# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/61 "2011-12-11T15:51:34Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > 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. Isn’t it supposed to be set before the war? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/62 "2011-12-11T15:57:26Z")
My guess is 1940. All the Snow White and Wizard of Oz stuff but no “We are at war stuff” so before Pearl Harbor. But I believe the various stories are all brought together for a Christmas setting. The Lamp, Little Orphan Annie, the Bully, all could have been from different times of the year as well as different years. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/63 "2011-12-11T19:50:25Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > But I believe the various stories are all brought together for a Christmas setting. The Lamp, Little Orphan Annie, the Bully, all could have been from different times of the year as well as different years. That’s exactly right. All those mini-arcs are from [In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash](http://www.amazon.com/God-We-Trust-Others-Cash/dp/0385021747). And a lot of them (and a lot of others from JS’s later collections) were acted out on PBS, with different actors. The first time I saw this, with my parents, we were beside ourselves because we knew so much of what was going to happen. “OMG, the leg lamp! Oh no, the dogs!” Ahem. Yes, I give this film multiple thumbs up. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/64 "2011-12-11T20:02:01Z")
Hate it. I can’t stand that kid, and pretty much can’t stand the whole movie. Whenever it comes on, we change the channel (the spouse feels the same way about it as I do). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/65 "2011-12-11T23:51:09Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I like it, but I didn’t see it until I was in my 20s. I’m trying to figure out if it’s appropriate yet for a 7 year old. I was somewhere around that age when I first saw it (on HBO!) so I say absolutely appropriate. Unless you’re worried the kid will ask about the f-dash-dash-dash word, but I’d already learned that word on the schoolbus earlier in the year before seeing this movie. > [@Shawn1767](#): > > I honestly think Peter Billingsley should have been nominated for an Academy Award for playing “Ralphie.” He was perfect. And I loved it. YES! He was especially good at acting out non-verbally, like when the teacher is chastising them about Flick and the pole and he’s just looking around like “who? not me!”, or he sneaks in a little “tee hee” when his mom is buying his icicle story. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/66 "2011-12-12T02:03:02Z")
The first time I saw it, I was in high school (16 or 17). When he came down the stairs in the bunny suit, I laughed so hard I fell out of my chair. Love it!! ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/67 "2011-12-12T02:21:49Z")
I want to address all those that hate this movie. Your criticisms mostly revolve around it being faux nostalgia or that it is too saccharine sweet. It’s neither. My childhood was spent in Georgia in the 70’s and 80’s so I never had the snow covered 50’s Christmas that is portrayed in _A Christmas Story_. That’s not why I like it. I does not induce nostalgia in me. I like it because it is NOT saccharine sweet, it’s just a funny story told well. There is not a single moment in that film where the film makers try to shove the “true meaning of Christmas” down the viewers throats. There is no “Yes, Virginia! There is a Santa Clause!” moment. In that way it’s actually a little subversive. The movie has no message - it just tries to be funny. And I love it for that. I wonder if the people that hate it so much just hate PG comedy. I always kind of want to ask them, “What? Were expecting dick jokes?”. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/68 "2011-12-12T04:06:03Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > The movie has no message - it just tries to be funny. And I love it for that. I wonder if the people that hate it so much just hate PG comedy. I always kind of want to ask them, “What? Were expecting dick jokes?”. I don’t hate PG comedy, and I wasn’t expecting dick jokes (I hate dick jokes, too). I just found that kid to be really really annoying, and I didn’t think very many of the jokes were funny. To each his own, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/69 "2011-12-12T05:18:51Z")
I’m neutral on it. There are a lot of things in it that make me laugh, but there are a few things that are downright uncomfortable–the tongue on the pole sequence, for example. I’ll watch it, if it is on; but if it’s not, I don’t feel that I am missing it. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/70 "2011-12-12T07:24:02Z")
