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.
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.
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
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