30 Feminist Christmas Movies, Ranked

Four Christmases, Image via New Line Cinema

Four Christmases

Kate and Brad have no desire to see their families for Christmas. In fact, for several years, they have intentionally scheduled vacations disguised as charity work to get out of the obligation. But when a fog bank cancels all outbound flights, their families discover that they are stranded at home and insist on seeing them. Seeing as both of their sets of parents are divorced, they are obliged to go to four separate Christmases. This unmarried, intentionally childless couple face lots of questions from all of their disparate family members, leading them to self-discoveries that at times cause them to drift apart, but at times draw them closer together.

The Good

• It’s very cool to see Kate confidently declare that she doesn’t want to get married or have kids. Of course, they ruin this later. But it’s cool while it lasts.

The Bad

• This movie portrays the sexuality of older women as gross and negative. Kate’s mom is a sexual being, which is played for laughs. Brad’s mom is dating Brad’s best friend, which Brad makes into a huge thing. The dads in the movie are there to give insight to the way the Kate and Brad were raised. The moms only exist to make the audience laugh about the idea of an older woman having a love life. Fun.
• Brad’s two brothers are cage fighters and beat him up all the time. So the land of toxic masculinity is alive and well in this movie.

The Ugly

• Somehow, this movie begins with two people who expressly have never wanted marriage and children and ends with the same two people desperately wanting marriage and children. How exactly did spending time with their terrible families reinforce this patriarchal ideal to the degree that it changed their minds? Who knows?