#3: A
Christmas Story
A good friend of mine and I recently got into a bit of an
argument over this one. She doesn’t agree with me that it should be
included on her list of Christmas favorites, and she didn’t understand why
anyone else liked it. Frankly, I can understand that. The film doesn’t have an
overall moral, or message, and unlike others on this list, it seems to favor
more materialistic aspects of Christmas rather than portraying a message of
hope, caring or goodwill to others.
So then, why should it be included?
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, simply put;
it reminds me of what it was like growing up at Christmas. I know, of course I
didn’t grow up in Hammond Indiana in the 1940’s, but the story is told from the
point of view of the main character looking back on his childhood. And like
him, I can remember Christmas, childhood, anger, resentment, a respect of your
parents, and how family situations never actually happened as they did on a
Norman Rockwell painting, and still could bring about great times and
togetherness that all good families seem to possess in their own way.
A Christmas Story is the story of Ralph Parker (Peter
Billingsby), a nine year old boy who really wants a specific kind of Red Ryder
BB gun for Christmas. (A kind that was never really made BTW) So the rest of
the story, he takes you through the various steps he plots out to get this
particular BB gun for Christmas. He plants an ad in his mother’s magazine, and
then tells her. He writes a theme for school asking for it, and then he asks
Santa Claus for it. At each turn, he is met with the appalling phrase “You’ll
shoot your eye out!”
Now throughout this, the audience is treated to various
mini stories involving the Parker family, and Ralph’s friends at school. We
meet his brother Randy (Ian Petrella), his mother (Melinda Dillon), and my
favorite, the Old Man, Mr. Parker (Darren McGavin). Additionally, Ralph’s
friends Schwartz and Flick (R.D. Robb and Scott Schwartz), and the neighborhood
bully, Scut Farcus (Zack Ward) make appearances.
Ralph describes his experiences at this particular
Christmas. He outruns the bullies on a daily basis. He witnesses as Flick is
dared to stick his tongue on a metal pole and gets it stuck. He recounts the
various outlandish examples of his old man’s behavior, such as his constant
fights with both the heater and the neighbors’ dogs, and that memorable scene
when the family went out to get the family Christmas tree, and its aftermath.
Ralph gets the best of Farcus, and while he is turned away
from his BB gun at every turn, he still is anticipating it on Christmas
morning. This scene is particularly memorable as both Ralph and Randy bound
down the stairs in typical childish fashion on Christmas morning in awe of what
awaits under the tree, and later, both parents stumble down like they came off
a bender the night before. (I can remember this scene clearly played out in our
home as kids)
Ralph gets many great presents, and one not so great one
which is particularly memorable. But he doesn’t see the BB gun. That is, until
the Old Man points to a hidden present behind a cabinet, and to Ralph’s immense
surprise, it is the present he’s been waiting for!
Later, the neighbor dogs get the best of the families
Christmas day turkey, and the Parker family is forced to find other means of
food on Christmas day.
Like I said above, A Christmas Story doesn’t have the heavy
themes of most stories, and doesn’t hit the nail too on the nose with a moral
or lesson, but it presents Christmas in a manner which I can relate to, in a
small way, growing up. It’s a great trip down memory lane, and the jokes and
lines throughout make it so.
It also doesn’t hurt that the majority of the film
was made here in Ohio, in the city of Cleveland, and the Parker home can be
visited today as a museum of sorts to the film.
The BB gun, the bunny suit, the leg lamp, and all the other
scenes make A Christmas Story a great film. One that is worth watching, and
enjoying each year. It isn’t perfect, but really, you have to ask yourself, who
among us can say ours was perfect? To Ralph it was, because that’s how he
remembered it, and for me, I couldn’t agree or relate more.
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