Christmas Story

How difficult is it to perfectly capture nostalgia? It must be pretty darn difficult or else everyone would make movies like this. It may not be absolute perfection but Jean Shepherd, Bob Clark and the outstanding cast came as close as anyone here.

Creating a story centered around nostalgia is a tricky thing as the memories that creates it are unique to each of us. The themes, however, are similar and that's where the success lies.

I didn't want a Red Ryder BB gun when I was that age but my Christmas wish was just as fervent and I schemed just as hard as Ralphie. The bully at my school didn't have yellow eyes but he was pretty much like Scut Farkus. And so on, from the fantastically flawed parents to the pop-heroes, A Christmas Story captures it all.

Truly wonderful.

"A Christmas Story" is a rare film about children yet for adults. While kids will definitely enjoy this Christmas-themed saga, adults will find a deeper level of depth than they may remember from seeing the film at a younger age.

The movie strikes a sharp contrast between the exaggerated, polysyllabic narration of Ralphie, filled with nostalgia and lucid memories, and the soft, high-pitched childlike wonder of Ralphie's spoken word. The narrator is clearly not the same character as the one portrayed on film, but a character wholly outside the story, reliving his childhood emotions and anecdotes. Yet he is the heart of the film, the true center of gravity. This is because the movie is not about a scary Santa Clause and a BB gun - it's about childhood memories and the feelings they evoke. To that end, "A Christmas Story" is flawless.

"A Christmas Story" tells of the epically materialistic journey of Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) as he searches for the golden, upheld idol of all red-blooded American boys: A Red Rider Air Rifle. Ralphie spins an intricate web of cunning and deceit as he plots to get his hands on it - including an essay, a trip to Santa Claus and more. The movie also shows us a glimpse of his family - his irritable, foul-mouthed father with a good heart, his whiny brother Randy, and his sweet, all-American mother. It is not so much a continuous story as a series of vignettes, but it ultimately serves the movie's purpose.

This is a funny film. The narration by Jean Shepherd is filled with love for this story. He absolutely captures the emotions and logic of childhood. In a subtle but amusing moment, Shepherd intones the incomparably eloquent pouring forth of thought into writing - only to have Billingsley note in his awe-filled, high-pitched voice that "I think everyone should have a Red Rider BB gun. It's very good for Christmas." (paraphrased). Most of the humor is similar - the natural exaggeration of a child as expressed by Shepherd's consistent string of hyperbole.

Also, there's a reason why it's played constantly on cable TV throughout the Christmas season - it's a movie everyone can relate to. There are moments of such pure truth here that few can deny their power. I'm sure that there is a scientific law left unwritten that determines that every kid must at some point fantasize about his parents feeling absolutely terrible and forever regretting some unutterable punishment they inflicted on their child - in this case, the immortal washing of a mouth out with soap.

Obviously, "A Christmas Story" is not a film that can be compared to Casablanca or Citizen Kane. It simply excels at its simple goals, and comes together as an extraordinarily entertaining piece of cinema.

The 1983 "Terms of Endearment" won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Now it was deserved. The film still remains popular today. What's hard to believe now is that "A Christmas Story" (released the same year) was ignored everywhere. If anything it should of been nominated for best adapted screenplay!

Now when the film was released it was "Critically Acclaimed" but, MGM failed to capitalized on that. The film was poorly handled & failed to capture a large theatrical audience!

Well thanks to the Home Video Market & television this film has now become part of Americana. It also helped that Ted Turner made "24 Hours Of A Christmas Story" an annual event.

It is now 2017, and "A Christmas Story" it is now one of the most popular films of all time. Even "Return of the Jedi" ( The Highest Grossing Film of 1983) "Isn't gaining as many new fans". .

"Return of the Jedi" has always rode the coattails of the earlier "Star Wars" films. "A Christmas Story" has gained fans for just being a great film!

Now my review Set in the 1940's the film makes you identify with Ralphie and you your routing for him in every single way!

Ralphie is in elementary school. His has a little brother and all he wants for Christmas is a BB-Gun. He wants this more than anything. Before Christmas gets there he has many obstacles to overcome. One of them is getting home! He & his friends are always being bullied before they can make it home.

The film is flawless. It is a joy to watch and only improves every time you watch it. It is also true that for some reason the older it gets the better it becomes!

You need to see this. Also there is a fan made documentary called "A Christmas Story Documentary: Road Trip for Ralphie". That is a great fan made documentary.

I lived the life of Ralphie! Even though I'm a girl and was born in the late seventies, my Christmases were much the same as Ralphie's.

From playing Santa on Christmas morning to sipping my Dad's Christmas cocktail to visiting Santa at the department store, I lived the very same Christmas memories. This movie brings out the true essence of Christmas happiness. Everyone, young and old, can relive the magic of being a child.

Ralphie's vibrant imagination and inventiveness in his ploys to seduce his parents into buying him the ultimate gift are "pinch-his-chubby-cheeks" adorable. And Randy...need I say anything?? He is the perfect picture of the baby brother!

This movie is universal in its appeal to audiences of all ages, race, and nationalities. My husband, who grew up in Lebanon and who's first language is Arabic, even knew the famous "oh fudge" line when I first played this movie for him here in the States.

I get giddy every time I sit down to watch this movie. Curling up with a warm cup of cider in front of the fireplace, wrapping Christmas presents, making Christmas cookies, or writing a letter to Santa Claus...those are all perfect times to watch this classic family film. This has been and always will be my all-time favorite Christmas film.

A Christmas story is a classic holiday film that is very funny and entertaining. This is a movie that should be viewed by everyone, and can been seen on television during thanksgiving and Christmas time. In most families, this film is already a tradition to watch every year and that's because it has a wonderful plot, great characters and believable actors.

A Christmas Story is about an average middle class family living in a small town in the 1940's. The film contains an average family of a regular husband and wife relationship and two young boys. The eldest of the boys is named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) who is the star of the film. All that Ralphie wants is to have a perfect Christmas containing the perfect gift, a Red Ryder carbon action BB gun. This is all that Ralphie can think about day and night. When Ralphie has to write a Theme about what he wants for Christmas, his teacher replies to him `you'll shoot your eye out' which seems to be the only reply to him throughout the whole film.

What makes this film so great is the ability to relate to Ralphie with his problems throughout the movie, such as wanting that one gift that everyone thinks that you're too young to have and are unable to get. The acting is very convincing and makes you think that this could even be you in the movie.

There are some very hilarious parts in this film that also make it very good. This particular scene also contains some very cheesy acting which also makes it funny. Ralphie has a dream about getting his Red Ryder BB gun and saving his family from a bunch of evil villains. In this scene Ralphie is wearing the white sparkly cowboy suit and he shoots down the evil villains and saves the day with his gun in a very unrealistic way.

There really wasn't much music that can be commented on in this movie, just that it was the orchestral type of music that was out in the time period of the 40's. The costumes where great and convincing. I also liked how real they made the 40's look. You actually think it might have been made in that time period which makes the film very authentic.

I would recommend this film to anyone who wants some holiday laughs and some great family time together. I would rate this film a 9 out of ten because it's so memorable.