Despite the fact that holidays are literally just one day out of the year to celebrate something specific, the wintertime is known by most as the holiday season. But the fact that everyone recognizes it as the holiday blitz doesn't mean that everyone actually enjoys it.
There's plenty to love about the holidays, but there's also plenty to hate. Consumerism, manufactured joy, and dreaded family reunions or revisits to hometowns left behind can fill some people with dread instead of excitement. And while there are tons of holiday movies that are heartwarming and joyful, here are a few holiday flicks that will appeal to the Grinches of the world.
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Although Harold and Kumar's adventures are a bit fantastical in comparison to the life of the average Joe, it's hard not to appreciate the tale of A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas.
In most people's worlds, the holidays are a time to reunite with friends and loved ones, and in Harold and Kumar's world, the holidays are a time to reunite, get high, and inadvertently nearly ruin the holidays for everyone else.
Just Friends
One reason that a lot of people might not be so keen on the holiday season is that they will find themselves back in places they don't want to be with people they don't want to be with.
But Just Friends offers some holiday haters the dream scenario of being able to return home and flex on everyone they've ever met. Ryan Reynolds plays Chris Brander, a boy who left his home as a chunky dork and has returned as a shredded record executive who unexpectedly runs into all of his high school friends and foes.
The Night Before
In The Night Before, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Ethan, a man who's parents died when he was a teen and who has celebrated Christmas with his best friends ever since.
Their dream is to find a fabled epic party that takes place on Christmas Eve, and after years of searching they may finally get there, if all of their drunken and drug-addled shenanigans don't get in the way.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
For a change of pace, this holiday classic actually takes place on Thanksgiving. In the film, sardonic straight man Steve Martin wants nothing more than to get home to his family for the holiday, but he runs into the boisterous and endlessly irritating Del Griffith (played by the unforgettable John Candy).
Planes, Trains and Automobiles both captures the utter misery that can accompany some holidays, with a lot of heartwarming moments thrown in too.
Home Alone
Home Alone is obviously a Christmas classic, and writer John Hughes is clearly an expert at crafting sentimental and sweet movies. However, for those who aren't a huge fan of Christmas, Home Alone is still a fantastic choice.
Being the forgotten family member at the holidays may be a familiar feeling, or on the other hand, the thought of being abandoned alone in a mansion with the opportunity to come up with some near Jigsaw-level booby traps for unsuspecting strangers might be thrilling too.
In Bruges
In Bruges is a movie that takes place during the holiday season but has almost nothing to do with the holidays, thanks to a hit man named Ray who has zero appreciation for his coworker Ken.
Ken has taken Ray to a beautiful town in Belgium called Bruges under the guise of waiting for orders from their boss, but the truth is that Ken is trying to give Ray a lovely experience that the oafish, uncultured man loathes from start to finish.
Krampus
Plenty of people have had bad holidays, but very few have had holidays that are so terrible that the wound up summoning a demon to their dysfunctional family home.
This is the premise of the wonderful holiday horror movie Krampus, and it's safe to say that this movie will either make holiday haters appreciate their relatively tame holidays or feel like a fantasy come to life for those who truly loathe Christmas.
Die Hard
When it comes to non-holiday holiday movies, Die Hard is pretty much the pinnacle. Yes, it takes place during Christmas, but with all of the constant death and explosions it's easy to forget that 'tis the season.
Most holiday haters would rather be saving people from Hans Gruber than hanging out with family around the tree, but watching John McClane do it is the next best option.
Bad Santa
There's a sucker born every minute, and easy marks become even easier when a con man is dressed in a Santa suit. That's certainly the philosophy of Billy Bob Thornton's character in Bad Santa at least.
Thorton's character Willie takes on the role of Santa with the intention of robbing the department stores where he works on the holiday season, but it seems to go all wrong for this experienced thief.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Much like Jack Skellington, there are just some people who, try as they might, don't get Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a fantastic dual Halloween and Christmas movie, but the fact that Jack tries to assimilate into Christmastown only to realize that's just not his vibe is a story that will likely resonate with many winter holiday haters. The holidays aren't everyone's cup of tea, and that's just fine.