It’s a Wonderful Life has been a staple on every holiday season. The story of George Bailey rediscovering the essence of love, family and overcoming difficult situations touch hearts of those who watched it, making it one of the (if not the) best Christmas movies of all time.
Yet, the third act of the guardian angel Clarence showing Bailey an alternate history where he was never born has been replicated endlessly in pop culture. So, this list will look back at those movies one would never think would use that formula to their stories and parody them to an extent.
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Tim Allen’s first The Santa Clause may not be the best Christmas movie, but it is fun to see him take on the mantle as the red-suited figure of the season. It was followed by two sequels that hoped to expand the lore.
And while The Santa Clause 2 is a serviceable sequel with an extremely entertaining Toy Santa, Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a Disney Channel-level production that takes the It’s a Wonderful Life template and turns it to something forgettable. Martin Short is fine though.
Click
It is hardly believable that an Adam Sandler character would be a successful architect and spout out a jokey voice. But that is exactly the plot of Click when Michael Newman possesses a universal remote from eccentric Morty (Christopher Walken) and grants him the ability to skip parts of his life.
This enables him to skip crucial parts of his life and craft an alternative timeline where he is less important to his family. While it is well-intentioned for a Happy Madison vehicle, it is still a Happy Madison movie.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
The Muppets Christmas Carol is not the only Christmas-themed movie featuring The Muppets. There are also Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and The Christmas Toy. And there is the black sheep of Christmas-themed Muppet movies, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
While the idea of an It’s a Wonderful Life homage featuring The Muppets is a rich one, the part that parodies the movie is an extremely surreal one. Witness Kermit discovered what an alternative timeline would be without him: the existence of a nightclub where the Muppets perform. Really.
The Butterfly Effect
Pop culture is always fascinated with the idea of the butterfly effect as a narrative device. And it even has an entire horror movie dedicated to it with the exact title. The concept of this branch of chaos theory is that one small act from the act, when altered, can cause a heavier ripple effect in the future.
In this case, the twenty-something Evan Treborn can travel back to his past selves and alter events to remove the trauma he and his friends have. It is the template on Adderall.
13 Going on 30
Similar to Click, 13 Going on 30 features a premise of the main protagonist exploring an alternate future timeline where things do not go expectedly. This time, a girl named Jenna wishes to be “30, flirty and thriving”, sending her to 2004 when she achieved a lot with that standard, having to work for her favorite magazine and becoming estranged from her parents and her best friend Matt.
The concept is too clichéd and cheeky as a chick flick. But it works with Jennifer Garner’s performance and the working template.
The Family Man
Now, this is a reverse It’s a Wonderful Life, wherein the film’s Clarence-like figure offers the counterpart to George Bailey a chance of an alternative, prosperous future. This time, Nicolas Cage is the George Bailey equivalent wherein he presented a choice to live as a suburban father with a wife and children, instead of a Wall Street playboy.
The film is full of holiday confectionery, being another sentimental Christmas movie. Nevertheless, Cage and Téa Leoni made it effective with stirring performances and well-intentioned arcs that effectively flips the movie formula.
Bedazzled
While this film has been remade by Harold Ramis with Brendan Fraser, it can never stack up to the original that features comedic duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. This 1967 British comedy centers on a down-on-his-luck loser who mistakenly forges a deal with the devil to grant him seven wishes to win the girl of his dreams.
The only time when the It’s a Wonderful Time template was put to good use are the seven wishes being life alternatives that differ from each other, but fail to satisfy him.
Shrek Forever After
So, It’s an Ogre-ful Life for the last Shrek movie, to date. For the fourth entry of the saga, the green ogre faces a midlife crisis that had him uncharacteristically wishing for one day when he is his scary ogre self, only to unnoticeably trade the day of his birth away to Rumpelstiltskin.
While the It’s A Wonderful Life template had been done to death at that point, it was a fitting direction to cap off the Shrek storyline. At least it is better than the bad Shrek the Third.
Donnie Darko
Spoiler alert for this psychological cult classic. Now, this may be cheating but the ending of Donnie Darko is where the model of It’s a Wonderful Life was inserted. After having discovered the ability to travel back in time, Donnie Darko wakes up from a perceived future and settles on his fate of a plane crashing to his house, taking him away.
Believing that his perceived future was a destructive one and becoming a lifesaver to result in a safer future, Donnie smiles and is satisfied. That is way deeper.
Back to the Future Part II
Of course, a classic Christmas movie that featured a third act that is akin to time travel will inspire a Back to the Future sequel. In this case, Marty McFly travels for the second time to the 2015 future, only to stumble on a harsher alternative timeline when Biff took advantage of betting on winning sports games, gaining a mammoth amount of wealth and having Lorraine as his own.
This drives McFly to alter the events of the past from the previous Back to the Future and to retain the past as it is (until the next movie). Well, the two future timelines are suitable enough to give life to a nearly accurate 2015 where hoverboards have yet to exist.