A Christmas Story (1983)
Directed by Bob Clark
The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.
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What critics compared A Christmas Story to
Even if this is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ralphie's profanity slip in 1983's "A Christmas Story," it still comes off as the doing of a corporate head rather than a specific creative choice on Dougherty's part.
These whimsical asides feel inspired by Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ (1983) or perhaps even Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story (1983), where Paul’s mental images take over the screen.
The first time we see Buddy (played by “A Christmas Story”-cute newcomer Jude Hill), he’s sword-fighting a happy swarm of other kids in a frenzied street scene that doesn’t evoke Northern Island so much as it does Neverland.
The cynical take would point out the stylistic similarities to Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma and consider Branagh’s attempt to be an attempt to translate his own life into Oscar gold, but in spite of a similar penchant for portraying an autobiographical past in stark monochrome, Belfast shares much more cinematic DNA with A Christmas Story than any of its contemporaries.
But as far as thematic storytelling goes, this is like if A Christmas Story was directed by Richard Linklater with a dash of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing ; it primarily centers on nine-year-old Buddy in a series of snapshot vignettes doing child-like activities, such as playing, having first crushes at school, and getting into trouble.
Last year's original was a surprise hit, turning Jeff Kinney's popular series of kids' books into a bouncy screen version that seemed born in wry memories filtered through fond reminiscences like those in "A Christmas Story" or "The Wonder Years."
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It reminds me of Ralphie in A Christmas Story (1983) desperately decoding his ring to reveal the answer, "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."
A treacly narrator ( Patrick Stewart ) describes a Christmas that reminds us of a " A Christmas Story ," except for the jolts of four-letter words and anti-PC one-liners.
Their efforts to shed the devil from Master David Glatzel (Julian Hillard), who sort of resembles Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) from “A Christmas Story” or Ray Boyd (Jonathan Lipnicki) in “Jerry Maguire” (1996), are successful but not entirely.
3. Producer and former child star Peter Billingsley ("A Christmas Story").
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There are a number of other touches that could have played well had it have been for a few more drafts: his hometown, his inner conflict, his best friend who’s like if Ralphie from A Christmas Story was a Nazi in training (Archie Yates).
There are two holiday comedies I pretty much have to watch every year: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story.
But a helping of familiar holiday schmaltz and some poor visual effects nudge "Elf" off the must-see list reserved for essentials like "Scrooged" and "A Christmas Story."