THREE PICKS FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOLIDAY MOVIES

Let's face it, the holidays inspire a lot of awful movies. If one Christmas is not bad enough for you, Hollywood can shove four down your throat (wink, wink, that new Vince Vaughn/Reese Witherspoon movie). Lousy holiday flicks also like to recycle those same old cliches to program you to tell yourself Christmas is all about your warm and fuzzy family. For Christ's sake (really!), here are my three unusual picks for holiday films:

WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY (2007)

The documentary follows a performance artist who called himself Reverend Billy and his choir of "Church of Stop Shopping" as they cruise across the country to "preach" about the ridiculous American tradition of holiday consumerism. Though the documentary is not as tight and focused as I hope, Rev. Billy is just the kind of character you can't miss- just the exorcism in a Starbucks coffee shop is worth your time. The satire is brilliantly absurd, but nothing is more absurd than trampling over a human being at a Wal-Mart.

THE APARTMENT (1960)

I know, I know, THE APARTMENT is not really a holiday movie, but part of the film is set in New Year's Eve (kinda like how IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is set on Christmas Eve).  But Billy Wilder is no Frank Capra. Wilder, who also directed SOME LIKE IT HOT and SUNSET BOULEVARD, is known for his sardonic humor and sharp wit. THE APARTMENT is about the hardworking office slave CC Baxter (Jack Lemmon) who will truly do all he can for the bosses in order to climb up the corporate ladder, including lending out his apartment for his bosses to meet their mistresses. Baxter, who has no life outside his job, happens to fall in love with the elevator girl (Shirley MacLaine). Unbeknownst to him is that the girl is actually a mistress to one of his bosses. It is one of the best black-and-white film on widescreen, and you wouldn't cynicism feels so heart-warming anywhere else.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW (1964)

Hello? The last time I check, Christmas is "supposed" to be about Jesus, right? Guess what, the best Jesus move is made by an atheist-- a marxist homosexual atheist to be precise. Yes, yours truly, Pier Paolo Pasolini.  The birth, life and death of Jesus with the most naturalistic and poetic look on film. The Jesus in this film speaks Italian, but Pasolini captures the essence of the man's conviction faithfully. The film was endorsed by the Vatican at the time, though Pasolini would eventually scared the bejesus out of the Church (and everyone else) with his highly  controversial 1975 film SALO, which is based on the book by Marquis de Sade. There may not be any proof, but it is not difficult to believe Pasolini was killed for the film(s) he made.

What's your alternate holiday movie pick?