It wouldn’t feel like the holidays without an annual viewing of each of today’s contenders: Home Alone and White Christmas. It’s absolutely a yearly tradition to laugh along with Kevin as he takes out the Wet Bandits or at Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as they strap on the sparkles to imitate Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. And it’s not really Christmas until you’ve grabbed at your Kleenex when you get misty-eyed at Old Man Marley’s familial reunion or Major General Waverly’s touching tribute. So how to choose between them? Well, luckily we don’t have to—but you do!
Read up on this pair of festive family classics below and decide which one gets your vote!
Quarter Final #3:
Home Alone (1990)
Before Schitt’s Creek immortalized Moira Rose as the best-worst mother on television, Catherine O’Hara won hearts as Kate McCallister. Leaving her son home alone while the family goes on vaycay seems very Moira. But David and Alexis are only minor hellions compared to the delightfully mischievous Kevin McCallister. Macaulay Culkin’s iconic prankster first rejoices in having the run of the place in the absence of his parents (ice cream for breakfast, etc.) and he soon learns the perils of being on his own when the neighbourhood bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) target the McCallister’s stately abode. In a lark that surely inspired a generations of young viewers to wreak havoc on babysitters worldwide, Kevin thwarts the bandits with booby traps, toys, and creative genius. The holidays often inspire us to get on Santa’s good side, but Home Alone is a fun reminder that being naughty sometimes feels nice. – Pat Mullen
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%
White Christmas (1954)
If you want your classic Bing Crosby Christmas musical with less blackface than Holiday Inn, and you have a sizeable tolerance for military propaganda, then White Christmas is for you! Capitalizing on the titular hit song, White Christmas has four performers head up to Vermont for the holidays, only to be met with no snow, which means no tourists nor their fat wallets to keep the tourism industry afloat. By lucky coincidence the inn that these four head to happens to be run by the retired general of the unit where the two men of the quartet served in WW2. Feeling forgotten with a failing business, the two Broadway men make it their business to lift his spirits, save the inn, and woo the sisters with whom they traveled up north. Looking past the glorification of the troops, there is an undeniable sweetness and heart to the desire to save the general from economic and self-esteem peril. The personal sacrifice these men make, and ask others to make, is touching and a powerful showcase for the magic of the Christmas season. – Deirdre Crimmins
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
VOTE:
Voting ends December 21 at 11:59 EST.
The elimination showdown runs from December 1 until the 23, with the Ultimate Christmas Movie being unveiled on Christmas Eve! You can vote here, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Check out where things stand and then tune in tomorrow for a new face off…
