Pop Culture Happy Hour: "The Worst Christmas Movies"

Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Glenn Weldon (NPR)
Panelists: Stephen Thompson, Aisha Harris, Waylon Wong

Overview

In this festive yet scathing episode, the Pop Culture Happy Hour team puts aside the classics and debates which Christmas movies deserve the dubious title of "the worst." Each panelist champions a notorious film, dissecting what makes it truly wretched—from shallow commercialism and awkward tone to baffling creative choices. The conversation is spirited, full of both laughs and groans, and peppered with sharp pop-culture critiques and nostalgic references.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

What Makes a Bad Christmas Movie?

• Stephen Thompson opens with the idea that while bad holiday movies can be unintentionally fun, some truly cross the line into unwatchable:

  "I don't think you can come up with a better metric than purports to satirize or comment upon commercialism while being 100% steeped in it and refusing really to undermine it in any way." (04:02)

• Films that stretch a thin premise to feature-length, waste comedic talent, or misfire tonally are recurring gripes.
• A theme emerges: Many bad Christmas movies aspire to warmth and spirit, but end up feeling either soulless or bizarrely cynical.

Panelist Picks for Worst Christmas Movies

1. Stephen Thompson: Jingle All the Way (1996)

• Premise: Arnold Schwarzenegger battles rival Sinbad for a sold-out toy in this family comedy.
• Why it’s awful: The movie critiques holiday commercialism while embodying it; plot is paper-thin and relies on tired tropes; little to no genuine character growth.
• Wasted talent: Phil Hartman gets "a ton of scenes, none of which are funny" (06:04).
• Notable Quote:

  "This film has enough material for a skit, maybe a 22 minute episode of a sitcom, but it is stretched out to 90 minutes full of digressions." (04:04)

• Timestamp highlight: Discussion of the sequels and its legacy as the genesis for competitive Christmas movies. (06:34)

2. Aisha Harris: I Believe in Santa (2022, Netflix)

• Premise: A July 4th-loving writer falls for a lawyer obsessed with Christmas—who literally believes in Santa Claus.
• Why it’s awful: Bizarre premise executed without irony; "creepy AF" energy likened to a horror movie; completely unbelievable romantic chemistry even though the leads are married in real life (11:57).
• The film attempts clumsy progressive touches (gay Muslim best friend) while missing the basics of romance and logic.
• Notable Quote:

  "If you’re actually trying to date someone and introduce them to your child and all these other things, I need Lisa to have higher standards than this." (12:33)

• The film’s climax is left open-ended—“It’s the top at the end of Inception”—with a rustling in the fireplace instead of a clear answer on Santa’s existence. (13:02)
• Memorable moment: The romance is so inert that the only way to process the movie is to imagine it's a prequel to M3GAN (14:06).

3. Waylon Wong: Love Actually (2003)

• Premise: Interlocking vignettes of love and heartbreak in London at Christmas.
• Why it’s awful:
  • Overstuffed plot, many unromantic or depressing subplots
  • Dated and egregious fatphobia
  • “Romantic” gestures are intrusive or inappropriate, notably the cue card scene.
  • Opens with a 9/11 reference, jarringly out of place.
• Notable Quotes:

  "It is the height of narcissism. It’s so selfish." (17:32)
  "It fundamentally misunderstands Christmas because on one of those cue cards... it’s written, 'it’s Christmas, and on Christmas you tell the truth,' which is not a thing." (18:44)

• Discussion of cultural context: The early 2000s' obsession with thinness and Bridget Jones (19:48), and the odd morality lessons (“Christmas is about gentle lies.” — Stephen, 19:04).

4. Glenn Weldon: Scrooge and Marley (2012)

• Premise: A gay version of A Christmas Carol, set in modern Chicago, featuring cabaret numbers.
• Why it's (allegedly) awful:
  • Low-budget, amateur production values.
  • Sincere but hammy acting, overwrought sentimentality.
  • Yet, Glenn admits it’s not as loathsome as the panel's other picks:

    "It’s a tiny, scrappy little movie that features a lot of very hardworking Chicago actors..." (21:13)

• Features "Wizard of Oz reference, because gay" (22:35) and journeys delivered via sniffing poppers rather than holding a robe (23:14).
• Notable Quote:

  "What it exudes is exactly what you expect it to exude, which is raw sincerity and sentimentality. And those are two things I'm allergic to personally. But it's doing its job, right?" (24:16)

• Admits failure at the assignment:

  "I don't legitimately believe this to be the worst holiday movie." (20:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Stephen Thompson on Jingle All the Way:

  "This is part of the colossally large genre of 90s family comedies about terrible fathers." (05:24)

• Waylon Wong, on Love Actually:

  "Keep it to yourself." (17:32)

• Aisha Harris, on I Believe in Santa:

  "Their eyes are very, very bright. It is a Netflix movie. I get that we're not expecting Shakespeare here." (11:22)

• Glenn Weldon, on Scrooge and Marley:

  "I would never watch any version of A Christmas Carol voluntarily because... not even the Muppets one. I'm sorry, folks." (25:16)

Funniest Quip:

• Stephen Thompson: "Christmas is about gentle lies.” (19:04)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:31–06:34: Stephen Thompson’s takedown of "Jingle All the Way"
• 07:16–14:24: Aisha Harris’s critique of "I Believe in Santa"
• 15:27–20:07: Waylon Wong dissects "Love Actually"
• 20:59–25:01: Glenn Weldon reviews "Scrooge and Marley"
• 25:31–25:41: Final debate on which movie is objectively the worst

Tone & Final Thoughts

• The episode keeps a spirited, playful, and occasionally biting tone—encouraging listeners to both groan along and seek out a better holiday movie.
• There’s an invitation for listeners to weigh in on their own worst Christmas movie picks:

  "We want to know what you think is the worst holiday movie of all time. Your own picks, find us at facebook.com/PCHH..." (25:41)

Listeners’ Takeaway

Whether you love to hate-watch or wince away from awkward seasonal cinema, this episode is a treasure trove of campy holiday disasters and blisteringly honest reviews, all delivered in the show's signature witty banter.