1983
Directed by Bob Clark
I really hate Christmas movies and this film really is the season's original sin. I don't know why, but I really want to punch this kid in the face, which is an impulse I shall reflect on at a later date.
Ralphie (ugh, this boy even has an obnoxious name) wants a Red Ryder BB Gun more than anything for Christmas. He also has the typical adventures that a young boy in 1940s would have. Obviously a very relatable concept for me. Did I mention I hate Christmas movies?
This film relies so heavily on nostalgia that if you weren't a child during the post Depression era, the movie just misses. The filmmakers are so busy nudging and winking at you that you can't even enjoy it as a little snapshot of another time. It just felt like one long inside joke that I wasn't in on.
Still, it could be a perfectly fine film if you can identify with that era or even if you are watching with someone who can. And if you can stand...*shivers*...Ralphie.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Bob Clark and his son were killed by a drunk driver in 2007.
Sit down, this will shock you. I too hate Christmas movies. I hate films with obnoxious kids. (OK, perhaps I dislike obnoxious kids full stop) I dislike 'family' movies.
ReplyDeleteThen.. good grief .. I actually liked this one.
Ominous silence, followed by scary crashing sound as Amanda falls over.
Told you to sit down. Oh, you were.I guess I should have known that as you will be sitting at your computer. I should have said hold on to the table or something. Amanda rapidly phones the FBI Xfiles dept to say "My friend Ray has been kidnapped by Aliens and replaced by a replicant, he's started liking horrible kids in Christmas movies"
No, to my surprise I enjoyed this one. I guess I saw it as a spoof. So overplayed, it HAD to be played as a satire.
And before you say it, I'm not THAT old I can relate to being a kid in the 40's thank you.
I have filled out a missing persons report and SWAT team will be at your residence shortly. I guess I am not familiar with sickening family movies before this, so I didn't see it as a spoof.
DeleteI enjoyed this as a spoof and though not old enough to be a part of that time, could still enjoy the silly humor. I thought it was very funny. sorry I can't agree with you on this one, Amanda!
ReplyDeleteThanks Diana! I cannot really put my finger on it and say why I liked this - and that includes the kid - whilst I'd happily feed the utterly repulsive Kevin whatsisface from home alone to lions. This kid somehow felt more real.. as did the family. I think I felt there was less studied attempt to be so cute. He was .. the family was perhaps .. a young Woody Allen almost.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, Diana. I wish I got more enjoyment out of this one. I just hate that kid so much. Interesting Woody Allen comparison. With that in mind, I might be able to bear it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I can bring myself to hate anything, least of all a film genre, but I didn't enjoy this at all. A heart-warming tale of a small boy getting a gun for Christmas and beating another kid to a bloody pulp along the way.
ReplyDeleteEvery joke along the way fell flat in front of my unsmiling face. I'd like to disapprove of the bit about the Chinese waiters who mix up their 'R's and 'L's, but I mock my Chinese wife for it all the time. Trust me, its hilarious when I do it.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to the other 1,001ers, whilst I'm here.
You can't bring yourself to hate anything? What about improv groups? Or people that say "it is what it is?"
DeleteI say "it is what it is" all the time. It depends what you're trying to justify with it, I suppose. I use it to mean "There's no point complaining about what's already gone, better to focus on what can be done to change what comes next". Others tend to use it to mean "Why should I care?"
ReplyDeleteI don't mind improv groups either, although it can get a bit toe-curling when it's not working.
If that's really true Dessie, I am full of admiration and would love to know the secret. But nothing, not boiled tripe?
ReplyDeleteYou're asking a deep question of the psyche there and this is an otherwise cheery blog. Let's just say that I've seen what happens when hating things around you is held up as some kind of moral virtue to be upheld and I don't want to go down that road. Besides, life is terribly short and I just can't find the time for it any more.
DeleteIf I were going to fall off the wagon, it would probably be for Nigel Farage, Liverpool Football Club or celery. I'm vegetarian so don't think I've ever tried the tripe.
Fair pint about tripe.. I've not eaten it either, but I have seen it and smelt it cooking, and bothe make me feel sick..
DeleteWell this has taken a turn for the serious. I just hate when people talk without really saying anything and I feel like "it is what it is" falls under that heading. Of course, it depends on how you use it. But I was taking a somewhat light hearted tone. I obviously don't plot the deaths of people in improv groups.
ReplyDeleteIt would be quite wrong to plot the deaths of people in improv groups. Far more in keeping with the spirit to impulsively murder them out of unplanned instinct. It's what they would have wanted.
ReplyDelete