Holiday Movies? Not Really

By now your TV has screened A Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas so many times it's shedding pine needles. But we're fond of these seven movies that, although they all unfold around Christmas and New Year's, aren't exactly what you'd call typical holiday fare. 

In one well-known scene from "Lethal Weapon," Mel Gibson as an undercover cop makes a bust at a Christmas tree lot. — Alamy

Lethal Weapon (1987)

As suicidal cop Martin Riggs, Mel Gibson makes a memorable bust posing as a drug buyer at a Christmas tree lot run by crooks. "How much for all of it?" he asks the pushers. "Maybe a nice six-footer to put it under, huh?" Then come a lot of shooting and Three Stooges imitations.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in a holiday mood, from "When Harry Met Sally ..." — Everett Collection

When Harry Met Sally … (1989)

The big finale comes at a New Year's Eve party, when Harry (Billy Crystal) makes his final case to his true love, Sally (Meg Ryan): "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." Who could resist that line? Not Sally, that's for sure.

Bill Nighy, looking naughty not nice, in a holiday scene from "Love, Actually." — Alamy

Love Actually (2003)

An all-star British cast enacts a bunch of interwoven stories that happen to unravel during the holidays. Best of all is Bill Nighy as a burned-out rock star who urges his faithful radio listeners, "Buy my festering turd of a record!"

Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni star in this fish-out-of-water comedy, "The Family Man." — Alamy

The Family Man (2000)

Nicolas Cage is perfectly happy as a fabulously wealthy, happily single, ruthlessly successful Wall Street type — until he wakes up one holiday season to find he's married to his old school sweetheart (Téa Leoni), has a bunch of kids, lives in the 'burbs and works at a tire store.

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