weldon-97750
A Christmas Story was probably one of my least favorite Christmas movies for years, and I have a dozen or so favorites that I watch nightly as we approach every Christmas. But by relenting some years to watch it after all my favorites had been seen, I have to admit that it has grown on me to the point that this past post-Thanksgiving season I actually ordered myself a DVD copy for my holiday movie collection. Now I will look forward to watching it each year. *** What totally surprised me however was that there was a follow-up to this movie about Ralphie and the Parkers but which takes place the next summer titled: It Runs In The Family (also titled early on as My Summer Story). Being made 11 years later (1994) all the actors are different but for one heartwarming tie to A Christmas Story; the adult Ralphie narrator (also again writer/producer) remains Jean Shepherd. That plus a homage to the original early in the movie draw you right in. If you liked the original then I'd guess you will want to see this followup, with all its antics, frustrations, and silliness. I liked Charles Grodin and Mary Steenburgen as the parents and although it was a struggle for me initially to warm up to another young actor as Ralphie, he grew on me by the end of the movie. Interesting fact is that Ralphie and his younger brother Randy are played by two of the younger Culkin brothers; Kieran and Christian. I will probably want to add a copy of this to my collection if for nothing more than the tie to the original. Grab some popcorn and watch were the Parker family take you the following summer.
PWNYCNY
This story is told from the vantage point of an ten year old boy. The boy is self-centered, willful, manipulative, in short, obnoxious. Everything in the story is about him. He is the center of his own personal universe. His likes his parents, but to him they are merely means through which to gain gratification. His father is a gruff sounding but caring and responsible working man; his mother is a house wife. The story provides little information about them. All that is known is learned from the boy, and his perceptions are limited. The movie ostensibly is a comedy. However , it pokes fun at the parents, who really aren't subjects who warrant derision. The story also takes shots at the crass materialism associated with Christmas. here, the story is more effective as a satire. It is difficult not to find something about Christmas that cannot be parodied. Already a cynic, the boy knows that it's all a bunch of baloney. All he wants is a certain present. He knows Santa won't be bringing it, so he is forced to use subterfuge to get his way. To find out what happens, watch the movie. But don't be fooled by the title. Although set during Christmas., this story is about a lot more than a holiday.
guy_in_oxford
I would have given this 10 stars but deducted one for the combination of stealth homophobia and gender rigidity (pink nightmare and electric sex heterosexuality assumption). Yes, in 1983 everyone making mainstream films made these assumptions (that everyone is hetero) but the complete absence of gay people is something that doesn't impress me as a gay person. Imagine if your people were consistently erased from film and television and you grew up, watching "family" entertainment that erased you from existence? The closest thing to a gay character is the bit part with the boy in line who likes the Tin Man and the Wizard of Oz. We're used as extremely tiny bit parts, as weirdos, and that's it.(Let's not pretend that Hollywood didn't know gay people exist. The entire underlying plot of All About Eve is about how gayness is evil and heterosexuality (heterosexual marriages in which women abandon their careers) is pure. The Children's Hour was about how sad, but necessary, it is for gay people to kill themselves. One of the very earliest American films, prior to homophobic censorship codes, showed two men dancing with a violinist playing. So, no, just because it was 1983 isn't enough of an excuse. We exist whenever someone wants someone to kick in the eye.)* That said, this film is just breathtakingly great from start to finish. The casting is perfect. The acting is flawless. The writing is fantastic.If you haven't seen the film you need to. It's nostalgic, funny, and heartwarming.*The opposite of this is seen in current television, where banal stereotyped gay characters are pretty common as more than bit parts. In this film, would it have ruined it for the Ralphie to have a second brother, one who is gay? No. It wouldn't have ruined the film. It would have made gay kids like me feel a lot happier when watching it with the family every year, growing up. I would have felt like I was valued and didn't have to lie about myself in shame, which I did at the time because everything told me that was the expectation.
Jerique
For a majority of my childhood A Christmas Story was the pinnacle of my Christmas films to watch. Every Christmas morning we woke up to the film and when Ralphie and Randy opened gifts it was our turn. Such memories for over a decade. Jean Sheperd penned a great script, and it's brilliantly executed by Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin. Narration done by Jean Sheperd is also top-notch. This film is still incredible and nostalgic even at my age of 28 years old. Classic moments of Randy at the dinner table, the "fragile" lamp scene, the getting ready for school, Flick's tongue on a pole scene, and many more that make the film unforgettable. As a kid, I always cherished watching the film because I idolized Ralphie, as well as wishing that my own father loved me like the Old Man loved Ralphie. As a Christmas movie, the film feels so much like it's dead set in Christmas season. You just get wrapped up in the holiday feeling. I have nothing negative to say about the film itself. It's just one amazing Christmas movie.
AD
