More storylines. Fancier cameras. Steeper lines. Cooler effects.
The world of ski movies is changing a little more every year, and while we applaud innovation and can appreciate a good cutting edge ski film, sometimes you just want the classics.
You know the ones: they’re part dumb, part cheesy, but entirely funny. There’s no better anecdote to a rainy day/coming-down-with-the-flu feeling/hangover recovery session than to watch a few of these oldies but goodies back-to-back.
Aspen Extreme
The trailer pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Puffy 80’s jackets, Euro style skiing, turtlenecks, retro tunes—and is that the world’s first snowboard? Aspen Extreme tells the timeless story of a guy and his buddy who set out to live the ski bum dream in Aspen. Local babes, rich city babes, baller parties, and drama ensue, with some totally tubular skiing in between, of course.
G.N.A.R.
The world of skiing changed in a major way when we lost Shane McConkey, but as G.N.A.R. shows, his spirit lives on. This documentary—if you can call it that—follows a group of hand selected snow sporters as they battle for a $25,000 purse prize by completing various bizarre challenges (like BNs – if you don’t know what that is, just watch the film).
G.N.A.R. is the source of too many ski one-liners to count—but seriously, I’m the best skier on the mountain.
Out Cold
A snowboarding movie featuring Zach Galifianakis? They just don’t make ski movies like they used to. You probably don’t think 2001 was that long ago, but just five minutes into Out Cold, you’ll realize how long ago it really was (14 years! What?!)
Part snowboarding, part getting-the-girl, the plot to Out Cold doesn’t really matter—it’s a movie best watched when you don’t want to use a single brain cell.
Hot Tub Time Machine
This 2010 film is one of the most modern on this list, but it doesn’t really count since it’s set in 1986. Truth be told, there’s not a ton of actual skiing in this movie, but it does a perfect job of capturing that ski resort vibe that we can’t get enough of. The cast is perfection: Darryl from the Office + John Cusack + that guy with glasses = A+++.
Claim
Claim is probably more in tune with the pure ski film genre than some of the other movies on this list. The premise is simple: step back from the battle of huge egos that has overcome the world of skiing. This segment with Colby James West pretty much sums up how seriously Claim takes itself.
Ski School
Synchronized aerials? You betcha! That’s all it should take to convince you to watch this legendary ski film.
Girls, neon, evil corporate suits trying to suck the soul out of skiing—hey, maybe not much has changed since this film was made in 1991 after all. The best part: once you’ve finished watching Ski School, you can move on to Ski School 2. Yes, they made a sequel out of this gem. You’re welcome.
Hot Dog
Hot Dog is so bad that it’s really, really good. It was made back in 1983, so you’ll have to excuse the un-PC-ness of it all. The best scene of the film is the classic Chinese Downhill race. If your local hill doesn’t host its own iteration of the race, you’ll probably want to start a new tradition after seeing it for yourself.
