Our favorite dysfunctional families

One of the most common themes of Christmas movies is family — Christmas is a time of love and togetherness, after all. The families we find in Christmas films tend to fall into two categories: Either they’re wholesome and loving and kind, or they’re dysfunctional and full of foibles that upend every family get together. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite dysfunctional families from our favorite Christmas films.

The Kranks “Christmas With the Kranks” (2004)

The dysfunction in this film extends to the whole neighborhood. When Luther (Tim Allen, “Home Improvement”) and Nora Krank’s (Jamie Lee Curtis, “Scream Queens”) daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo, “Veronica Mars”), announces that she’s going away for Christmas, her parents are devastated. Without their daughter, why go to all the effort to plan for Christmas? Why not skip Christmas all together and go lay on a beach somewhere? When the neighbors, who rely on the Kranks for much of their holiday cheer, find out that their Christmas traditions are canceled, things start to unravel, and the poor Kranks go off the deep end. It’s a funny, over-the-top, but somehow relatable look at just how stressful Christmas can be.

The Stones “The Family Stone” (2005)

This is one of those underrated movies that some people love, but many have never seen. Diane Keaton (“The Young Pope”) and Craig T. Nelson (“Parenthood”) star as Sybil and Kelly Stone, whose five grown children return home for Christmas. The eldest, Everett (Dermot Mulroney, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), brings his girlfriend, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker, “Divorce”), who the family has never met — an awkward situation at any time, but the added pressure of Christmas and the revelation of a heartbreaking secret push poor Meredith to the brink. This film is full of touching, funny and relatable moments, and each character is flawed and messy in ways that will make you want to watch it again and again.

The McCallisters “Home Alone” (1990)

The McCallisters are the epitome of the dysfunctional holiday movie family. Do they love each other? Yes. Are they doing their best?

Yes. Are they a complete mess? Also yes.

When the family accidentally leaves 8-yearold Kevin (Macaulay

Culkin, “Robot Chicken”) at home and fly to Paris without him, he’s left to fend for himself, and must stave off boredom, starvation, a scary man with a shovel, his basement and a couple of inept burglars. While Kevin’s antics are delightfully delinquent, his family’s reaction to leaving him behind really hits you in the feels. It’s clear that they all find Kevin obnoxious, annoying, grating and frustrating, but when they realize he’s in trouble, the family comes together to make things right. Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”) is a real treasure as Kevin’s perpetually exasperated mother, who roadtrips across the country with a polka band just to get back to him.