- Home
- entertainment
- Movies
- The 14 worst Christmas movies of all time, according to critics
The 14 worst Christmas movies of all time, according to critics
"Unaccompanied Minors" (2006): 31%
"Four Christmases" (2008): 25%
Starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, "Four Christmases" is the story of a couple whose plan to avoid the holidays with their family is ruined by a canceled flight. The dysfunctional family tropes play out in the film, but one critic found it "charmless and cheerless."
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1998): 23%
Ah, the glory days of Jonathan Taylor Thomas. This Disney original missed the magic, and Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post said that it was "too sophisticated for thumb-suckers, but far too stupid for anyone else."
"Fred Claus" (2007): 21%
Vince Vaughn doesn't seem to have much luck with Christmas movies. In this ditty, Vaughn plays "Fred Claus," the underachieving brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). New York Post's Kyle Smith claims that "there is more plot in the average Geico commercial" than in this film.
"Jack Frost" (1998): 20%
Oscar-nominated actor Michael Keaton plays an absent father-turned-snowman in "Jack Frost." Though the plot tells a heartwarming tale of father/son bonding, the sentimentality wasn't enough to combat what Roger Ebert called the "most repulsive single creature in the history of special effects!"
Tyler Perry's "A Madea Christmas" (2013): 18%
The eighth installment of Tyler Perry's "Madea" movies, this Christmas themed iteration about the titular character bringing two unlikely families together was not well-received. Variety's critic Andrew Barker called it "an exceptionally poor piece of holiday cash-in product."
"Jingle All the Way" (1997): 17%
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a forgetful father in this 1990s classic. His costar? None other than Sinbad. The duo dash around a city on Christmas Eve, desperately trying to outwit each other to buy a sold-out toy for their individual sons. Critics called the film "formulaic" and "relentlessly materialistic."
"The Perfect Holiday" (2007): 16%
This movie goes the rom-com route of holiday films, with Gabrielle Union and Morris Chestnut meeting in the un-idealized circumstances of single mom and a mall-Santa love interest. Richard Roeper didn't hold back in his review: "I'd rather watch 90 minutes of a flickering yule log video than sit through this overcooked Christmas goose again."
"The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" (2006): 15%
Perhaps it was doubling up on the word "clause" in the title, but the final installment to "The Santa Clause" trilogy received the worst reviews of the bunch. Jack Frost is the villain in this movie, played by Martin Short. Alas, Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel said that "the movie is as icy as Jack's hair, and as lifeless as its animatronic, flatulent reindeer."
"Trapped in Paradise" (1994): 10%
"Trapped in Paradise" features '90s dream team Dana Carvey, Nicolas Cage, and John Lovitz. The trio play brothers so desperate for cash that they rob a local bank. New York Times critic Janet Maslin said: "It's a minor holiday miracle that this homey comedy barely elicits even a chuckle."
"Surviving Christmas" (2004): 7%
Believe it or not, but this movie starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, and Catherine O'Hara was a total bust. Affleck plays a rich loner who pays the family living in his childhood home to pretend they're all related for the holidays. Charming.
"Deck the Halls" (2006): 6%
Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick face off in a "who can be the most Christmas-obsessed man on the block" contest in this holiday flop. James Berardinelli of Reelviews was unimpressed: "I love the Christmas season, but there are times when I wish it would go away if only to save audiences from horrific experiences like this."
"Christmas with the Kranks" (2004): 5%
Jamie Lee Curtis plays wife to Tim Allen in this Christmas comedy. The Kranks (Curtis and Allen) decide to "skip Christmas," much to the disappointment of their neighbors. The humor was lost on Washington Post critic Michael O'Sullivan, who said that the movie "stinks like the un-refrigerated ham its studio sent me as a promotion several months ago."
"Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" (2014): 0%
And finally, we have "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" with a 0% rating, according to Rotten Tomatoes critics. The movie follows Kirk as he helps his brother-in-law, Christian, "take back Christmas" as a religious tradition. "This may be one of the least artful holiday films ever made," said Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Even devout born-again Christians will find this hard to stomach."
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement