Category: Holiday Themes

PETER, FOUR

Successful. Utterly self-centered. Breezy.

Like Lucy, Peter’s nature drives his story. He’s selfish. Oh, it’s too delicious! This is a happy movie, so the unlikable character is in a coma throughout most of it. When he wakes up, the script gives him a diagnosis of amnesia. All of his negative traits become fodder for humor as he tries to prove that he can remember his life.

Needless to say, he’s portrayed beautifully. To play someone so shallow and yet to make him so funny is difficult.

So, what Enneagram is he? Professionally he’s incredibly successful. That suggests a Three, except that he’s so socially dense. Threes know how to take a room’s temperature.

He’s a Four. It’s the sartorial flair. (“Are those my shoes?”)  He’s a charming jerk, self-absorbed, yet able to navigate the corporate milieu. You have to like a Man Four; you can’t help it, even when their nasty bits are showing. It’s so Peter.

LUCY, TWO

If you look beyond Bullock’s charisma, who is Lucy? Nice, helpful, sensitive. Is she observant? She notices that Peter gives up his seat on the train, but she also fails to notice that Peter is a schmuck. She has few friends — a work colleague only — yet she can immediately connect with Peter’s family and be liked by them. She’s very lonely.

I’m pointing toward Heart Type. Feelings drive her, even to rescuing a stranger on the train tracks and following him to the emergency room to make sure he’s okay. Anyone can be lonely, but a Head Type would’ve probably extricated herself before the confusion went too far. A Heart Type is, frankly, more careful about hurting others’ feelings, which is how Lucy ends up in a pickle. It’s really a great gimmick and a very fun, rewatchable movie.

Sentimental objects (the golden world lamp, the Florence snow globe) and bottled-up dreams . . . Two. Their giving impulse keeps them from treating themselves sometimes. Lucy is so very kind — working the Christmas shift, allowing Joe Junior in her closet, partnering up with Saul — even seeing good in Peter after getting to know how shallow he is. Her generosity is basically the movie’s antagonist: all the conflict comes from her behavior. They’re good instincts, though, which makes this a lovely Christmas film.

RACHEL, SIX

Aw, she doesn’t even get a last name. Just Rachel, but, oh, what a Rachel. She’s immediately charismatic.

I like how Rachel stands up for herself: “I thought you were . . . blank.” Her hurt at being duped is honest yet not raging. And she cuts him off until he proves at the talent show with Marcus that he’s changed.

What number has that fortitude? 

A Three, possibly. Not a Body Type at all. None of her reactions fit those profiles. Not a Four or Two, which leads me to conclude she’s not a Heart Type either, so not a Three. She’s too calm when confronted with emotional pain.

Head Type. Not a Five, who would never put up with Allie the son’s behavior. Fives move to Eight in strength and would blow his snottiness out of the water. Also not a Seven, who really has no time for that nonsense. Sevens have important work to do.

A Six? Her putdown of Will is so subtle and witty. When she decides she’s done with him, she’s really done. No waffling: he must demonstrate true character alteration and growth. A black-and-white judgment, no gray.

Interesting. I like it.

FIONA BREWER, FOUR

I don’t know what Enneagram number Toni Collette is, and she’s a physical chameleon when it comes to her roles, but she’s given Fiona the body of a Four. With her costuming and the way she’s shot, Fiona comes across as tall with a dominating physical presence. This is one of the Woman Four body characteristics.

Fiona’s depression can also be Four-like. The highs and lows. These are markers that are stereotypes, though. Let’s look deeper.

She’s very socially brave. When she thinks Marcus has been mistreated by Will she’s in his face in a public place with no hesitation or caution. Her dedication to SPAT, the support group, is also a comfortable relationship. Meeting people, relying on people, these are all wheelhouse reactions from Fiona. Very Heart Type.

What about an Eight, though? She’s very aggressive in her opinions, and her dominating physique could also be an Eight’s. Is she a Body Type?

No! Hahaha, I’m cracking up. It’s the ancient grains cereal. Eights are more luxurious in their eating choices. Oh, dear, that’s funny. Although, she does cry over the cereal. No, I’m kidding.

And she closes her eyes during “Killing Me Softly”. She’s feeling the emotion of the words. She can’t be feeling the musicality because it’s a terrible song, hitting the body like an ice pick to the brain. An Eight would recoil rather than lean in.

Okay, that was mean. But I genuinely hate that song. As do most people. That’s what makes the bit so funny.

MARCUS BREWER, TWO

He’s a child, but he’s also a major character. We won’t be able to use his physical qualities to help determine his Enneagram — he’s not mature enough for that. The costume designer has made strong choices, though, that give him a definite physical presence.

For instance, awkwardness. The shoes are in the script. Marcus wears a brown loafer, something unathletic (as well as uncool). The trainers are his for only a brief time, basically showing that they aren’t a physical match for his character (as well as continuing the bullying storyline).

Not a Body Type. Not a Head Type, either. He’s clearly a Heart. Community, connection, social gathering — these are the theme. Marcus represents all the arguments for these things, going directly against (and ultimately persuading) Will and his lifestyle. Marcus wins, and he does so by repeatedly throwing himself into a difficult social milieu. Very Heart Type.

