Today’s quick review: A Christmas Story. Ralphie Parker (Jean Shepherd) reminisces on a Christmas from his childhood in the 1940s. As a nine-year-old boy (Peter Billingsley), he has his heart set on a Red Ryder BB gun that the adults in his life consider too dangerous for him. With Christmas drawing near, Ralphie tries every trick in the book to get his flustered mother (Melinda Dillon) and foul-mouthed father (Darren McGavin) to buy him the gun for Christmas.
A Christmas Story is a Christmas comedy filled with all the mischief and innocence of youth. Jean Shepherd narrates as an adult Ralphie, using his warm voice and evocative turns of phrase to show life through the eyes of a boy. His rosy-tinted nostalgia is tinged with sharp irony where his family life diverges from the ideal. But in spite of a few rough spots, his memories of childhood are joyful, and the story’s irony is comical rather than bitter.
Watch A Christmas Story if you are in the mood for an honest, nostalgic, and funny look at Christmas through the eyes of a child. The film is filled with iconic moments, and it handles its tone and humor with considerable skill. Some swearing makes it inappropriate for young children, but otherwise A Christmas Story is a great family film and a holiday classic.
8.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 to 8.0 for spot-on tone and iconic moments.