Merry Christmas! Welcome back to our 25 DAYS OF
CHRISTMAS series where we have been taking a look at some holiday
classics each day in the lead up to...well, today. For our final review in this series, we’ll be looking at the
Christmas Day favorite….A CHRISTMAS STORY.
A Christmas Story
is the definition of a holiday classic. Directed by Bob Clark, this film plays
in America (and likely elsewhere) for the whole 24 hours constituting Christmas
Day on TBS. The film stars Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, and Darren
McGavin, and follows the story of a young boy named Ralphie in the 1940s
as he deals with various problems that arise during the period immediately
preceding Christmas and concluding on Christmas day.
Though this film is unquestionably a classic, it managed to
reach that status without being a very good film. On the positive side
of the ledger, this film has a biting and interesting comedic style with its
use of voice over and the story of this kid who wants a Red Ruder BB gun for
Christmas and the problems he encounters as a kid. Everyone can recall the
swearing scene and the subsequent soap in mouth moment. Watching the kid so
excitedly try to break the code from his favorite radio program only to
discover it is an advertisement for Ovaltine is hilarious to this day. No one
can forget all the kids and the "triple dog dare" scene of licking a flag pole outdoors in
the winter (which, by the way, does not cause the disaster depicted in the
film). The scenes with Ralphie in a pink bunny suit or when he encounters Santa
at the department store are quintessential Christmas movie moments. It is the
ability of this film to have such memorable moments that makes it a holiday
staple, and in that way it deserves to be commended.
Peter Billingsley as Ralphie also gives a great child
performance. In a film that is kind of goofy, he plays a fairly believable
character and pulls off all of the appropriate reactions and emotional moments
for the film to succeed. His character is furthered by the voice over by Jean
Shepherd which gives the film the biting humor that makes it stick with people.
Other than successfully being memorable and occasionally
funny, almost nothing else works. This film was released in 1983 about the
1940s, however the production design feels so shoddy that the film feels like
it might have been made in the ‘40s. It just has this look of cheapness that
makes the film really uninteresting to look at. I would also note that none of
the supporting performances were engaging. Ralphie’s parents, portrayed by Melinda
Dillon and Darren McGavin, are the largest supporting characters but even they
don’t amount to much beyond crude caricatures.
What I think is worst about this film is that it has a lot
of moments and interesting sketches but it feels like a variety show rather
than one movie with a unifying story. You could have told me that these were a
bunch of different Saturday Night Live-style sketches featuring a recurring
character piled onto one another and I couldn’t refute that after watching it.
It is so disjointed and almost none of the actual beats relate to the other
moments. This is why almost anyone you ask can talk about a scene in this film
but never actually tell you what it’s about. It isn’t about anything! This
might lead to some nice causal viewing but is a serious issue as a complete
whole.
Overall, A Christmas
Story is, and will remain, one of the biggest staples of the Christmas
season. It has some really entertaining comedy and great moments. It lacks,
however, a well-defined story, good characters, or even a pleasant looking
production. A must-see because of its cultural relevance, but a film that
you’re best off just watching in non-sequential 10 minute sequences.
Ryan’s Score: 5/10
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