He’s not a Three. Can Threes even be bullied? And he’s much too unstylish to be a Four. That rainbow sweater! Oops, jumper, as they say across the pond.

He must be a Two, which makes sense with his generous nature. Instead of collecting gadgets or gewgaws, Marcus collects people. Friends and family.

WILL FREEMAN, FOUR

I didn’t even know he had a last name! It’s Will the Cool Guy, Will of the Carefully Disheveled Hair, Will of the Units of Time.

I love Will.

He is a wonderful mix of brutal honesty and deep deception. His narration, something that pains me normally, is an exception to the rule. Because “Santa’s Super Sleigh” impacts his life so thoroughly, this is most definitely a Christmas movie.

Well, he’s quite concerned about other peoples’ opinions. He pretends he isn’t, thus his armor of cool, but he’s devastated when Rachel might not like him. This is why the climax, when he sings in front of the whole school, is so powerful. He’s really risking something. Disapproval is the worst thing he can face.

Heart Type? Most people want to be liked, but it’s not the defining character trait for them.

Will’s a Four! He’s witty, cutting. Mostly we see his veneer rather than his lows and highs, but they’re there, hiding. A loner, he achieves community, friendship, and connection at the end of the movie. Vulnerability opens up a better life for him. It’s a beautiful message and a lovely film.

And the apple beelining for his head makes me fall off the couch laughing every time.

SALLY, SEVEN

A rebel, obviously. She’s very determined to help — stalk? — Jack. She’ll poison the doctor in order to escape. She’s so very mild-mannered while being utterly ruthless! What a great character.

Sally is very likable, very relatable. Her shyness, her doubt, her bravery. She’s also curious.

So many qualities! How to narrow her down to an Enneagram number?

We’re in an imagined reality with Rules of the Magic that work against discovering her, but even with that we can say she isn’t a Body Type. She throws herself out a window and lands with a thud! She’s a trooper about the whole thing, stitching herself back together, but she goes ka-splat.

Wait. A trooper. Is she a Six?

She’s regimented about right and wrong. She even says, “This feels wrong,” about the Sandy Claws plan. Staying with the doctor is wrong to her, and so she won’t comply. Saving Jack is right, and without hesitation she pursues Santa’s rescue. She’s pretty smart about it, too.

Aha! She’s a Seven. Men Sixes are troopers. For women it’s the Sevens. They’re methodical and relentless, while still willing to chase risk and adventure.

Also, something about being stuffed with leaves feels so Seven. What other number would be so practical and sensual at the same time?

JACK SKELLINGTON, EIGHT

Pure energy. He’s exhausting! Restless, he loves new ideas and new stimulus. When he finds the holiday doors and goes to Christmas Town he becomes obsessed with enacting his plan.

And he’s a little dense about what the holiday means. It’s all observed through his Halloween lens. He’s willing to learn and try new things, but he’s also entrenched in his own experiences. It takes the whole movie to break him out of his mindset. Which number powers forward, and reassesses afterward?

Completely lanky, his physique is probably not an indicator of his Enneagram number. He’s a skeleton. His design dictates his look. He’s very robust and active, though. That’s a true clue about him. His physical expressiveness is extreme.

I want to say a Seven because of his curiosity, but we must consider a Body Type, too. He seems too cavalier about the financial details involved in hosting Halloween, so I’ll rule out a One. I’ll also say he’s not a Nine, who would appreciate the 364 days that aren’t Halloween. Changing the holiday is too much conflict.

An Eight? His gusto for playing Santa could go either Seven or Eight. Also his scientific exploration of Christmas, his formulas and experiments, could indicate either number. The same for that confident bullheaded quality. 

It’s his confrontation with Oogie Boogie that makes him an Eight. He goes right in, relying on physicality and bossiness to defeat the villain. A Seven would’ve created a plan.

ICHABOD CRANE, ONE

The iconic Halloween figure. You’ve got autumn leaves and a pumpkin, fall harvest dances and returning to school. Washington Irving’s short story and the Disney animated production are watchable and necessary year after year. (Also, need I say it: Bing.)

So, what is this skinny, homely, frightened man? His small lankiness immediately suggests a One, but his personality doesn’t really mesh with that. Ones are much more likely to conquer the world than to cringe from it.

But wait. Ichabod’s main motivation is money. He courts Katrina because her family’s rich. He tutors children to get a free dinner. He even, in the epilogue, is rumored to live married and well-off in another town. Now, that’s One-ish.

But he’s such a klutz. That’s not One-ish. The storytellers want him to be awkward on his horse so he can contrast with the Headless Horseman bearing down on him. I see no reason, though, to have him bumble around the dance. He is depicted as clumsy.

He’s bookish and uncoordinated. What a horrible stereotype to perpetuate! Interestingly, in the written story, his moral character — mean, small, cheap — is stressed. He’s almost cold in regards to Katrina. Disney has taken all this and physicalized it in, I would say with hindsight, an unfortunate choice. Eh, it’s a twenty minute short. Show, not tell.

I’m going with One. I think Disney has exaggerated Ichabod beyond the bounds of the number, but I’ll stick with it.