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leprechaun.jpg

Revisiting the 1993 Jennifer Aniston Classic, 'Leprechaun'

By Kate Hudson | Film | October 30, 2018 |

By Kate Hudson | Film | October 30, 2018 |


leprechaun.jpg

Some movies are remake-proof. Casablanca, Star Wars, Some Like it Hot… the 1993 Jennifer Aniston classic, Leprechaun.

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We all know that not all good movies are entertaining, and not all entertaining movies are good. Leprechaun is a rare classic that straddles that Venn diagram perfectly.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, Leprechaun is about a leprechaun.

via GIPHY

The problem with “holiday” type of movies is that you typically only watch them during the holiday time in which they take place. With Leprechaun, it’s appropriate to watch during multiple holidays, because of the universal themes it has.

For instance:

New Year’s Day: If you find a leprechaun’s pot o’ gold, it can lead to a new beginning…in hell, because the leprechaun will kill you for it. That’s just science.

Valentine’s Day: There’s nothing more romantic than running for your life from a leprechaun. I speak from experience.

Saint Patrick’s Day: A man named Patrick worked on the film in some capacity, surely.

May the Fourth: While your friends are too busy congratulating themselves for liking Star Wars since it became cool to do so, (while you definitely got picked on in elementary school for role-playing it incessantly at recess while everyone pointed and laughed) you can pop in Leprechaun because guess who plays the leprechaun, aptly named “Leprechaun”? I have no idea, tbh, I’m too lazy to look it up, but it’s a way to be “that guy” to your friends, and not give in to a manufactured holiday, which I wholly support.

Arbor Day: Come on, this is obvious. The leprechaun is green.

Fourth of July: You can celebrate independence from this mortal coil, because you took a leprechaun’s gold, and he got on a pogo and stomped you to death. You had it coming, don’t touch his gold, friend!

Halloween: Commemorate that one time a leprechaun chased after you by reliving the semi-autobiographical tale that started it all. Stay in, lock your doors, and close your curtains, because once a leprechaun has your scent he never gives up. Tonight is a night to hide from him, friend. (Well, every night is the night to hide from him…)

Thanksgiving: It’s a time to give thanks that you’re still alive, because by this point you know that if you find a pot o’ gold at the end of a rainbow, you leave it well alone!

Christmas: It’s a Hudson family tradition to gather around the tv and watch Leprechaun while we take digs at each other because we’ve drank too much whiskey. If you’re lucky, like we usually are, you can time the inevitable all-out brawl to take place right as the movie ends, so you don’t miss a moment of that Leprechaun-y goodness!

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We’ve established definitively that Leprechaun is a classic for the ages, any time of year—but the real question is, does it hold up?

Of course, it does. You’re a stronger person than me if you can manage to watch it, and not rush right out to buy a pair of LA Gears that Jennifer Aniston’s Tory wears prominently throughout the movie, and that the leprechaun clearly covets.

One, because he’s a creature of style and taste, and two, because dude has a serious shoe fetish, which he explains when we meet him.

Sure, Jennifer Aniston is most known for that tv show she did that escapes my memory, but she should be known for Leprechaun, because it ends with a child firing a four-leaf clover via a slingshot into the leprechaun’s mouth while he says “f*ck your lucky charms.”

If that’s not high art and timeless cinema, I genuinely don’t know what is.

If you’re now sold on revisiting this 1993 classic, it’s probably available on streaming, but I’d recommend just watching enough clips of it on YouTube, out of order, until you get the gist.

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Header Image Source: Trimark Pictures