Sale Away: Movies That Celebrate Black Friday and Holiday Shopping

By Michael Lyons

Black Friday sure has changed.  What started as a way for many to spend the day after Thanksgiving and kick off their Christmas shopping soared into crowd-infused cacophonies that began on Thanksgiving night, as soon as the last bite of turkey was finished and then segued to pre-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales and online shopping sprees. 

Black Friday is still a "thing" (in fact, there's a comedy-horror film entitled Black Friday that recently debuted). Whether you spend it online or on-a-line in a store, this year's upcoming retail-focused day is on its way.  

In honor of Black Friday, here are some movies that celebrate holiday shopping: 

 

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

THE Black Friday movie!  Kevin James is the titular character, a sad-sack mall security guard who takes his job seriously.  And it's a good thing he does, as he finds himself saving a mall from terrorists who take it over on Black Friday.

A comedic take on Die Hard, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a very likable and funny film.  James makes the main character immensely sympathetic, and there's a pleasant immersion into the "mall culture" with the stores' various employees.

Blart's attempts at thwarting the terrorists provide some humorous jabs at action movie tropes (James displays excellent physical comedy in several scenes, particularly one where he tries to hide behind a pillar).

Paul Blart: Mall Cop is an enjoyable celebration of what's now a seemingly fading, yet comforting, world, the friendly neighborhood shopping mall.

Jingle All the Way (1996)

Here is a movie almost unanimously panned by critics and moderately ignored by audiences during its initial release but has become beloved through the years.

This holiday season marks the 25th anniversary of this Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy. He plays frantic dad Howard Langston, who goes to great, desperate lengths to find the action figure Turbo Man as a Christmas present for his son.

In the film, Turbo Man is that season's hottest gift, short-in-supply, and high-in-demand.  Jingle All The Way was inspired by the Cabbage Patch Doll craze of the '80s, and, ironically, the same season the film was released, Tickle Me Elmo was the "gotta have it" toy of Christmas time 1996.

Filled with frenetic family-friendly slapstick, which seemed to be a genre unto itself in the '90s, Jingle All The Way, is a not-so-subtle statement of holiday shopping mania that once filled stores regularly.

 Holiday Affair (1949)

Another, much different, look at Christmas shopping of another time.  A department store clerk named Steve Mason, played by Robert Mitchum, working in the toy department during the busy Christmas shopping season, sells a model train to a "secret shopper" from a rival store named Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh).  When she attempts to return it and Mason, trying to be friendly, allows her to, he breaks store policy and is unfortunately fired.

What follows is a romance that develops between the two, resulting in a love triangle with Connie's boyfriend (Wendell Corey), as Steve endears himself to widower Connie's son, Timmy (Gordon Gebert).

Providing a friendly, comforting glimpse at Christmas in post-War America (it's quaint to see what was considered a "bustling" department store), Holiday Affair is immensely likable.  It's so nice to see Robert Mitchum ake a break from his standard, "tough guy" roles of the time, and Janet Leigh has never been more charming.

With its romantic-comedy plot, set against the backdrop of Christmas, where everyone learns what's important, Holiday Affair plays out like the grandfather of today's Hallmark Christmas Movies.

 The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Christmas movies don't get cozier than this one.  Set in Budapest, during the weeks leading up to Christmas, the film centers on two employees of a small shop, Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan).  The two don't get along at all at work but are unknowing, anonymous romantic pen pals who are falling in love.

Not just an excellent Christmas movie (and, again, a look at Christmas shopping during another decade), The Shop Around the Corner is also considered one of the best romantic comedies ever made. 

 It's no wonder the film has been remade twice, first in 1949 as In the Good Old Summertime and then again in 1998 as You've Got Mail.

Left, 1947's original Miracle on 34th Street. Right: The 1955 made-for-TV movie.

Miracle on 34th Street

No matter what version of this Christmas perennial you prefer: the 1947 original, one of the made-for-TV versions from 1955, or 1973 (there was a 1959 TV version that's difficult to find), or the big-budget remade from 1994, there's no denying how this story captures the magic of the Christmas season.

Left to right, 1959 and 1973's made-for-TV versions of Miracle on 34th Street

The tale of the real St. Nick, working as a department store Santa Claus, says so much about the kindness and light that Santa brings to our world and how we should all try and do the same.

1994's remake of Miracle on 34th Street.

Watching one or all these films may allow you to take a break from your own Black Friday and Christmas shopping festivities.  Each, in their way, also shows just how hard employees in the retail industry work, particularly at this time of year and particularly during these challenging times.

They all deserve our thanks and respect for allowing us to be able to go shopping and find those cherished holiday gifts for family and friends.

Wishing them and wishing us all a happy and safe Black Friday and Christmas Season!

 

Sources:

Christmas at the Movies by Jeremy Arnold

IMDb

Wikipedia

 

 

Thanksgiving Thieves: Looking Back at "Tower Heist"

By Michael Lyons

Tower Heist is a Thanksgiving movie.  That wasn't a typo.

As its title and its cast suggest, this is, first and foremost, a comedy/action/heist movie, but its setting makes it perfect viewing for this time of year.  It's been ten years since Tower Heist debuted and, if in the past decade, it's passed you by, the movie's 10th anniversary, and the Thanksgiving holiday, make it the perfect time to include it as part of your holiday movie rotation.

Set in New York City, Tower Heist is an ensemble film. Still, it centers on Josh Kovak (Ben Stiller doing a nice job as the everyman in the middle of the ensuing chaos) of the Tower, a luxury, high-rise apartment building.  One of the famous tenants is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda in a nice slimeball turn), a Wall Street billionaire.

