One of the best parts of the holiday season is the tried-and-true tradition of curling up with popcorn and a mug of hot chocolate and watching a holiday film. What’s not to love about them? There’s usually some crazy plot like someone’s dad turning into Santa. There’s a specific formula for someone learning the spirit and meaning of the holidays after being a Scrooge. Also, our loving protagonist usually must save Christmas.
But after years of rewatching these same films, I’ve learned a new thing about myself. I’ve noticed that I take the side of the villains from many of these films rather than the protagonists. And often, I believe they’re not villains at all.
So, here are some of my favorite holiday movie villains, along with my very hot takes as to why they’re not in the wrong (and probably never will be) in my eyes.
The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas
There’s a lot to say about the Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He’s green, he’s mean, and by the end of this two-hour film, he makes his way into our hearts. He learns the meaning of the holidays, family, and love from Cindy Lou Who.
While some might argue that the Grinch is a villain-turned-protagonist by the end of the film, I would say that in pop culture, he’s still villainized. Have you ever heard someone say, “Don’t be a Grinch!” when you weren’t feeling the holiday spirit? Yes, he may eat garbage. Yes, he may have some scary expressions. Yes, he did try to steal all of Christmas from Whoville. But do you remember what Whoville did to him?
I will be a Grinch defender for the rest of my life because he was exiled by his peers for being different from them! I, too, would retreat to the mountains if someone made fun of the beard I had when I was eight years old, and then later that same person became mayor and stole my childhood crush from me.
While the Grinch does get his justice at the end of the film, I truly think his wanting to steal Christmas is incredibly justified. Likewise, I think his antics are just too fun to not want to take his side.
Todd and Margo Chester from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Were Todd and Margo “DINKS” before it was cool? One of my family’s favorite films to watch is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This 1989 flick shows Clark Griswold trying to give his family a traditional Christmas while everything’s going wrong.
But apart from Clark’s antics, there’s a side plot about his neighbors. Those neighbors are Todd and Margo Chester, and the film shows them as this stuck-up couple who hates living next to Clark. There are a few running gags, where we see how the Griswold family’s Christmas is infiltrating the Chesters’ home and ruining their season, like when Clark sends a freshly cut-down Christmas tree through the window of their dining room.
While the Chesters were the butt of most of these jokes and made to seem like the out-of-touch villains of the film, I don’t think they were in the wrong. Tell me: if you had a neighbor who threw so many lights on his house that it blinded you, sent a Christmas tree through your window and never apologized, and let his idiotic cousin’s dog attack you, wouldn’t you be pretty angry too?
I don’t think this is too much of a hot take anymore, as many people have written articles proclaiming justice for Todd and Margo. But without fail, every time I rewatch this film, I get more annoyed by the Griswolds and understand the Chesters’ behavior a lot more.
Brad and Kate’s Family Members from Four Christmases
If you haven’t seen Four Christmases yet, you’re missing out. It stars actress Reese Witherspoon and actor Vince Vaughn as their characters, Brad and Kate, navigate visiting both of their divorced parents for the holidays. They harp on how bad their families are, and as an audience, we find out that they haven’t gone home for the holidays in years. They continually lie about doing volunteer work while they’re out on tropical vacations.
While the parents and rest of the family members of both Brad and Kate are quite crazy, I think that the couple treats them too poorly. They’re a quirky bunch, I won’t lie: Brad’s dad still holds resentment towards his ex-wife even though they’ve been divorced for years, Kate’s niece is a maniac who steals her pregnancy test, and Brad’s brothers continuously try to fight him. But despite this, you can tell the family still loves the couple and wants to see them. A lot of the jokes made towards the couple come from the fact that they just haven’t shown up for Christmas in years.
Contrary to my title, I’ll admit that Brad and Kate’s families are in the wrong for a lot of things (Kate’s family shouldn’t have made fun of her childhood and Brad’s mom definitely shouldn’t have dated one of his friends). But I think the couple labels them as bad for wanting them to still come home for Christmas, which is where I think the villainization comes from and is a little skewed. They’re unbelievably flawed without a doubt, but are they in the wrong for just wanting the two to be there on the holidays? In my opinion, no.
From fuzzy green characters to “DINK” neighbors and obnoxious families, there’s a lot to be said about the intricacies of villains in holiday flicks. Do you have any villains you believe were wronged? Next time you curl up on the couch to watch your favorite holiday film, maybe you’ll side with the antagonist instead.
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