Yes, this was written and narrated by Jean Shepard years before he did A Christmas Story, yes, it has many of the same characters in a time a few years later than that classic, and yes, it even has a first draft of the leg lamp story that plays such a prominent part in the more famous movie. But this is nowhere near as good as A Christmas Story.
The movie does has some moments that are funny, particularly during the prom (there's a lovingly horrific description of a corsage), but it also has a lot of moments that aren't particularly funny. And while little boy Ralphie's narcissism is amusing and relatable, I had less sympathy for Ralph, whose attitudes towards women need an attitude adjustment.
The movie is also rather poorly directed. It's done by the people who did the much better Between Time and Timbuktu, and has some of that movie's abstract and surreal touches. Unfortunately, that is totally wrong for the film. There are two cross-cutting scenes in which that two scenes don't in any way support or comment on one another. There's also this weird cutting to the "open hearth" that never resonates.
It's an somewhat interesting movie with some good scenes, but overall it's just not very good.
The movie does has some moments that are funny, particularly during the prom (there's a lovingly horrific description of a corsage), but it also has a lot of moments that aren't particularly funny. And while little boy Ralphie's narcissism is amusing and relatable, I had less sympathy for Ralph, whose attitudes towards women need an attitude adjustment.
The movie is also rather poorly directed. It's done by the people who did the much better Between Time and Timbuktu, and has some of that movie's abstract and surreal touches. Unfortunately, that is totally wrong for the film. There are two cross-cutting scenes in which that two scenes don't in any way support or comment on one another. There's also this weird cutting to the "open hearth" that never resonates.
It's an somewhat interesting movie with some good scenes, but overall it's just not very good.