Not seen some of these might be worth a try
Criminally below the radar’: readers on their best underrated Christmas films
After Guardian writers
picked their favourite lesser-known festive movies, readers shoutout Klaus, The Ref and more
Guardian readers
Thu 18 Dec 2025 10.04 GMT
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All is Bright
I thought a real modern hidden gem is All Is Bright starring Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti as two down-on-their-luck Christmas tree sellers. It’s perfectly played by both, with Rudd putting in, not his usual “puppy dog everyone wants to be your mate” role but a sarcastic turn, complementing Giamatti’s Christmas grinch. More a black comedy (by Hollywood standards), it’s an excellent film.
Andyouwillknowme
8-Bit Christmas
It’s shamelessly nostalgic while being enormously funny for my eight- and nine-year-olds but still leaves me in floods of tears by the end.
Cussed12
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‘A festive tour de force’: Guardian writers on their favorite underrated Christmas movies
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Stalled
An offbeat British comedy, Stalled is set on the sidelines of a Christmas office party, when a plumber finds himself trapped in a toilet cubicle during the zombie apocalypse (where he remains for almost the entire film). It’s both ingenious and comical.
Immediatelaunch
The Ref
Rarely has a clever dark comedy also succeeded so well as a “feelgood” film. [Kevin] Spacey, [Denis] Leary and [Judy] Davis are all in top form, and [Ted] Demme’s directorial hand is subtle but steady. And a special tip of the hat to Richard Bright as the instantly memorable, hilarious Murray, Gus’s (Leary’s) incompetent partner in crime.
gradeoneirony
The Family Man
[Nicolas] Cage in The Family Man is one of his most underrated movies. Somewhat inspired by It’s a Wonderful Life, it manages to be heartfelt and entertaining without falling into excessive sentimentality or melodrama.
Sagarmatha1953
Klaus
A beautifully (and traditionally) animated Santa origin story from Sergio Pablos. Heartwarming and in places chaotically funny. It was released by Netflix, but seems to have gone criminally below the radar [in my opinion].
bluejay2011
The Christmas Martian
It just started appearing Christmas afternoons on TV in the early 80s, when I was a young teen. It’s like a low budget Canadian ET full of snowy scenes, and so cute. (I always cry at the end, but then
realChristmas starts!)
andynewilg
A Bad Moms Christmas
Wouldn’t be Christmas without my annual championing of A Bad Moms Christmas with Christine Baranski, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Susan Sarandon and Mila Kunis having a whale of a time on screen, I’m surprised it isn’t mentioned more often in these lists and comments.
Swiitters
Comfort and Joy
I’d nominate Comfort and Joy, where a radio DJ gets over being dumped at Christmas by getting caught up in Glasgow’s ice-cream wars, with all of Bill Forsyth’s usual offbeat charm, and Larceny, Inc. – a lovely little crime comedy starring Edward G Robinson.
JacquesMoran
Some Girls
A lovely underrated Christmas movie from the late 80s. Patrick Dempsey travels to Canada to spend Christmas with girlfriend Jennifer Connelly and her eccentric family, only to hear upon arrival that she doesn’t love him any more. Some fine performances from then unknowns, plus André Gregory from My Dinner With Andre as the dad. And some gorgeous winter Canadian scenery.
Newrynyuk
Bernard and the Genie
Richard Curtis, Lenny Henry, Alan Cumming, Rowan Atkinson and a whole heap of early 90s star cameos. Christmas doesn’t start until a blooming genie put me in a blooming lamp without a bye or blooming leave.
Owlyross
Remember the Night
I suggest Remember the Night, a very adult take with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Almost no one I know has seen it but those that have really cherish it.
MississippiMiss
Saloon Bar
Saloon Bar is a great comedy-drama-thriller ensemble piece, set in an East End pub at Christmas and starring Gordon Harker (Inspector Hornleigh) and Mervyn Johns. Unlike EastEnders it’s a feelgood look back to the fabled working-class London community spirit.
Immediatelaunch
