12 Films of Christmas: Some Girls

This little-seen selection, featured in Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, stars Jennifer Connelly (back when she was curvaceous) and Patrick Dempsey (before he was McDreamy):

Cocky college student Michael (Dempsey) travels to Québec City to spend Christmas with his girlfriend Gaby (Connelly), who has been out of school because of her grandmother's illness. Upon his arrival, Gaby informs Michael that she no longer loves him, but that's just the first of many shocks to his system.

At her family's sprawling house, Michael meets Gaby's flirtatious sisters Irenka (Sheila Kelley) and Simone (Ashley Greenfield); her father (Andre Gregory), an academic who can work only in the nude; and her strictly Catholic, no-nonsense mother (Florinda Bolkan), who immediately treats Michael like a fox in the henhouse. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Gaby's sick grandmother (Lila Kedrova) mistakes Michael for another Michael -- her late husband.

Even with all the cards stacked against Michael Hoffman's charming romantic comedy -- MGM suffered one of its many bankruptcies around the time of the film's meager, underpublicized release -- Some Girls has gone on to earn a cult following on DVD and cable in the ensuing decades. Sporting the kind of breezy boldness we're used to seeing only in European sex comedies, this sprightly farce is urbane, smart, and sensual. It also doesn't hurt that the cast is so terrific, from youngsters Dempsey and Connelly to old troopers like Kedrova, Bolkan, and Gregory. The subtlety and intelligence of Rupert Walters' delightful screenplay rewards multiple viewings, and the visuals of snowy Québec City at Christmas time (shot by cinematographer Ueli Steiger) will make you want to plan your next holiday there.

Fun Facts:

· Some Girls was one of the first screenplays to be developed through the Sundance Institute; Robert Redford is credited as an executive producer.

· The mural being hung on the walls while Michael waits for Gaby at the airport is a reproduction of the Three Graces from Botticelli's "Primavera," a visual metaphor for the three sisters who will bewitch Michael during his visit.

Check out the rest of Movieline's 12 Films of Christmas as they're revealed this week and next.