Fish and Cherries Productions

Well, this has been a hell of a week, hasn’t it? There have been horrible attacks in France, Beirut, and Nigeria, disasters in Mexico and Japan, people are coldly closing their boarders to Syrian refugees, Anonymous has declared war on ISIS (who I’ll call Daesh from now on, because that’s what they are), and Salt Lake City, the Mormon capitol on the U.S., just elected its first openly gay mayor. So yeah, lots of upsets, both good and bad (mostly bad, given the amount of lives lost). It’s certainly a lot to think about around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, which are associated with peace and harmony, which we’re definitely in short supply of.

Something else these holidays are associated with? Giving to those in need. Now more than ever, there are people who have less than what people are able to live on. So this season, I implore all who are reading to give anything they can. Invite someone you know can’t afford food to Thanksgiving, even if they’re homeless. Donate canned food to food drives or volunteer at soup kitchens or the like. Donate gifts to Toys For Tots or any other type of charity or white elephant. If you see someone shivering in the cold, invite them in and help them warm up. And yes, this applies even if the recipients are Syrian refugees. The day we start picking and choosing who deserves our charity and kindness is the day we have truly lost the spirit of the holidays.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was quite the riot and living proof that slapstick can be great comedy. It’s funny that a movie about such a complete asshole can be so charming, but Chevy Chase pulls it off with amazing comic timing and a great script. The humor is very audacious, but not in the intense gross-out way that a lot of comedic flops nowadays tend to go. The situation will also ring a cord to people who have huge family gatherings and have to watch as the different personalities, be they overbearing, abrasive, or downright senile, bound off of each other. It’s not exactly a traditional Christmas classic in the same way as It’s A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, but it’s definitely a Christmas classic I missed out on in my youth and one I’ll be happy to revisit in the Christmases yet to come.