparking.
2006 Black Christmas:
Now this one… whew. The 2006 Black Christmas had some campy vibes that were honestly great. Like, I’ll give it credit for embracing that over-the-top horror energy. But then they went and made the murderer’s backstory super complicated and hard to follow. It’s like, do we really need to know all this? Just let them be creepy and keep it moving. It had potential, but they kind of shot themselves in the foot by trying to do too much with the plot.
Home Alone After Macaulay Culkin:
Home Alone is a classic, but let’s not pretend the franchise was the same after Macaulay Culkin left. Those later movies? They weren’t bad per se, but they were missing that special something Culkin brought to the role. He had this charm and wit that made Kevin McCallister unforgettable. The other actors just couldn’t capture that same magic. It’s like they were trying to recreate lightning in a bottle, but all we got was a spark. Some of the sequels had their moments, but they never reached the level of the OG
So yeah, not every holiday movie is a hit. Skip these and find something better to watch this season!
