Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different classic from the Nerdosphere.  This week Dave and Patrick continue their holiday film reviews with the 1983 classic holiday flick A Christmas Story!

The Flick:  A Christmas Story

What’s it About:  All little Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Rider BBB Gun.  Unfortunately, all the adults in his life think he’ll just shoot his eye out.  Ralphie desperately pulls out all the stops to convince someone that the BB Gun is the gift for him.

Metacritic Score: 65

The Nerds’ Take on A Christmas Story (1983):

Dave For the first time in a couple of months, we put it to the people to decide the subject of this week’s Nerds’ Review. For this very special Holiday installment, we let you loyal listeners decide between A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation. By a narrow margin, A Christmas Story prevailed and, thus, here we go.

To say A Christmas Story is a Holiday classic is an enormous understatement. There is no other Holiday based movie that is actually shown on a loop, on a major network no less, for 24 hours straight. It has been my favorite Christmas movie for as long as I can remember and every time I watch it, it keeps getting better. The captivating story of young Ralphie Parker’s quest to obtain a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas is filled with so many comedically classic moments that it is easy to lose sight of what makes the movie so great…its ability to relate to just about everyone, regardless of age. How many of us have a very specific memory about that one Christmas gift that stands above all others in our respective childhoods? At its core, that is what A Christmas Story is about and yet it is so much more than that.

We find ourselves drawn into Ralphie’s trials and tribulations in a way that no other movie, Christmas based or otherwise, really accomplished. Ralphie’s imagination is brought to the forefront by fantasy segments that range from his being a heroic lawman thwarting criminals threatening his family to being blinded by soap poisoning. Along the way, we find out that, yes, your tongue will stick to an icy flagpole, that fragile is not an Italian word, and that everyone seems to think that if Ralphie gets a BB gun he will end up shooting his eye out. We see Ralphie put the school bully firmly in his place and we see his determination to tell Santa exactly what he wants for Christmas. In the end, it is Ralphie’s father who comes through in a wonderful moment involving a hidden present…only to have Ralphie nearly shoot his eye out after all. And who can forget the hilarious set of circumstances that leads the Parker family to discover the joys of dining at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day?

Bob Clark did a masterful job directing this masterpiece. Peter Billingsley turned in the performance of his lifetime as Ralphie and Darren McGavin was equally magnificent as Mr. Parker, affectionately known in the movie as The Old Man. Melinda Dillon turned in an underrated performance as Mrs. Parker. Up and down the cast lineup there are memorable and iconic performances. It still amazes me how A Christmas Story, in essence, brought together roughly a dozen mini-stories, wrapped them all around a Christmas based backdrop, and then wove them all into one movie that always flows perfectly, without any piece of the movie feeling out of place or forced. It is a tremendous piece of cinema, full of truly funny moments and that moment when Ralphie finally gets to unwrap his ultimate Christmas gift will definitely hit you in the feels. It will tap into your memories of childhood while at the same time connecting with your more adult experiences involving Christmas, especially if you have kids. There is little question that I will watch this movie at least five times during the annual marathon….even though I am watching it on Vudu as I write this review. Yes, I love it that much and it is that good. Hopefully you feel the same and catch it a few times yourself beginning Christmas Eve.

Happy Holidays to everyone and have a safe and Merry Christmas.

Dave’s Rating: 5/5

Patrick:  Dave is not going to like my rating for A Christmas Story.  I think it is a terrific movie.  A classic film, even.  But every year, I relate to this movie just a little less and find it just a bit more dated.  Now that’s not to say the movie isn’t good, it’s great.  And there are elements of this movie that are timeless.  But somewhere in my repeated viewings of this film, it lost something for me and is just little less special.  All of that out of the way, I want to repeat, I still really, really enjoy A Christmas Story and I think it is completely deserving of the annual 24 hour marathon on the Turner family of networks.

Much like when we reviewed Scrooged a couple of weeks back, I am assuming most of our readers have seen this flick as it has been a staple during the holidays for years.  Set during the 1940s ,A Christmas Story is the story of young Ralphie Parker as told by adult Ralphie.  All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Rider BB Gun.  Unfortunately, Ralphie’s mother crushes Ralphie’s hopes by declaring famously, “you’ll shoot your eye out.”  The film proceeds to follow 9 year old Ralphie’s quest to convince his parents he should have the coveted BB gun.  During Ralphie’s journey the audience is taken on a nostalgic ride through relatable Christmas memories.

The fundamental theme of A Christmas Story is one any person who celebrates the season can understand.  Who among us didn’t have that one toy we desperately wanted to see under the tree Christmas morning?  And how many of us have been certain that there was NO WAY we were getting said gift?  Along with Ralphie’s central story, there are so many relatable scenes.  I think my personal favorite has to be the mixture of excitement and terror that every child experiences when visiting Santa.  First there’s the ridiculously long line to see the guy.  Then, when you finally reach Santa’s lap, you realize as a child that Santa’s a little…creepy.  I love how Bob Clark leans into this creep factor by using a simple bubble lens when Ralphie looks up to Santa, warping his face.  There are so many subtle moments like that throughout the film that enhance the experience.

The script is loaded with plenty of other holiday anecdotes that land with the audience.  There’s a holiday meal falling apart.  There’s the terrible gift from a relative you never see but still have to wear or use once.  Finally, there is the magic of finding the gift you desperately want under the tree.  As a father these moments have taken on new meaning to me as I watch my son live these moments himself.

The adept way director Bob Clark delivers this tale is why A Christmas Story will endure. However, as we roll into the 2020s, I can’t help but notice the film really does show its age.  Part of the film’s charm is the era that it is depicting and the nostalgia.  It assumes its audience will know about serial radio shows, decoder rings and the like.  Given that the film was made nearly 40 years ago and the movie itself is set 40 years prior to that, younger audiences just don’t quite connect the same way.  As I mentioned at the top of this review, to me this aging out has made the movie a little less special for me.  Regardless, A Christmas Story is still an enjoyable comedy and full of enough Christmas cheer to make audiences smile.

Patrick’s Rating: 4.0/5.0

Overall Nerds’ Rating for A Christmas Story (1983): 4.5/5.0