Movies

Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas but his mother is totally against it - the "you'll shoot your eye out" discussion being a major opposition.This is essentially a story about childhood and is very spot-on in regards to the yearning of children and the whole Christmas era - I've been watching it since I was a child and every Christmas when it comes on TV I watch it again. It's funny, poignant and totally memorable - it has some of the best scenes of all-time and although I know a few people who dislike it because it's a bit "weird" and "dark," most people I know love it.Worth watching every Christmas, forever!

How difficult is it to perfectly capture nostalgia? It must be pretty darn difficult or else everyone would make movies like this. It may not be absolute perfection but Jean Shepherd, Bob Clark and the outstanding cast came as close as anyone here.Creating a story centered around nostalgia is a tricky thing as the memories that creates it are unique to each of us. The themes, however, are similar and that's where the success lies.I didn't want a Red Ryder BB gun when I was that age but my Christmas wish was just as fervent and I schemed just as hard as Ralphie. The bully at my school didn't have yellow eyes but he was pretty much like Scut Farkus. And so on, from the fantastically flawed parents to the pop-heroes, A Christmas Story captures it all.Truly wonderful.

Even with its somewhat unreliable narrator and his frequent fantastical daydreams, 'A Christmas Story (1983)' is a decidedly more realistic Christmas movie, with its focus on the little familial triumphs which remain in your memory long into adulthood. It's clearly based on a series of short stories as opposed to a long-form narrative, as it very much feels like small 'skits' strung together, but this works in the picture's favour as it replicates the typically sweeping, 'everyday as adventure' feel of childhood. It also allows the audience to empathise mostly with the disembodied narrator, who reflects on his time as a child with the kind of glee only someone who experienced the events could and provides a knowing edge to a lot of the movie's otherwise innocent events. Indeed, adults will probably get more mileage from this typically nostalgic piece than children. 6/10