Yule has begun! We could not be happier that it has, and we hope that everyone reading this is getting what they want and need this holiday season! In keeping with our Holiday theme this month, we’re going to be reviewing one of our all-time favorite Christmas movies ever! A Christmas Story!

Both of us potatoes have a lot of nostalgic feelings toward this movie since we’ve been watching it almost every year since childhood. Considering how big a part of our holiday celebrations it’s been in our lives, we decided that despite its popularity and reputation…we’re going to throw our hat in any way!

We will do everything we can to not give too many spoilers in this review but there are likely to be some, so please take that into consideration and read cautiously. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

This movie is based on Jean Shepherd’s novel titled “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”. In fact, Jean Shepherd not only had a hand in adapting the novel to film, but also narrated the movie! Although we’ve never read his written work, we can clearly hear the author’s passion as he describes all the thoughts, experiences, and situations that our main character goes through throughout the film.

The movie begins with the narrator setting the snowy, festive, pre-Christmas scene in 1940’s Indiana. Our main character, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley), is a nine-year-old boy who lives with his brother, Randy (Ian Petrella), his mom (Melinda Dillon) and his father (Darren McGavin), who is often referred to as “The Old Man”. Throughout the entirety of the film, Ralphie has a singular obsession over what he wants for Christmas that year: an official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle!

The opening scene shows a bunch of kids huddled around a toy store window display, noses pressed to the glass, as they stare in awe at all the fun looking, bright, sparkly toys held within. This is when we get our first glimpse of Ralphie’s sought after “blue steel beauty”.

Ralphie’s pursuit of a Red Ryder starts with his mom asking him what he wants for Christmas during breakfast. Ralphie blurts out that he wants this specific model of BB gun. His mother hesitates, appears concerned and calmly says, “No, you’ll shoot your eye out.”

This is a very important line throughout the movie. Multiple adult characters tell Ralphie this exact same thing during the film, including his teacher, Ms. Shields (Tedde Moore), and even the mall Santa (Jeff Gillen)!

Poor Ralphie spends the movie trying to find one adult that will validate his Christmas wish of a Red Ryder BB gun!

The story of the movie encompasses a lot of smaller sub plots all leading up to Christmas day, when we finally see whether or not Ralphie gets his Christmas wish!

There are hijinks between Ralphie and his friends Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R. D. Robb). As well as run-ins with the neighborhood bully Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), family silliness and more!

This film is so fun, hilarious and sweet. They feel like real stories told by an old friend or family member.

We have quite a few thoughts on this film, many of which won’t fit into this review, but we definitely want to touch on a few things.

The family system that is presented in the movie is a breath of fresh air. The family is depicted as a little idealistic, but not overly toxic as with many Christmas movies which usually heavily lean one way or the other. All the characters feel very real, and the writing is fantastic!

We see, not only the strengths of the characters as people, but also their flaws and shortcomings. The Old Man, for example, is a foul mouthed, grumpy, yet excitable man who is just as likely to “weave a tapestry of obscenity” as he is to gush over winning a “major award”!

The movie feels very relatable since the filmmakers went out of their way to humanize the family while still keeping the family wholesome. Many of us can relate to fixating on that “one special gift” from our childhoods. We can also relate to that feeling of impending doom when we did something bad in our childhoods. The anticipation and excitement of the season really comes through in this movie!

Quite a bit of the humor in this movie comes from the narrator! There’s something truly hysterical about a grown man, with their adult vocabulary, describing a kid’s thoughts. The humor whenever the narrator describes clever plans or deep feelings lands every time!

Overall, we absolutely love this film. The writing is fantastic, the comedy always hits, and the actor’s performances are phenomenal! The casting and acting were perfection and really sell the whole small-town family vibe with all the highs and lows that go along with the setting.

It can be a bit of an overly idyllic film in regards to how it portrays family but it is has so much humanity in the writing that it works.

It’s a tried-and-true classic for a reason and every year, we look forward to watching it all over again! If you are someone who loves classic Christmas movies, enjoys the silliness and sweetness of children, and just want to laugh… A LOT then this film is for you! If you haven’t seen it already we’d highly recommend giving it a watch this Holiday season!

We adore this movie and we give A Christmas Story 5 glasses of Christmas Morning Red Wine out of 5!

A Christmas Story Drinking Game

Take a sip anytime:

1. Randy whines

2. Anyone says "You'll shoot your eye out" or mentions shooting an eye out

3. Ralphie daydreams

4. “The old man” gets angry

5. “The old man” swears

6. Mom cooks

7. Mom yells either of her kid’s names (Ralphie or Randy)

8. Anyone says, "Red Rider" "BB Gun" or "Air Rifle"

9. Anyone says Christmas

10. You see a Santa Claus

11. Ralphie tries to do something clever

12. Dad mentions the furnace

13. Any kid curses

14. Anyone says major award

What did you think?? Did you like the movie? Did you hate it!? Do you have suggestions for films we should consider?! Let us know here in the comments and always remember to be safe and drink responsibly!