Almost everyone has their favorite Christmas movie, and A Christmas Story is mine. For most people their film is their favorite because they watched it growing up as a family tradition, or the film itself reminds them of Christmas with their family. I think this is my favorite Christmas story because I saw it at exactly the right age. I was a young teenager at the time and the slightly risque, wordy humor fit my sensibilities perfectly.
The Set-Up
Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is an elementary school student growing up in the Midwest in the late 30s/early 40s. Christmas is coming and what he wants more than anything is “an official Red Ryder BB Gun”. But his mother (Melinda Dillon) says “You’ll shoot your eye out”. The movie follows Ralphie throughout the Christmas season as he schemes to get the BB gun, goes to school, and celebrates the holidays with his family.
Why It’s Great
The movie is episodic but it has a strong through-line. Each scene is a funny vignette. But all of the little vignettes add up to a cohesive story.
The movie really captures what it likes to be a kid during the holiday season. We see Ralphie’s daydreams and remember how big little things meant to us a child. We see how Ralphie interacts with his friends at school and it reminds us how kids have their own set of rules when dealing with each other. We see how Ralphie treats his parents and how they treat him and remember what it was like our parents were the adult authority figures in our life.
I also happen to think it’s very funny. But as I always point out for comedies in this series, comedy is subjective.
If you’ve never seen this film, I definitely recommend that you watch it. Watch it with friends and family. Not everyone will like it, but I’m sure there will be a few who love it.