"A Christmas Story" is definitely my all-time favorite holiday film. It is about the life of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), a young boy growing up in the 1940s. Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas more than anything else in the world, but everyone (his parents, his schoolteacher, the department store Santa Claus, etc.) tells him, "You'll shoot your eye out!" The strengths of this film do not lie in the plot itself, but in the many memorable moments that are presented. And there are plenty of memorable scenes in "A Christmas Story": Ralphie's encounter with "Santa Claus" at the department store, Ralphie's friend getting his tongue stuck on a frozen pole, when Ralphie gets the bunny suit for Christmas, Christmas dinner at the Chinese restaurant....heck, I could spend the whole day writing about all the great moments in this movie. One of the reasons why these scenes are so effective is because they are somewhat exaggerated, yet very believable at the same time.
In my opinion, "A Christmas Story" belongs in the same category as all the other great Christmas films (including "It's a Wonderful Life" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"). It is worth watching (and it is hard to miss, since it airs on TNT about 500 times each December).
In my opinion, "A Christmas Story" belongs in the same category as all the other great Christmas films (including "It's a Wonderful Life" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"). It is worth watching (and it is hard to miss, since it airs on TNT about 500 times each December).