# The movie "A Christmas Story": Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627 "2011-12-09T15:50:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/21 "2011-12-09T19:33:43Z")
I voted “somewhere in the middle” although I’m definitely on the “like” side. My wife hates it – she thinks it’s just unpleasant. I guess if you don’t sort of buy into the whole premise (i.e., a loving look back at how downright weird it was to be a kid), it does come off as kind of nasty. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/22 "2011-12-09T21:30:05Z")
I voted “other” because I had read all of the original Jean Shepherd short stories as they were published in the 60’s-70’s. For me, the movie fell flat by comparison. . ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/23 "2011-12-09T21:35:58Z")
> [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](#): > > Voted other, and I actually had this conversation last night. I think the movie is wonderful but thanks to TNT’s yearly marathons, I believe I’ve watched _A Christmas Story_ more times than any other film ever. And I am just completely sick of it. > > It doesn’t make it a bad film (so I can’t say I ‘hate’ it), I just never want to see it ever again. More-or-less agreed. I’m not quite to a point of never wanting to see it again, but I’m certainly in no great hurry. I think it’s an absolutely great film, though. I absolutely love how it has no actual setting – the time period is intentionally muddied as a general sort of postwar mishmash. That’s something done very rarely, and I think it worked fantastically. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/24 "2011-12-09T21:38:13Z")
It’s OK. I don’t have any nostalgia for that kind of life because no one in my family ever had that type of life, and it really doesn’t look that cool for me. But I’m definitley in the middle of the spectrum, probably leaning more towards “don’t like it”. I don’t care if I never watch it again and if someone suggests it I’ll probably try to switch them to “Rudolph” which I like way, way better, but I’ll sit down and watch it if I must and even laugh at parts. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/25 "2011-12-09T21:52:27Z")
The other night I came to the conclusion that there are only three perfect movies that have been made. This is one of them. The other two are _This is Spinal Tap_ and _My Cousin Vinny_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/26 "2011-12-09T21:52:31Z")
I love it. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/27 "2011-12-09T21:55:36Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I’ve heard “meh” reactions, but I’ve never heard of anyone hating this movie until this thread. You grinch! My ex hates it. HATES it. And he is not someone who tosses that word around. He cannot articulate why he hates it, but hate it he does. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/28 "2011-12-09T22:14:50Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > I had to select “other” because I’ve never seen more than bits and pieces of it. What I saw looked kind of funny and sorta heartwarming but not enough to actually sit down and watch from beginning to end. Same here. In fact I may have seen all of it, just never consecutively. I’ve watched bits and pieces of it each Christmas since it usually gets shown all day back to back; some day I’m going to have to watch it start to finish. Since it’s such a “little” movie, I was surprised to learn that Darren McGavin was paid $2 million to play the dad. Just seems like a movie a name actor would have done for a little over scale and maybe a percentage of the gross. There’s a sequel of sorts called [It Runs in the Family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Summer_Story). It’s a totally different cast (Charles Grodin plays “The Old Man”, Mary Steenburgen the mother, and a Culkin as Ralphie) but the characters (including the hillbilly neighbors) are the same and Jean Shepherd narrated. Has it’s moments, but wasn’t nearly as successful. I was surprised to learn that Shepherd’s real life “Old Man” was only 22 when his son was born. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/29 "2011-12-09T22:21:54Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > Oh Fudge! A double dog dare! He skipped the dog dare and went straight to double dog dare! > [@Adult Ralphie](#): > > Only I didn’t say “Fudge.” I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the “F-dash-dash-dash” word! This is right up there with _Galaxy Quest_ in that other thread for highest quote to screenplay award. > [@](#): > > Aunt Clara had for years labored under the delusion that I was not only perpetually 4 years old, but also a girl. > > Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. Ovaltine? A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch! > > In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan. > > Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian. I got more ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/30 "2011-12-09T22:26:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > There’s a sequel of sorts called It Runs in the Family. It’s a totally different cast (Charles Grodin plays “The Old Man”, Mary Steenburgen the mother, and a Culkin as Ralphie) but the characters (including the hillbilly neighbors) are the same and Jean Shepherd narrated. Has it’s moments, but wasn’t nearly as successful. Miss Shields is played by the same actor. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/31 "2011-12-10T00:37:23Z")
Super love it wasn’t an option so I had to go with a mere love it. Last Christmas I got a tiny replica of the Major Award, and it’s been decorating the room ever since (along with a bobblehead of Ralphie as the Pink Nightmare). ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/32 "2011-12-10T00:41:04Z")
I honestly think Peter Billingsley should have been nominated for an Academy Award for playing “Ralphie.” He was perfect. And I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/33 "2011-12-10T00:46:36Z")
I admit I didn’t like it the first time around – I never liked Jean Shepherd; his commentary on his PBS show was too much laughing at his own jokes. But when I watched later, I remember that it was slow, but picked up after the tongue on the flagpole scene. Then I realized this was in thefirst ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/34 "2011-12-10T01:10:38Z")
I don’t hate it but the movie bores me ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/35 "2011-12-10T02:09:40Z")
Meh. The time and the setting are completely foreign to me, but have been done so many times, it’s predictable and boring. The book can be tedious, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/36 "2011-12-10T07:43:47Z")
LOVE the movie, always play the 24-hour marathon for several hours every year. Warehouse 13 had Dad’s, “Major Award” in the “Christmas aisle” in their recent Christmas special. Made me laugh out loud. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/37 "2011-12-10T15:19:37Z")
I guess I don’t entirely hate it, but I do not view it as in any way entertaining to watch, so saying “somewhere in the middle” just seemed like a cop out. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/38 "2011-12-10T15:25:25Z")
I don’t get it. I never watched it as a kid, and coming to it for the first time a few years ago in my late 20s, it had no effect on me at all. It’s ok, I guess, but I saw it once and that’s plenty. My husband and his family absolutely love it and have it playing all day on Christmas. I guess if you grew up with it, you’re more likely to feel warm and fuzzy about it? For example, I love _It’s a Wonderful Life_ because we watched it every Christmas Eve - my husband saw it for the first time a few years ago and doesn’t get why it’s so popular. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/39 "2011-12-10T16:20:17Z")
I have seen Wonderful Life since I was a kid and I’m meh about it. I first saw Christmas Story in my 20s and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/40 "2011-12-10T18:09:44Z")
I LOVE it. It reminds me of what it was like being a kid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627.md?page=3)