Cinema Craze: A Christmas Story (Clark, 1983)
- Josh
- Nov 26, 2025
- 4 min read
Director: Bob Clark
Producer: Bob Clark & René Dupont
Writers: Bob Clark, Jean Shepherd & Leigh Brown
A Christmas Story (1983) Official Trailer #1 - Family Comedy
Growing up, I had only seen promos for A Christmas Story on the VHS tapes I watched. Compared to other Christmas films and specials like Home Alone, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and the works of Rankin-Bass, however, it wasn’t something that I had a strong urge to check out. Oh, don’t ask why. I wouldn’t know. It would be many years before I finally decided to give the Christmas film I had always heard about but never saw a chance. It was during my time in high school when the holiday rolled around once again that I remember it was being shown on TBS as part of a 24-Hour Christmas Story movie marathon, where they would broadcast the film from Christmas Eve evening to Christmas Day evening. I guess I must’ve figured that now was as good a time as any to watch it. So, when winter break came, I watched a recording of a showing from some time ago. By the end of one showing of the feature, I was left thinking, “Why did I miss out on this years ago?” Since then, I must’ve seen the film possibly around twenty times, read the book that inspired it, and, during the writing of this review, checked out the legacy sequel released three years ago by HBO Max that featured several of the original cast members.
Inspired by several sections of the short story collection In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepard, it follows Ralphie Parker and his family’s misadventures over the course of Christmas 1940 as recounted by an older Ralphie, narrated by Shepard himself. (Side note: I initially thought it was Adam West narrating.) While it primarily focuses on Ralphie’s attempts to get a Red Ryder BB gun despite everyone telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” it also follows his dad receiving a leg lamp in the mail, the boy’s run-ins with the local bullies, the neighbor’s bloodhounds harassing the father, one of the boy’s friends getting his tongue stuck to a pole, and so on. In other words, it’s told through vignettes. With this episodic approach to film structure chosen here instead of the traditional/tightly driven one used in most films, it actually makes sense for A Christmas Story. It’s not about getting from one plot point to another or telling a grand story. It’s simply about a nostalgic retelling of a child’s Christmas. Not only does it make it stand out from the other Christmas films out there, but it also makes it rewatchable in its own right.
And it wouldn’t have been as good without the efforts of both the cast and crew. Given the opportunity to adapt his work into a screenplay, Jean Shepard incorporated elements such as his blend of childhood-inspired memoir-esque tone with humor. The film’s humor doesn’t take itself seriously and instead, since the story is told through the POV of a child, presents the situations Ralphie and the other children in the story run into in an appropriate, ridiculous fashion, such as Ralphie himself imagining he’s a cowboy defending his family from robbers with the BB gun he desires. Helping with the matter, Shepard was assisted by co-writers Leigh Brown and Bob Clark, the latter of whom also served as producer and director. Speaking of Clark, with his previous works including the holiday horror Black Christmas, the Sherlock Holmes murder mystery Murder by Decree, and the teen comedy Porky’s, he seems, on the surface, to be a strange choice to helm this kind of project. Yet being an admirer of Shepard’s work and this being a passion project of his, Clark shows off his versatility as a director by maintaining the consistent, humorous, and nostalgic tone as well as bringing out terrific acting from both the children and adults. This ranges from Peter Billingsley’s believable and imaginative Ralph Parker to Zack Ward’s menacing schoolyard bully Scut Farkus to Darren McGavin’s tempered yet humorous Mr. Parker. In addition, the film is wonderfully shot by cinematographer Reginald H. Morris, which is thanks to his use of soft filters and warm lighting. The goal was to add to the memory aspect of the feature while also helping to place the film’s setting in the 1940s. The result is a warm and hazy look that captures the Christmas season and feeling of nostalgia, a bit similar to what Julio Macat would bring to Home Alone seven years later (although the latter emphasized more on comedy in a slapstick nature). In short, everyone really worked to make this film work.
So, what is it about A Christmas Story that makes it a holiday classic? It’s fun. It’s humorous. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. It feels like Christmas. It holds up even after 42 years since its release. In other words, it’s simply a well-made and very pleasant movie to put on, especially around this time of the year. I would say it's one of those movies to put on if you’re having a bad day or are stuck inside with nothing else to do at the moment. If you have a chance this Christmas, I would say give A Christmas Story a watch. I just hope that much like the kid’s tongue on the pole, it will stick with you for a very long time (although not in a painful way). Merry Christmas to all, and have a Happy New Year!