“A Christmas Story” Review

Ralphie Parker wields the iconic Red Ryder BB gun in “A Christmas Story,” one of the most iconic Christmas films ever made.

You can’t talk about the best Christmas films of all time without mentioning “A Christmas Story.” While many Christmas films try to encapsulate the holiday and make a timeless story, this 1983 film created something special that Hallmark wishes it could capture. With the exceptions of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and a few adaptations of “A Christmas Carol,” this is the best film to watch every year for the holiday season. 

Set in 1940, the film follows Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) as he grows more excited for the Christmas season. More than anything, he wants a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle so that he can fulfill his fantasies of killing people. All jokes aside, his desire is constantly rejected because “he’ll shoot his eye out.” Along with a few other subplots, like dealing with bullies, an infamous leg lamp and a dreaded flag pole dare, this Christmas season shapes up to be one that Ralphie will never forget. 

What I love about “A Christmas Story” is that there’s not a clear plot. Instead the film is a series of interconnected vignettes that have very little to do with each other. Of course, Ralphie wants the BB gun but there’s all sorts of subplots that give the film more of a slice of life feeling. Based on the writings of Jean Shepherd, who also cowrote the script and provides the film’s narration as a grown up Ralphie, and directed/cowritten by Bob Clark, the atmosphere they created is so immersive and welcoming. 

With such a realistic, yet nostalgic, look at the 1940s, it’s still difficult for me to believe that this film was made four decades later. Its depiction of Christmas is completely timeless and I love how there’s a smaller feeling to “A Christmas Story.” Unlike “Home Alone” or “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” this feels like the story of a working class family. This isn’t set in the suburbs of Chicago, it’s a smaller city in Indiana. I’ve been to the house in Cleveland that was used in “A Christmas Story” and it still embodies that blue collar atmosphere. 

The film’s actors are phenomenal at bringing such a life to these now iconic characters. Peter Billingsley is great as Ralphie because he embodies the selfish element of Christmas, wanting this BB gun, but he’s not bratty about it. All of the other child actors are marvelous because, like Ralphie, they have their selfish sides while still being likable. Unlike other Christmas films, where the kids are too precocious or cutesy, these kids feel like real people. They swear, they fight and they get into trouble, but did Ralphie’s kid brother Randy (Ian Petrella) have to whine so much?

With Ralphie’s friends, I love the smartass persona of Schwartz (R.D. Robb) and the tough guy act of Flick (Scott Schwartz). Their childish rivalry accumulates with the pair facing off in the iconic scene where Schwartz dares Flick to stick his tongue to a flagpole. What I love about this scene is that it has the adult edge that permeates the rest of the film. I always get a big laugh when, after Flick is removed from the flagpole by the fire department, the teacher talks to the class and says that, despite Flick not ratting out his friends, their guilt should be sufficient punishment. Of course, Shepherd’s voice appears to say that, while adults love to think that, kids know that it is always better to not get caught. And don’t forget all the other words of wisdom Shepherd relays like how a little bribe never hurts and how “Little Orphan Annie” sponsored by Ovaltine is the only thing that can drag a kid away from the soft glow of electric sex.

Darren McGavin’s performance as Ralphie’s father is fantastic with his character being the traditional father figure of the 1940s but with a playfulness as he wants a good deal on the Christmas tree, shows incredible pride when he wins a tacky leg lamp and desperately wants to have some turkey early.

As for the adult actors, Ralphie’s parents are remarkable with Melinda Dillion and Darren McGavin being stellar with their larger-than-life performances. I first watched this film as a child and, roughly fifteen years later, I have grown to love The Old Man as an adult. McGavin’s performance is truly outstanding as he has such a liveliness to him. He’s very gruff and stern but he can be silly as far as Christmas is concerned. Whether he’s gawking at his prized lamp, haggling for a Christmas tree or fighting with his furnace, The Old Man is always wonderful to watch. 

I could go on about how this film has some of my favorite scenes in any Christmas film. I could spend paragraphs writing about how great the lamp debacle is with both parents essentially acting like children or how much I love the look on The Old Man’s face when Ralphie, at last, gets his prized BB gun. Instead, I think this film can be summed up in one of its final shots. In the darkly lit family room, illuminated only by the Christmas tree, The Old Man and Mrs. Parker sit in each other’s arms, drinking wine and watching the snowfall. It’s a little moment that means so much more than the entire runtime of some films. 

Now that I’m an adult, I find that “A Christmas Story” has drastically changed. When you’re a kid, you are only focused on Ralphie and his point-of-view. However, in the last few years, I’ve reminded myself that Ralphie isn’t telling the story. It’s a grown up Ralphie that is relaying his youth to us. As such, it’s fun to pay attention to the things in the background like the reactions of the parents or how well the film captures the daydreams of children. 

With the exception of “A Christmas Story Christmas,” nearly every subsequent project involving “A Christmas Story” has felt soulless. It’s like America has been wanting to slowly kill this film with “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” “A Christmas Story 2”, the several 24 hour marathons on cable television and the constant need to merchandise every element of this film to the point where the film is an emaciated skeleton with nothing left to offer. Fortunately, “A Christmas Story” has risen above all of this and remains one of my favorite holiday films. Its beauty is its simplicity and that simplicity has never been fully recreated. Ultimately, the story of Ralphie Parker and his family shows the ordinary events of his past that he fondly looks back on and, in some way, wishes he could see again.