In the opening segments of the film, we meet the other employees and residents at The Tower.  Among them: Josh's brother-in-law Charlie (Casey Afleck), the concierge, Enrique (Michael Pena), the elevator operator, Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), a maid in the building, Josh's boss, M. Simon (Judd Hirsch), Lester (Stephen McKinley Henderson) the doorman and Mr. Fitzhugh (Mathew Broderick), a Wall Street investor who is bankrupt and facing eviction. 

All the characters learn that Shaw has embezzled $2 billion and is placed under house arrest at The Tower by FBI Agent Claire Denhan (Téa Leoni).  What's worse, part of the money was the pensions of The Tower employees, which is now lost.

Enlisting the help of "Slide" (a very funny Eddie Murphy), a loud-mouth crook who lives in his Queens neighborhood, Josh pulls together an incredibly mismatched team of his fellow employees and the dejected Fitzhugh to steal their money back from Shaw's apartment.

So, what in the world does all of this have to do with Thanksgiving?  Well, the inept thieves make a plan to pull the heist on Thanksgiving Day, while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade provides a distraction, passing right in front of The Tower.

Their "code phrase" is: "We go on Snoopy," meaning they initiate their plan as the Snoopy balloon in the parade passes.  

There are some wonderful scenes and recreations of the famed Macy's Parade in Tower Heist, as well as some lovely shots of autumn in New York.  The scenes of how they pull off the heist high above the streets, with the parade playing out down below, are some of the film's best and most exciting They're not the most realistic, but they are a tremendous amount of fun.

All of Tower Heist is fun, which is what it seems to set out to be.  The enjoyment comes from watching the disparate actors (and characters) bounce off each other.  Broderick's calm, dry persona, next to Murphy's brash tone, next to Pena's street smart, next to Stiller's exasperation, make for some hilarious scenes.  In particular, Murphy's scene as "Slide" teaching the others to pick a lock is filled with quick humor and one of the film's funniest sequences.

All of this is pulled together deftly by director Brett Ratner, who balances the various characters and shifting action well.  If there's any disappointment, the ending of Tower Heist seems somewhat abrupt (check out the deleted/alternate endings, where available, they're a little more satisfying). Still, it doesn't take away from all of the entertainment that's come before.

Tower Heist plays out like an enjoyable amalgam of movies from another time: the all-star studio films of the '60s and '70s blended with the action comedies that were a staple of the '80s.

And, it's a Thanksgiving movie.  So, if you're looking for something entertaining to watch for the holiday, just remember: "We go on Snoopy."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

A Whale of a Tale: The 35th Anniversary of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"

By Michael Lyons

Movies don't get more entertaining than Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  The film feels like a joyful reunion for its cast, but it's also a triumph for fans, or casual fans, and a delightful 122 minutes for audience members who are neither.

Looking back on the film as it celebrates its 35th anniversary this month, it's also interesting to see just how groundbreaking Star Trek IV was, in its use of humor, its relatable science fiction plot, and its eco-friendly theme.

Picking up where 1983's Star Trek III: The Search for Spock left off, Star Trek IV brings back the entire, beloved Enterprise crew: Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Mr. Scott (James Doohan), Mr. Sulu (George Takei), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Commander Chekov (Walter Koenig).

The crew is heading back home to Earth to face trial for their actions in the previous film, where they had rescued Mr. Spock (who is still not quite his usual Vulcan self, as he recovers from a resurrection).

As they head back to Earth, they pick up a distress call from Starfleet Command.  It seems a strange signal from a large, cylindrical object hovering above Earth is wreaking havoc with its emitting signal.

Spock determines that the call is that of a humpback whale, and only the return of this call can stop the odd object from its destruction.  The only problem is that, in 2286, humpback whales are extinct.

Kirk and the Enterprise team devise a plan: travel back in time to 1986, find a humpback whale and bring it to, well, "back to the future."

And so, as The Enterprise crew (on board a Klingon ship they've hijacked) arrives in the San Francisco of 1986.  The fish-out-of-water fun begins as they try to blend in while searching for the massive mammal in our modern world.

 This is where Star Trek IV overflows with more humor than any other entry in the Star Trek movie franchise, as the crew from the future tries to assimilate to our current (or at least '80s) world.

A majority of this comes from the interaction and banter between Shatner and Nimoy, as Kirk and Spock.  They head to a local aquarium and befriend a marine biologist (Catherine Hicks) in their quest to find humpback whales.

Kirk and Spock bicker like an old married couple, and a scene in which Kirk tries to cover for Spock's inability to lie is filled with impeccable comic timing.  There's another scene where Spock jumps into a tank, to "mind-meld" with one of the whales, that brims with brilliant physical comedy.

The rest of the cast has their moments, as well.  Among the best (and funniest) is Kelley as Bones railing about how "medieval" our "modern medicine"  is, and another, where Doohan as Mr. Scott attempts to operate a computer.

Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek IV (his second time at the helm for series after Star Trek III), and he displays such a deft, cinematic flair, especially with the comedy scenes.  It's no wonder he scored a hit the following year with Three Men and a Baby.

 Star Trek IV debuted over Thanksgiving weekend, opening on November 26, 1986, to great acclaim, eventually grossing $133 million worldwide.

Thirty-five years later, what makes Star Trek IV stand out against the other films in its franchise is that it doesn't have a significant focus on starships and laser-infused dogfights, but instead a more human, down-to-earth story (literally).

With its whale-centric plot, the film also has a still-relevant message about the state of our world.  "To hunt a species to extinction is not logical," observes Spock about the whales.

Film critic Roger Ebert summed up Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home perfectly in his 1986 review when he called it "...the most elegant and satisfying Star Trek film so far."

Sources:

IMDb

Rogerebert.com