The Flight Before Christmas (2015)

Director Peter Sullivan must surely know his stuff when it comes to Christmas TV movies. Don't believe me? Just check out his list of credits on IMDb. Between his directing AND producing credits, he has had his fingers in a lot of mince pies. And it shows.

The Flight Before Christmas (which, like many other Christmas movies, isn't even original enough to have a title that hasn't been used once or twice before) is a superior example of this type of entertainment. You're not going to get any surprises, these things are all about comfort and contentment as opposed to challenging viewers, but you get some nice moments between two likable leads, and a couple of decent supporting players to help things move along at a decent pace.

Maym Bialik plays Stephanie, a young woman unceremoniously ditched by her boyfriend right before Christmas. This is also right before she was due to move in with him, leaving her technically "between homes", which adds insult to injury. So she decides to head home for Christmas. One coincidence after another sees her spending a lot of time in the company of Michael (Ryan McPartlin). Michael is used to travelling back and forth across the country, maintaining a long-term relationship with the woman he hopes to make his wife one day. If he could only decide on the perfect ring. While forced to endure each other's company, thanks to their flight being diverted and grounded, Stephanie and Michael start to bond. Surprise, surprise.

Written by Jennifer Notas Shapiro, The Flight Before Christmas is not only polished and predictable seasonal fluff, it's also surprisingly, if mildly, less patronising than usual. I admit to being very surprised when I saw that Bialik was starring in this, but I was less surprised as the film started to play out. Within the confines of the film, she still manages to portray a strong-willed and smart woman who doesn't want to define her entire life by her need for a man. Yes, there is a love story here, and Bialik is upset by her enforced single status, but there are a number of moments that allow her to, dare I say it, blossom in the eyes of her male co-star, rather than just have her look pretty and in need of help up until a third act union (which is the more common structure for these films).

Bialik is well-suited to the role, and McPartlin works well with her. He is just the right mix of sweet and ignorantly condescending, learning quickly as he goes along that he may not know as much about love as he thinks he does. Brian Doyle-Murray is the requisite "Santa" figure, in a cameo role that has him onscreen for a few minutes at most, and Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton are enjoyable enough as the couple who run a small hotel in a village that Bialik and McPartlin are forced to spend time in while awaiting rearranged flights.

It might seem as if I have been overselling this one slightly, and I don't want anyone to read this and think they're in for a masterpiece, but this is almost downright progressive compared to so many other TV movies you could end up seeing at this time of year.

6/10

Here is a large selection of Christmas movies to enjoy.
And American elves can pick the same set up here.

Admittedly, not exactly an image that aligns with what I have said above

April Fools: Caddyshack (1980)

There was a time when Caddyshack was the very best golf comedy that you could name. Okay, okay, we're still not exactly inundated with golf comedies, but at least nowadays we also have the wonderful Tin Cup, and Adam Sandler fans can always point to Happy Gilmore as proof that the guy used to be very funny. I might actually prefer those two movies to Caddyshack, but only ever so slightly.

What's the story? Well, Rodney Dangerfield is the brash bundle of cheek upsetting some of the old brigade when he joins a golf club. He likes to have fun, which is something that many of the other members seem to frown upon. The cast of characters includes the uptight and grouchy Judge Elihu Smails (Ted Knight), young Danny Noonan (Michael O'Keefe), a young caddy who wants to make something of his life, and a groundskeeper (Bill Murray) who always seems to be one or two steps behind a disruptive gopher. And let's not forget Ty Webb (Chevy Chase), a great golfer who's also quite the zen master.

There are two reasons for me not loving Caddyshack quite as much as some people do. The first one is that it has some moments that make it feel very dated (whenever someone gets their groove on it feels more like a 1960s movie than one that came out in 1980). Second, I'm not that big a fan of Rodney Dangerfield. I've enjoyed some of his stuff, but I can't think of any movie vehicle he starred in that couldn't have been improved by someone else taking over his role.

Caddyshack, however, is not focused on Dangerfield. Well, it is, but it doesn't focus on him to the detriment of the rest of the film. Everyone gets their turn when it comes to providing the laughter, with Chase and Murray being the standouts.

Director Harold Ramis, who also co-wrote the script with Brian Doyle-Murray and Douglas Kenney, blends everything together perfectly, allowing everyone to play to their strengths. O'Keefe may be a bit bland compared to the great cast members surrounding him, but he's good enough to root for, and Ramis knows this, making his story a central strand while filling up each scene with enough laughs and lunacy to keep viewers entertained.

It may not be a glorious hole in one, but this comedy is easily way below par, if we're going to use the golf-specific scoring system. But that is me saying that it's actually way above par. Confused? Yes, me too.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caddyshack-Blu-ray-Region-Chevy-Chase/dp/B0036BT8EE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396327840&sr=8-2&keywords=caddyshack

Multiplicity (1996)

Harold Ramis is a director who I can happily say has provided me with a lot of laughs. In fact, Groundhog Day is one of my favourite comedies of all time. The high concept and great lead performance from Bill Murray even managed to distract me from the fact that the female lead was played by one of my least favourite actresses ever, Andie MacDowell. In a similiar way, Multiplicity is a high concept movie with a great lead performance from Michael Keaton that manages to distract me from the fact that the female lead is played by one of my least favourite actresses ever, Andie MacDowell.

That's not the end of the common ground that both movies share. Both films show what can happen when someone is given much more time on their hands and both films, ultimately, try to convey the message that it doesn't matter how much time you have, what matters is how you use it.

Michael Keaton plays Doug Kinney, a busy man who is struggling to do well at work and keep his boss (Richard Masur) happy while also getting to spend time with his family and keep his wife (Andie MacDowell) happy. Fortunately, after a stressful incident at a site he's working on, Doug is given the chance of a miracle by Dr. Leeds (Harry Yulin). That miracle comes in the shape of . . . . . . . . . . . Doug. Well, Doug number two, to be exact. A clone. An extra Doug means that the original Doug should be able to spend more time with the family, relax occasionally and generally get more done. That's the theory anyway. In reality, things start getting more and more complicated. Maybe a third Doug could take the pressure off slightly. And a fourth?

There are a number of factors here that you can all too easily complain about. Andie MacDowell for one. The script, written by Chris Miller, Lowell Ganz, Mary Hale and Babaloo Mandel, is sharper than a lot of people give it credit for but there are also a few untidy loose ends and a number of developments that make holding your suspension of disbelief harder with every minute that goes by.

So it's a good thing that Ramis, who directs with his usual bright and breezy touch, has a good cast in place for many of the supporting roles - Yulin, Masur, John de Lancie, Eugene Levy, Brian Doyle-Murray - and then tops everything off with yet another great performance from the consistently brilliant Michael Keaton. In fact, Keaton gives four great performances, playing each Doug in the different way required to show exactly who they are. Clone number one is a more macho Doug, clone number two is a more sensitive and caring Doug in touch with his feminine side and clone number three is . . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . . . . he's not quite right. Keaton gets to have a blast playing all of the characters and it's a tour de force of acting that lifts the whole movie from something good to something very good and, to me, almost great.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Multiplicity-DVD-Michael-Keaton/dp/B0001E5T6K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348517780&sr=8-1