John and I belong to a Movie Discussion group at our local library. It meets monthly and works just like a book discussion group. Everyone watches the movie at home, then meets to discuss it as a group. In December, we usually try to watch something Christmas related. So far, we have watched The Shop Around the Corner, The Ref, and It's a Wonderful Life. (In 2020 we watched North by Northwest, which has nothing to do with Christmas as far as I can remember. Correct me if I am wrong.) This year's film was Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis.
I know that many people don't consider Die Hard a Christmas film. Let me tell you, though, that two of the previous films we watched had attempted suicide at the heart of the film, and The Ref has an extremely dysfunctional family at its core. Die Hard is by far the least depressing and possibly even most heartwarming Christmas movie we have watched for this group.
In case you haven't seen the film, it centers around John McClane, a New York City detective heading to Los Angeles for Christmas to visit his estranged wife. When he arrives, his wife is at her office Christmas party, despite the fact that it is Christmas Eve. Like actually Christmas Eve. What kind of company has an office party on Christmas Eve?!
While John is in the bathroom freshening up, a group of terrorists take over the party and the entire high rise office building and it is clearly up to John McClane to save the day. (The situation is a little more nuanced than this, since McClane does actually attempt to get help from the proper authorities without success. So, in the end, it's up to him.)
Earlier, I said that this film stars Bruce Willis. This is true. Die Hard is Bruce Willis's franchise. He is what makes the movies as a group great. But what makes this first film amazing is Alan Rickman. Anyone who has seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves knows that Alan Rickman makes a first-rate villain and his first foray is no exception. (Pause for an acknowledgement of his turn as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, which was also perfection and the least villainous role in the whole movie.)
Ultimately, Die Hard is an action film. If you don't like action movies, you probably won't like this, despite the fact that Alan Rickman is urbane and charming and Bruce Willis is very funny. There is a lot of shooting and a lot of dead guys. Bruce Willis doesn't have shoes on for 90% of the movie (there IS a reason) and his feet don't fare very well. So if those things make you cringe, roll your eyes, and/or feel queasy, I am going to have to say skip it, even though I really enjoyed this movie (and even own a copy!).
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