Retro Review: A Christmas Story

Introduction:

After five posts, I would say it is long overdue to live up to this blog's namesake. First, what is a retro review? The concept is simple, but perhaps the explanation is not. Essentially, it is reviewing an older movie now as though it was recently released. Since it is impossible to avoid the context of present day, the idea is to facetiously, possibly subtly, acknowledge that context. I feel it works best for films within a franchise with a rebooted entry or have had a recent sequel (for best results, a legacy sequel!). Second, I chose A Christmas Story for this inaugural retro review because: 1) Christmas is in two days, and 2) I did not watch it for the first time until well into adulthood, so hopefully the gap between "just released" and now will feel smaller from my point of view. Lastly, this is also the debut of a review format I created when I kept a movie journal, named after quite possibly the best Western genre film ever made: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. "The Good" and "The Bad" are self-explanatory enough. However, "The Ugly" is somewhat open-ended; it just has to fit that description. Examples include bad CGI or something serious like dramatization of real-life racism. Enough intro; let's get to it.

Retro Review: A Christmas Story (1983)

The Good:

Maybe I am just a sucker for good narration. Maybe that is because narrating a movie throughout has not been overdone. Maybe I am just a sucker for Christmas. Maybe that is because I always try to bear the holiday's original purpose in mind. At its heart, this film is simply relatable. When most of us were kids, we failed to see the big picture of all the things that make Christmas, well, Christmas. I am sure we all recall those years when we were on a quest for that one present of all presents. Told through a series of vignettes, A Christmas Story is about 9-year old Ralphie Parker's pilgrimage for a "Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time" for Christmas 1940 (the actual year is in dispute as there are some likely intentional anachronisms). But, it is about so much more with timeless themes such as family, friendship, peer pressure, bullies, and disillusionment. Besides its relatability, it employs two other storytelling devices well. The first is nostalgia. When used correctly, it creates a wistfulness for simpler times. A film from the past ten years that effectively capitalized on sentimentality for the 1950s and early 1960s is 1973's American Graffiti. It is George Lucas' loosely semi-autobiographical film that follows a group of teenagers on the last night of summer vacation after graduating high school. (You might know of Lucas as the creative mind behind the wildly successful Star Wars trilogy, the final chapter of which released this past May.) This film is destined to create its own type of nostalgia, the variety that comes from a film becoming a classic. The second device is perhaps the one that truly knits the whole thing together, Jean Shepherd's grand presentation of inconsequential events. (Shepherd is the author of the source book, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. He also contributed to the screenplay and wonderfully narrates the film as Ralphie as an adult.) A part of this grand presentation, Ralphie's imagination runs wild throughout to humorous effect. Its success as a sleeper hit likely means at least one sequel is forthcoming. If one must be, I offer advice to anyone contemplating a follow-up. While risky, wait until the film's nostalgia is concretely in place, recast as few roles as possible, and go for heartwarming to complement the nostalgia.

The Bad:

Admittedly, its strong point of being relatable may begin to break down if your childhood experience differs too greatly. Two examples are being a boy and growing up where cold winters are common (it does not have to be Indiana cold). Even without this fact, I can certainly see it is not for everyone, despite my own enjoyment. Some may find its presentation over the top and/or may enjoy a traditional holiday film more.

The Ugly:

There are two items that probably should make us all at least uncomfortable. They are the kinds of things we need not forget or gloss over, so we can do better. The first is, over the phone, you hear Ralphie's friend Schwartz being physically chastised for something he did not do. I am neither condemning nor condoning corporal punishment. But, it is at least worth noting, it is called justice for an earlier incident for which Schwartz suffered zero consequence. The second is the portrayal of some people of Chinese ethnicity at the end. There does not appear to be any malicious intent, but there is a small joke regarding pronunciation of English words with the "l" sound, a sound not fully native to most Chinese dialects.

Conclusion:

A Christmas Story is a Christmas story indeed, or rather a few or so interconnected ones, and a bit off the beaten path. Most should feel like they are going on a mostly fun, nostalgic, relatable journey with Ralphie, but it may not be everyone's cup of Ovaltine. I would yet suggest everyone watch it and see for yourselves. Go on, I triple-dog dare you. Recommend: 8 Christmas presents out of 10. 

Next week...BurtonVerse Theory!