A Christmas Story: A Review

I don’t think there are many movies that come to mind for Christmas before this one. Well maybe that is just for me and my family. For many it is an institution. A frequently quoted and viewed tradition. It is, also, the only Christmas movie I know of that gets a 24 hour marathon.

Yes, this review is of A Christmas Story. 

There are many movies that try to capture the feelings of the holidays. Particularly for kids. The anticipation. The anxiety. It is, of course, different for all kids. None of us have the same childhood. So when a movie is beloved by many different people it makes you wonder why. 

Ralphie is a young boy just trying to make his Christmas wish come true in 1940s America. He lives a life that many people would say is the norm for an American family. His father works hard. His mother works equally hard in their home. He has a younger brother. He goes to school with his friends and has to navigate bullies and grades. 

Just a normal kid for the most part. 

So why does this movie resonate so much? Maybe because it never tried to not be “average.” By average I mean the picture that white Americans have for an idyllic family in the past. I think it is important to point that out before we go any further. This movie is not the normal for every family.

Also when I mean “average” I mean that we don’t know a lot of the polarizing parts of the family’s life. What religion are they? What are their political values? What does the dad say after he’s had a few glasses of that wine at Christmas? We never get that. So, for most white Americans, we can stamp our family on top of them. 

Every family has a father figure in it that is a little hard headed who cares in their own way. We all have someone younger we have to help care for when we would rather just be with our friends. We all have to grow up. We have to face the joys and lessons that come with that. I would argue that there is enough that is universal in A Christmas Story that it makes it beloved. 

It is a movie that, somehow, captures that feeling of growing up. 

A Christmas Story is special to me for a lot of reasons. It was always there, and I usually forget that it is only two years older than I am, having been released in 1983. It brings back fuzzy feelings of comfort. Of warmth, laughter and love. I will share just a little with you now. 

Even before it was on television for a marathon it was almost always on if my dad was there. He would put it on at my grandfather’s house on Christmas eve. He would try to have it on during Christmas morning. It is a movie that reminds me of him and his joy on Christmas. His wide grin is very much synonymous with the holiday season. This movie is best side of him that becomes childlike , and even a little mischievous, around Christmas.

It also helps that my brother HATES it. Listening to him mock and complain about this movie is just as much a part of my Christmas memories as my dad’s love of it. Sometimes you just have to get a little rise out of your sibling during the holidays. Just a little, like putting on a movie they hate just to watch them as the opening title plays. I’m a great older sibling that way. 

So now, as an adult who lives very far away from my family, A Christmas Story is comforting. I can remember my mom sighing but also buying my dad a leg lamp when one came out. I can remember how excited he was to get it, my dad is a little reaction to gifts kind of guy except for that lamp. I will buy my dad almost anything related to this movie if I come across it. 

I think there are a lot of other families who have the same feelings toward this movie. I also think that as you get older that is what the holidays are, a feeling. Trying to find it again. Trying to give it to children and those you love. A feeling that is, hopefully, just a little easier to find once a year when you might need it most. 

May you feel all the fuzzy warm feelings this year. May you have wonderful memories and make more. 

ALWAYS KEEP SPARKLING!!!