Fairy Tale of New York & Christmas

It’s pretty well known that It’s a Wonderful Life, when it was released in 1946, wasn’t met with universal acclaim. The second world war had recently ended and the nation was a bit jaded and disillusioned. The Lost Weekend, a dramatic portrayal of a chronic alcoholic, won the Oscar for Best Picture that year.

Which is not to say that the film bombed or that every critic dismissed it—but many did. Will it surprise anyone to learn that the New Yorker was unimpressed? Here’s their original review, right beside an ad for canned mushrooms, boiled in butter.

I'm a fan of the New Yorker, for the most part. But their staff often writes from the point of view that the world at large is trying (and most often failing) to win the New Yorker's approval... and so some pleasure can occasionally be had by scoffing right back at their original scoff. It's a Wonderful Life, of course,  went on to become a piece of Americana as beloved as Tom Sawyer—the novel that the angel Clarence carries with him. And not that it's (ahem...) a contest, but, come on, It's a Wonderful Life is the greatest Christmas movie ever made (runner-up: Tangerine). And I think the New Yorker review actually reveals a big part of the reason why: Note that they write that the movie was released “in time” for Christmas. That’s Christmas’s one and only mention in the review. Rightly so… the movie is barely about Christmas.

And so it goes with the greatest Christmas song of all time: “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues. As with It’s a Wonderful Life, “Fairytale of New York” is filled with people living, talking, aspiring, failing, not quite living the life that they'd imagined… oh, and also, it’s Christmas.

This, for me, sets them apart from the throngs of Christmas movies and songs that basically announce, ad nauseam: It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! Wait... will there BE a Christmas this year? Oh! No! It seems not... wait! What's that sound in the distance? It's a Christmas miracle! Et cetera.

And so there you have it. Just one song in this post. ... But wait! What's that sound in the distance? Is it... Darlene Love? Singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”? Which is also the greatest Christmas song of all time? Both songs are the greatest? How is that possible? Is it... a Christmas miracle? 

Yes. Yes, it is. And also, it’s not a contest.

Merry Christmas!