One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."
Everyone has experienced the feeling of wanting one thing for Christmas more than anything else in the world. For the young Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley, this gift is the Red Ryder B.B. gun. No matter how much he is dissuaded by adults, with warnings like “You'll shoot your eye out,” Ralphie wants no business with any other gift. His eyes are fixated on the gun and anything less than that under the Christmas tree would be a disappointment. The way Ralphie feels about the gun is real and relatable. Watching this movie brings out the child in every adult who spent the Decembers of their childhood being extra nice to further entice Santa Claus to bring them the item at the top of their Christmas list. While "A Christmas Story" follows a nine-year-old and his Christmas dreams, everyone who watches struggles along with Ralphie in his quest to get a gun from Santa Claus.
If getting the top item on the Christmas list is the highlight of Christmas for children, getting clothes is the low point. No child wants to get clothes. Ralphie is not the exception. One of the first gifts he opens is a pink fluffy bunny suit from his aunt. The unhappiness is palpable. Under pressure from his mother, Ralphie puts on the bunny suit and smears a half-hearted smile across his face. After given permission to take it off, the nine-year-old sprints like no other up the stairs to put back on his pajamas and resume opening up other gifts. To children, ripping off the gift wrapping and opening the box to see clothes is the ultimate letdown. Kids, like Ralphie, want nothing other than
myriad different toys. "A Christmas Story" perfectly portrays this feeling. Kids watching pray that they do not find clothes under their trees, and their parents can sympathize as they were these kids years ago.
Finally, what makes "A Christmas Story" so great is that it shows that every Christmas cannot be perfect. While Ralphie did end up getting his Red Ryder B.B. gun, that might have been the only thing that went right for the family that day. Mr. Parker loved nothing more than a Christmas turkey. But when his prized possession was eaten by the neighbors’ dogs, all the light is taken from his eyes. He laments that, “The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone! All gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey hash! Turkey a la king! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone! All gone!” Instead of canceling Christmas, the whole family takes a trip to the local Chinese restaurant for a Christmas duck. This famous scene is what makes "A Christmas Story" so great. It does not try to sell you a perfect Christmas. It shows the reality that while everything may not be perfect, if you are together with your family on Christmas, that is all that matters. After all, family is what the holiday is here for.
