It really isn’t Christmas without the annual watching of the movie, A Christmas Story, by Jean Shepherd.
I will never forget the first year I was introduced to this movie.
It was the mid-80’s, in LA, and my friends and I (who didn’t have local family obligations) were planning a Holiday get-together. My friend Marci Carlin asked if we were planning on watching A Christmas Story that day? I had no idea what she was talking about, thinking it was some old Bing Crosby movie, or something like that. Marci laughed and said she would take care of getting a copy of the movie.
The story of this movie is centered around Ralphie, a young boy who wants to get a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas, but the stories behind the story are filled with stereotypical family situations that everyone can relate to. The movie is narrated by Jean Shepherd (as the adult Ralphie) and the narrative commentary, about the character’s situations and emotions is what is so hilarious.
Of course, if you know Marci, you know that she has this infectious cackle (more than a laugh) and we spent the entire movie listening to Marci cackle over every one-liner, which made it even funnier. This movie is forever ingrained in my memories because I got to experience watching it, for the first time, with Marci!
Some of my favorite lines from the movie are: “Randy lay there like a slug…it was his only defense” and “Fra-Gee-Lay – That must be Italian!”
TBS runs this movie over and over on Christmas Day, so if you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, I Double-Dog-Dare-You, to watch it today!
