A Christmas Story (1983) Review

CLAYTON'S CHRISTMAS CINEMA!

A Christmas Story (1983) Review

Cited by many as the greatest Christmas film ever, A Christmas Story is not among the Christmas films I grew up with, so it was a new experience for me this December, and I went in with expectations fairly high. While I can’t say it lived up to those expectations, A Christmas Story is still a fun time and clearly a classic for many good reasons.

Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is a pretty average kid living in the 1940s, with an odd little brother, a strict father with a potty mouth, an annoying mother, and a dream that he will get an air rifle for Christmas. He knows his mother will initially shoot down the idea, and over the course of the film, he finds out not only does she think “You’ll shoot your eye out”, but every other adult does too. Ralphie and his classmates are given an assignment at school to write about what they want for Christmas, which doesn’t help Ralphie’s cause. Even going to see an intimidating (and slightly abusive) Santa Clause at the mall does nothing to increase the likelihood of getting that fabled air rifle. During this personal mission to get the gift he wants, Ralphie has to overcome other pitfalls along the way—including two neighbourhood bullies that chase him and his friends to and from school—but the air rifle is what will make or break this hectic Christmas.

A Christmas Story manages to capture the magic of Christmas while simultaneously telling an original and mostly compelling story, based on parts of the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd. It’s quite obvious right away it’s based on a book, because throughout the film, an older Ralphie narrates young Ralphie’s adventures, and while it does allow for some great comedic moments, it feels overdone at times. Peter Billingsley is great as young Ralphie. A large portion of the film’s success rides on him being able to deliver a strong performance even as a young child, and he manages to do so. The main issue I have with A Christmas Story is the whole Christmas aspect. While it does open with Christmas music and a clear setup regarding the gift Ralphie wants, the soundtrack feels lacking, and during the first and second acts, there are large portions that seem to forget about the Christmas theme. While I didn’t expect it to be bashing the audience over the head with “Hey, this movie is all about Christmas, remember?!” it did feel like extended consecutive scenes were lacking any real Christmas elements. The first act is also quite slow despite the initial setup being to the point early on and there aren’t many good jokes. Luckily, by the third act, the pace picks up, the jokes hit harder and faster and funnier, and the Christmas themes are in full swing. Most of the standout scenes come in the second half of the movie, including the Santa visit and the family going to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner after their turkey gets eaten by the neighbour’s dogs. 

A Christmas Story is not among the all-time greatest Christmas films in my books, but it is still a sincere story with many classic scenes, a great lead performance, and some clever comical moments.