[Behind Liberal Lines]

Funny film until the end when a “ends justifies the means” angle slithered in and it became just another Hollywood anti-capitalism propaganda film.

oh, geez, lighten up. You really think Cousin Eddie was supposed to be a role model there?

The point with the boss wasn't that all capitalists are bad. It was that the particular boss in question was being a jerk. Even Clark said to him "if you don't want to give Christmas bonuses that's fine but give us a warning so we aren't counting on it."

[Robwin]

oh, geez, lighten up.

No, you wake up. Hollywood constantly paints the successful as greedy and unfeeling. This movie at its end pushed that same tired theme. Moreover the moral philosophy being taught was that "the ends justify the means", an abhorrent concept whether in a comedy you like or anywhere else in popular culture.

[MD Expat in PA]

oh, geez, lighten up. You really think Cousin Eddie was supposed to be a role model there? The point with the boss wasn't that all capitalists are bad. It was that the particular boss in question was being a jerk. Even Clark said to him "if you don't want to give Christmas bonuses that's fine but give us a warning so we aren't counting on it."

Many years ago my now ex-husband used to work for a commercial construction company and the owner waited until 6:00 PM on Christmas Eve (and yes, they made them work a full day on Christmas Eve, until 5:00 PM) and then made them attend an afterhours Christmas Eve “party” at the office that consisted mostly of soda and pretzels and chips and dip just to get handed their “Christmas bonus”. And if you weren’t present at the “party” to smile and grovel for the boss - no “bonus” for you!

Some years it was a generous hand written check for anywhere from $50 to, in some years several hundred dollars, but being that the banks were closed by then as were most of the stores, was not very helpful for actually using it for Christmas live alone making the employees get home late on Christmas Eve whatever the bonus was. And in some years the “bonus” was a frozen turkey (Yea! A rock solid frozen turkey that won’t thaw out until at least New Years). One year, the boss handed out Christmas cards with nothing at all in it except for his “sincere thanks” that was clearly written by his secretary. Of course we learned not to count on getting anything so anything we got was more than we expected. But the bonuses seemed to have little or nothing to do with how profitable the company was that year or on how well anyone performed. It was completely random and at the whim and mood of the owner so it was like playing a roulette reel of “how much or how little of a jerk is he going to be this year” game.