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Dave Baxter's avatar

Hmmm...few things here: the original script for Gremlins by Chris Columbus wasn't comedic at all - it was meant to be a very dark, violent horror movie which he wrote in response to his first film having been transformed into a toothless teen comedy. He was hoping this one would be impossible to make comedic. Enter: Dante, who saw a lot of opportunity to turn the Gremlins into almost vaudevillian creatures with many set pieces made up as they filmed, depending on what they could pull off with the puppets/animatronics. Phoebe Cates' monologue about why she hates Christmas is a remnant of the original script, because both Cates and Dante really liked it. A number of things in this movie are due to the Frankenstein nature of how it came together, and less a coherent thesis from the filmmakers.

And while any take on the movie after the fact is always fair game, I'm not sure it works to say she should have not celebrated Christmas because she's not Christian. Cates' dad died explicitly *because* her family celebrated Christmas at one time. The fact that they aren't Christian isn't the reason for celebrating it or not, it just comes down to if anyone wants to or not. (My family is not, and we do.) At one time, her parents did. Now, she doesn't because of how that turned out. It's a monologue that sticks out in an awkward way, it's true, but it's also pretty unforgettable.

As for the Gremlins representing a foreign invasion, I'm also not sure that works: Gizmo is the one who takes care of Spike in the end, he's the ultimate hero of the piece, whereas Billy and his dad are largely bumbling doofuses who cause all the town's problems because they forever must be free to act on impulse and they never even fully accept their culpability in the tragedies that follow. Gizmo (as his name even implies) and the Gremlins are closer to new technology that we are unable to use with without being destructive. It requires the progenitor of the destructive elements and the original giver of the tech to step in and take it all away.

Even though Dante never does stick to a coherent, single message in the film, overall it's hard to argue that it doesn't come down hard on the side of making fun of American capitalist culture at its core. Cates and Gizmo are the two most effective and heroic figures by the end of it, and the Gremlins are entertaining but destructive forces unleashed by our own ability to care about the consequences of our capitalist need for material things (including pets) minus responsibility.

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Rob Costello's avatar

These reviews of Christmas movies are fantastic! Thank you.

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