“If you believe in this spirit thing, the miracle will happen, and then you’ll want it to happen again tomorrow… It can happen every day, you’ve just got to want that feeling.”
– Bill Murray in SCROOGED
That’s right – it’s time to feel the moment and that holiday spirit thing. It’s time for Spoiler Free Review’s 12 days of Christmas 2022 edition! We will be posting our favorite holiday experiences with 12 reviews and illustrations of movies, TV, and music. So sit back, enjoy some spiked eggnog, and enjoy to SFR’s 12-days of Christmas 2022! 🎅
A Christmas movie doesn’t necessarily have to highlight holiday festivities and traditions heavily. If the film takes place during the holiday, and even if it contributes to the events that are going on rather than the holiday itself…then it counts, IMO. That being said…THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT is unquestionably a Xmas flick.
When looking back at this movie, three things immediately come to mind.
- The Charli Baltimore character was something quite interesting. Action heroines weren’t really much of a thing in the ’90s. Yes, you had Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver doing their thing, but they were revising characters that once existed in previous decades. Davis handles herself extremely well in this type of action role, and in my humble opinion, there needed to be another opportunity for this character to flourish. She really could have been an action star.
- Sam Jackson was on a monster run around the time this movie was released. The films he’d done before this were DIE HARD III, LOSING ISAIAH, A TIME TO KILL, and THE GREAT WHITE HYPE.
This period established Jackson as a guy who could have impeccable chemistry with just about anybody on screen, and that is certainly the case here. Mitch Hennessy is one of his greatest creations. It’s the character that I’m sad we never got to see a lot more of.
- The Christmas-ness of this movie is very present, but I guess it didn’t have to be there that much if I’m going to be honest with you. You could have put any holiday around the events of this movie, and it would have worked…. but it just wouldn’t be the same. Most of the score is comprised of popular Christmas songs, and many characters engage in Christmas activities throughout the film. There’s even a Christmas party at the beginning of the film.
If you haven’t seen this film before, I strongly suggest you do so. Anybody who has seen this film and recollects it tends to do so fondly. I wouldn’t even go as far as to say that it’s underrated or under-appreciated. People who came up around that time see it for what it is. Good classic campy fun.
A LONG KISS GOODNIGHT is available to stream on Paramount+.