Iron Man 3 2013
Chris Ryan's running bit: 'Christmas is in every Shane Black movie.'
The Big Picture · Discussion · Draft
The Holiday Movie Draft
December 2, 2021/ 68 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan run the holiday edition of the movie draft, six categories: drama, comedy/action/horror, musical, Oscar nominee, blockbuster, and a wildcard opened up to any holiday content, not just movies.
50 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
What counts as a holiday moviesetting the rules before the draft
Thor: The Dark World 2013
cited as the MCU movie with 'some holiday stuff' in it, short of a real Christmas movie.
Avengers: Endgame 2019
the test case for a definition stretched too far: 'if somebody tries to be like Endgame as a Christmas movie... come on, dawg.'
Jaws 1975
Amanda's joke about the wildcard rule getting too loose: 'Fennessy can pick Jaws because it's July 4th.'
The teams drafting holiday movies
Amanda Dobbins
Blockbuster
Home Alone 1990
the first overall pick, over the objections of Bill Simmons, who doesn't count it as a Christmas movie.
Oscar Nominee
The Apartment 1960
'won like every single Oscar ever'; spans both Christmas and New Year's, the whole holiday run.
Musical
A Very Murray Christmas 2015
Sofia Coppola's Bill Murray special, filmed at the Carlyle's Bemelman's Bar; 'way underrated.'
Drama
Miracle on 34th Street 1947
the 1947 original; rewatched most years, also covered on the show's best-courtroom-dramas list.
Comedy/Action/Horror
Bridget Jones's Diary 2001
starts and ends at Christmas; she had a reading from it at her wedding.
Wildcard
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector 1963
not a film: the Phil Spector Christmas album, played every year 'to my husband's chagrin,' picked under the show's expanded wildcard rule.
Chris Ryan
Oscar Nominee
Die Hard 1988
nominated for four Oscars: visual effects, sound mixing, film editing, sound editing; 'basically invents the next 30 years of action movies.'
Drama
Carol 2015
Todd Haynes; picked fresh off thinking about him via the Velvet Underground documentary.
Blockbuster
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 1989
the National Lampoon movie that 'found an extra gear'; Randy Quaid's supporting turn singled out.
Musical
Meet Me in St. Louis 1944
Vincente Minnelli; Judy Garland's 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.'
Comedy/Action/Horror
Lethal Weapon 1987
set at Christmas in L.A.; 'famously features a cocaine bust in a Christmas tree lot.'
Wildcard
Darlene Love's Letterman Christmas performances
not a film: her annual 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' performances on Letterman, dating back to his public-access days; the pick that inspired the wildcard category.
Sean Fennessey
Drama
It's a Wonderful Life 1946
Frank Capra; 'a movie about a guy losing his mind' for 98 minutes before the famous last ten.
Musical
The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993
produced and story by Tim Burton, directed by Henry Selick; 75 minutes, 'not aged a day.'
Oscar Nominee
Scrooged 1988
Richard Donner's Christmas Carol retelling with Bill Murray, nominated for Best Makeup; Michael O'Donoghue co-wrote.
The ones that got awaycall-outs after the draft closed
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 2005
Chris's Shane Black movie he couldn't find room for.
Holiday Affair 1949
Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh; a widow, her son, and a drifter. 'The most charming Christmas movie you've ever seen,' newly discovered on HBO Max.
Four Christmases 2008
Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon; 'an incredible Robert Duvall performance.'
Diner 1982
Amanda's dad's pick, shown to her at age seven: 'it didn't take.' Lost the Oscar-nominee slot to The Apartment.
Trading Places 1983
the hypothetical over Elf: 'one thousand times out of a thousand.'
Bad Santa 2003
on both Sean and Amanda's lists, picked by neither.
The Night Before 2015
the 'underrated' Seth Rogen Christmas movie.
Happiest Season 2020
called out as a favorite, if 'a little new' for the mix.
The Holiday 2006
passed over for being 'approximately 14 hours long' (one of the longest films ever put in cinemas, by Sean's count).
Love Actually 2003
expected of Sean, not picked.
Black Christmas 1974
Sean wasn't sure horror belonged in the conversation at all.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 1984
'a pretty good slasher,' Chris's counter-suggestion.
The Family Stone 2005
Amanda expected it of Chris; 'that movie's insane': Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Luke Wilson.
The Lion in Winter 1968
another family-destroys-itself-at-Christmas favorite, from an older period.
Metropolitan 1990
Whit Stillman's, floated as a good one.
A Christmas Story 1983
'a classic that was never a classic' to either Sean or Chris.
Home for the Holidays 1995
floated with barely a reaction: 'have you seen that one? Not really.'
Fanny and Alexander 1982
Bergman, 'arguably his greatest film,' still on the board for Oscar nominee when Sean passed on it.
Batman Returns 1992
also on the board for Oscar nominee, 'a terrific Christmas movie,' unpicked.
Eight Crazy Nights 2002
the most well-known Hanukkah movie, brought up since none got picked.
The Hebrew Hammer 2003
floated as another Hanukkah option; nobody at the table had seen it.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles 1987
the Thanksgiving movie that's 'in the rearview mirror' by December.
Call Me by Your Name 2017
debated as a maybe: 'most of it's about the summer.'
An American Tail 1986
Fievel, brought up as a Gizmo cousin.
Little Women
Amanda's biggest regret: 'could have been a first overall pick,' either version.
Eyes Wide Shut 1999
'definitely' a Christmas movie by the group's own definition, surprisingly unpicked.
The Sound of Music 1965
Chris watches it every Christmas but self-excluded it: 'it's not about the holidays, it's just played on TV every year at that time.'
When Harry Met Sally... 1989
Sean's actual pick for best New Year's Eve movie, over Phantom Thread.
200 Cigarettes 1999
Sean's other New Year's Eve nominee.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Next week: best of 2021 preview Licorice PizzaThe Power of the DogThe Velvet UndergroundEternalsGhostbusters: Afterlife
Off-topic asides Boogie NightsThe MasterMichael Clayton
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV HawkeyeA Charlie Brown ChristmasThe Year Without a Santa ClausAnd Just Like That...Emily in ParisThe Sex Lives of College Girls
Promos Listening to Kenny G
Ads FIFA World Cup Launch Edition (Netflix)Boar's HeadKFCRo (row.co)Feeding America