So, a movie made in the 80s about kids being brought up in Indiana in the 40s. Focusing on the narrator's retelling of how Ralphie got his BB gun, we are presented with a picture of the holidays almost completely from his perspective. It's actually done pretty well, a warped viewpoint from the mind of an 8 year old. Too bad the 8 year old is an annoying little git. People like this kid?!? I guess my younger self saw what would annoy me about Ralphie my entire life. The weird thing is that it actually hit holiday cult status when I was an adult, in the 90s.
The acting is so bloody atrocious but at times I was not sure if that was intentional, to show the skewed child viewpoint again, or just the directing of the movie. The kids are bloody damaged with their neuroses and daydreams that probably would have been medicated today. The plot is jumbled, going from Xmas vignette to childhood vignette and back again. The parents are warped, from Dad's obsession with an ugly lamp to mom's enjoyment of her son's piggy antics. If you don't want the dogs in the house, don't open the fucking door to them !! And dad struck me as perpetually drunk but we didn't see him take a single nip, though once again if that was intentional (as the kids might not have caught it either) then kudos. Only two scenes made us laugh out loud. First there was Randy falling on his back in reaction to the bullies, because that was his only defense instinct. Second was a reference to Ralphie sleeping, "next to me in the blackness lay my oiled blue steel beauty." I giggled madly at that one as I doubt an 8 year has his blue steel yet. Blame the lingering virus I have.
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