What will you be watching through the holidays? Lifetime and Hallmark are offering their usual fare of happily ever after movies and I give Lifetime props for adding diversity to their casting. There are more people of color, different ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientation than ever before. Also, not everyone is a size 2. People with intellectual or physical challenges have advanced from crowd scenes to leading roles. Still, the houses/apartments are picture perfect and everyone has a fantastic job and seemingly unlimited funds. Baby steps…
Godmothered – is a new Disney movie that redefines the role of a Fairy Godmother and a fairy tale. Eleanor, (Jillian Bell) a Fairy Godmother-in-training tries to save her job and the jobs of all her fellow Fairy Godmothers by answering a letter from a 10-year-old girl searching for her happily ever after, but the little girl is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher). Eleanor isn’t your typical Disney Fairy Godmother; she has flaws and makes mistakes and the happily ever after she helps create has a powerful message. To say more would spoil the movie.
If “feel good made for TV holiday movies aren’t your thing, there are always classic holiday films like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Elf or even Die Hard. I’m partial to A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
When we’ve had our fill of Christmas cheer, these are a few of our favorite things:
Coach – The series has a talented ensemble cast headed by Craig T. Nelson (Coach Hayden Fox) and Shelley Fabares (Christian Armstrong). Jerry Van Dyke (Luther) and Bill Fagerbakke (Dauber) play Hayden’s assistant coaches who know football, but not much else. The first six seasons are excellent as Fox leads the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles from obscurity to a national championship. I’m not as fond of the series when Fox becomes the head coach for an NFL expansion team in Orlando, Florida. The plots get sillier, but the acting remains stellar. In addition to being an excellent comedy, Coach tackles many important social issues… sexism in sports, ageism, divorce, parenting, infertility, adoption, loneliness, loyalty, and privilege.
Friday Night Lights – This is a drama centered around Coach Eric Taylor, a high school football coach in Texas. Kyle Chandler plays Coach Taylor. Connie Britton plays his wife, Tami. An ensemble cast of talented actors include Taylor Kitsch, Aimee Teegarden, Minka Kelly, Zach Gilford, Scott Porter, Gaius Charles, Brad Leland, Michael B. Jordan and Jurnee Smollett. Few things are bigger in Texas than football programs. Football cuts across racial and economic lines in this win crazed town. Eric and Tami are one of my favorite TV couples and the relationship between Taylor and his players is genuine. He’s their coach and mentor… the doors to his office and his home are always open, but don’t expect Coach Taylor to forget who’s the adult in the room.
The Peanut Butter Falcon – This 2019 American comedy drama is an independent film starring Shia LeBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson, Bruce Dern, and Thomas Hayden Church. Zak, a young man with Down’s Syndrome (Gottsagen) escapes from an assisted living facility and befriends Tyler a down and out fisherman on the run (LeBeouf). The unlikely pair develops an endearing friendship. Zak wants to meet his hero, a wrestler named the Saltwater Redneck (Thomas Hayden Church), and train to become a professional wrestler. Tyler agrees to help him. While Tyler tries to allude the two men hunting him, Zak is pursued by Eleanor, a social worker from the assisted living facility who wants him to return to the safety of the facility. The three form an uneasy alliance which becomes a family, and that’s the magic of this film. They stick together no matter what and you should watch the film to find out what happens to them. This film was widely praised by critics for the strong performances by Gottsagen, LeBeouf, and Johnson. It earned a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and was the highest grossing independent film of the year.