Love it love it love it, from start to finish. Christmas doesn’t seem complete without a viewing. TBS’ marathon is a bit much, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/71 "2011-12-12T08:09:02Z")
The only two Christmas movies worth watching are _Badder Santa_ and _A Christmas Story_. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/72 "2011-12-12T15:29:03Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Isn’t it supposed to be set before the war? > [@Zebra](#): > > My guess is 1940. All the Snow White and Wizard of Oz stuff but no “We are at war stuff” so before Pearl Harbor. > > But I believe the various stories are all brought together for a Christmas setting. The Lamp, Little Orphan Annie, the Bully, all could have been from different times of the year as well as different years. > [@Rilchiam](#): > > That’s exactly right. All those mini-arcs are from In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash. the movie was set in the 30’s and prewar 40’s. the stories were first on his radio show and some published in Playboy magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/73 "2011-12-12T16:10:04Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > 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. Glad to see that someone else noticed that. We were watching W13 and both SWMBO and I said WTF and grabbed for the remote to back it up and confirm that yes indeedy, the major award was…an artifact. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kylede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kylede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kylede)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/74 "2011-12-13T03:14:39Z")
LOVE IT I simply cant ever see a package with the word “FRAGILE” and think to myself “Ah…Fra-gil-ah, it must be Italian…Its a MAJOR AWARD” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/75 "2011-12-13T05:45:50Z")
It’s crap. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/76 "2011-12-13T05:58:45Z")
I had never heard of this movie before this thread. Dialled it up last night on-line and loved it. The kid’s eye view of adults is very clever. Also some secondary stuff like being crammed into a snow suit - comic gold. A worthwhile movie to see, and I can see how it could become a classic for anyone with memories of a similar childhood (not necessarily the '40s) but maybe a comparable time a bit later when things had not changed so much. I would say see it and enjoy it for the simpler times it portrays. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/77 "2011-12-13T06:07:39Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > 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. I wonder what effect it has on people? Make someone burst out into torrents of cartoonish, Yosemite Sam-like cursing? “Why, you rassin’ frazzin’, blinkity blankin’, biscuit burnin’, dadgum good-for-nothin’, infernal galoot!” ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/78 "2011-12-13T06:19:06Z")
I voted ‘Other’ because I’ve never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/79 "2011-12-13T06:29:37Z")
voted “Love It!” It was released before I was old enough to watch movies, but it was always on cable by the time I was. There’s just so much to like - The heavy nostalgia (the decorations in the home are very much like the decor was in my Grandparent’s home, back in the 80s. Yeah, the movie is set in the 40s, but my Grandparents are old so 80s for them wasn’t too far off 40s for Ralphie.) Plus a few of the jokes just land hard, and always will: “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuuuuuuuuuuuudge!” “Except I didn’t say fudge.” Ralphie desperately climbing back up to Santa after being too shocked to deny the football that the Mall Santa suggested. The boot in the face seals it. Genius. “Frah-gee-lay! Must be Italian.” Teacher and mother, in Ralphie’s imagination, in costume: “You’ll shoot your eye out! You’ll shoot your eye out!” Ralphie snapping and rushing Farkus. That stupid little toadie being too shocked to act. I don’t know if they do it anymore, but for a while TNT was showing 24 hours of “A Christmas Story”, back-to-back, on repeat. I used to love that day, I’d pop in to watch a bit over and over. Now I’ve got the DVD, but I still always watch it around Christmas. Just a great understated movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627/80 "2011-12-13T06:42:59Z")
> [@Kylede](#): > > LOVE IT > > I simply cant ever see a package with the word “FRAGILE” and think to myself “Ah…Fra-gil-ah, it must be Italian…Its a MAJOR AWARD” Allegedly, two boxes of plaster saint statues were shipped into New Orleans, one marked “FRAGILE” and the other “EXPEDITE.” And, allegedly, to this day, there are practicing religious sects devoted to St. Fragile and St. Expedite. Allegedly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-a-christmas-story-thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down/605627.md?page=5)