Here we are, once again, at what is commonly known as the most wonderful time of the year… Christmastime. It’s amazing how this has become the absolute biggest holiday of them all, with Thanksgiving as a distant second. Especially considering it’s a religious holiday. But the commercialization of it has really gone to some creative places over the years. I mean, at this point is there anything that Santa can’t do, or that we haven’t seen him do?
We’re talking about in Christmas movies, of course, with so many of these movies being about Santa himself, whether it’s Santa on trial (Miracle on 35th St,) Santa having to find his sleigh (the Christmas Chronicles,) Santa having to kill a bunch of thieves (Violent Night,) or just a regular guy becoming Santa (the Santa Clause.)
But then there are tons of Christmas movies that aren’t about Santa at all, from A Christmas Story to Home Alone to Christmas Vacation. These movies are about family and their adventures at or around home during Christmas time. And they raise the question of what it is exactly that defines or makes a Christmas movie. The most controversial or consistently questioned of these, of course, is Die Hard.
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Thats the question that seems to always come up. And a main reason for why it is so often questioned is because there is no easy answer. For example, if the answer is yes, simply because Die Hard is set at Christmas time, with Christmas decorations constantly in the background of scenes, then why aren’t Iron Man 3 or Lethal Weapon or any other movies set at that time of year considered Christmas movies? And if the answer is no, because it’s not really about family or Christmas, and merely features a Christmas work party, then why is Office Christmas Party considered a Christmas movie?
So, the truth is, we have to dig a little deeper answer these questions. Let’s start with the genre. It’s an action movie. Action means violence. Can an action movie also be a Christmas movie? The answer is yes, but it has to actually be about Christmas. It has to be about either Santa or family. So Violent Night in which Santa takes on a bunch of thieves during a Christmas party in a mansion definitely qualifies. It has all three elements needed… Santa, family, and a Christmas party. Two of those three would be enough to qualify. In fact, really just having Santa would be enough to qualify. Home Aline definitely qualifies because it also has all three (although Santa and the Christmas party are like brief cameos, each only bring featured in one quick scene.)
And the thing is, Die Hard definitely does not feature Santa. And it’s certainly not about Christmas. For example, do we even know if it’s Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at anyone during the movie. No. Probably because it isn’t. The movie might even take place a week before Christmas, for all we know. And that brings us to the elements that do tie it into Christmas… the office Christmas party and protagonist John McClane being there to see his kids at Christmastime.
Regarding the office Christmas party… yes, it is the reason why everyone is there in the building after hours. But couldn’t they have just as easily have been there because of any kind of party, or a corporate merger? And while there might seem to be a double standard here, since Office Christmas Party is considered a Christmas movie, whereas Die Hard is not, the different is that the former is actually about the party, whereas the latter is more about the terrorists in the building. The party is just a backdrop that is really only featured toward the start of the film.
So, at the end of the day, Die Hard, as much a we love it, is bit really a Christmas movie. There’s no Santa. There’s no Scrooge or take on A Christmas Carol. There’s even no family (we don’t see McClane with his kids even once.) instead, it’s more in the category of movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, set around Christmastime with Christmas decorations always in the background, but a story that is no way about Christmas. Does it make Die Hard any lesser of a film? Of course not. It’s still one of the greatest, if not the actual greatest, action monies of all time. It’s just not a Christmas movie.