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A Christmas Story
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A Christmas Story

1983
Comedy, Drama
1h 33m
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Avg Percentile 60.82% from 5185 total ratings

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(5185)
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Rated 08 Feb 2015
84
93rd
A year earlier he made Porky's. Bob Clark (director of the not heartwarming classic Black Christmas, not to mention Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things): I don't always direct all time classics beloved by millions and regarded as a Christian holiday standard, but when I do, it's fresh off of filming a guy sticking his penis through a hole in the wall of a girl's shower room.
Rated 25 Dec 2017
90
93rd
This movie is like mainlining and overdosing on pure 100% uncut nostalgia. An 80's movie that has an adult narrator reminiscing about his childhood, taking place in the early 40's, centering around the most universally saccharine holiday possible, Christmas; all this creates a magical Americana period piece that somehow feels timeless. That said, I don't need two different basic cable TV channels to provide me with a 24 hour nostalgia drip to survive the holiday with my family, but some may.
Rated 13 Oct 2019
82
51st
Yeah, I know. Maybe I just don't "get it." But I never connected with this movie the way others seem to. It's just too mean-spirited and - even worse - not all that funny. It doesn't help that several channels play it nonstop for a good month before Christmas.
Rated 07 Dec 2007
46
5th
I don't get the love for this movie at all. The narrating got on my nerves, the kid was annoying and the rest was entirely uncompelling.
Rated 20 Apr 2009
10
5th
American youth has been tricked into believing this is a good movie by their baby boomer parents. It's not good and I never need to see it again.
Rated 14 Dec 2018
79
81st
This seems to be a stalwart of US festive watching, but this was my first time seeing it. It's surprisingly good, with a great script, tinged with nostalgia and feeling oddly familiar. The acting is pretty damn good too - the young 'uns in particular do a fine job. Seems at odds with the director's other films, although some of those are worth watching. This is funny, human and rather enjoyable.
Rated 10 Dec 2011
50
14th
Ann odd film with a painful family life that the filmmakers don't seem to understand is painful. The dinner table scenes are excruciating in this regard. The narration is occasionally funny, but generally overdone, and while there are a few genuine laughs, the lagging second half and the abrupt shift of tone for Christmas day left me more glazed and puzzled than anything.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
89
88th
They give it a 24-hour marathon each year for a reason, you know.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
38
11th
It really isn't a bad movie. I just can't watch it anymore. I don't want to see the tounge stuck to the pole. I don't want to see Ralphie get kicked doen the slide. And I don't want to hear that damned voice over anymore. The Lamp though, that I can see again. "Fragil-e" ok, that's funny; but the rest of it I don't want to see again.
Rated 17 May 2008
86
92nd
the only christmas movie that's worth watching twice, i myself have seen it twenty or so times.
Rated 01 Jul 2008
30
3rd
I've never understood the appeal of this movie. It's been boring me since childhood, and it's 24 hour marathon every year sets my nerves on edge.
Rated 27 Jul 2008
98
93rd
An instant classic! Everything about is memorable and endlessly quotable, from the tongue stuck to the telephone pole to the famous " You'll shoot your eye out! " scenes! This is a flawless family holiday treat, that everybody should enjoy, as it's a Christmas masterpiece!
Rated 24 May 2015
70
56th
I was a child, the kid got his tongue stuck to the frozen pole, his screaming made me throw up, I refused to watch it again until I was in my 20s, my score is jaded.
Rated 30 Dec 2015
84
79th
The only film that feels more appropriate to watch from middle to middle rather than beginning to end. You couldn't pay me to sit through it on a hot day in July, I'm giving it the marathon score.
Rated 27 Dec 2016
85
85th
A fine damn Christmas film. Shot with little vignettes, it's funny AND moving. Nostalgia is literally dripping in every scene.
Rated 13 Oct 2019
24
13th
Maybe you need to be a member of the Silent Generation to relate to this movie? For me, it's just a whole bunch of... vaguely unpleasant, cynical-but-not-thoughtful incident. It's not fundamentally *fun* in any meaningful way, and I'm not sure how so many people who grew up with it on TV in the '80s, '90s and '00s find it relatable. It feels worlds apart from that experience of childhood.
Rated 17 Dec 2023
63
33rd
Absolutely terrible, a true Christmas classic.
Rated 13 Dec 2006
88
77th
Oh Fudge!
Rated 02 Jan 2007
90
92nd
Oh my god, I shot my eye out!
Rated 22 Jun 2007
88
93rd
This by far is the most quotable Christmas classic. I will never tire of watching this movie.
Rated 24 Jul 2007
52
50th
It's funny, but at this point I'm sick of it.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
88
76th
One of those very rare movies which manages to be simultaneously sentimental and full of sharp wit. This and "Bad Santa" are the only Christmas movies I can remotely tolerate.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
92
98th
This is a great holiday film. It's so funny and the characters are so well concieved. Darren McGavin is one of my favorite movie dads. I just wish TNT or TBS or whatever wouldn't do 24-hr marathons on Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's excessive for any movie. Do you want the world to hate it?
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
89th
A Christmas Story is one of the greatest holiday films out there. The family in the film is deliciously dysfunctional, and the main character, Ralphie, whose adult self plays the role of narrator, does an excellent job of giving the viewer the feeling of being an over-imaginative kid. Awesome!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
4
70th
THE Christmas movie. Endlessly quotable. The movie captures childhood nostalgia as well as any other movie I've seen. "Yellow eyes, I swear to god, yellow eyes!"
Rated 14 Aug 2007
4
74th
Best narration ever? Perhaps.
Rated 08 Feb 2008
96
99th
Watching this movie is a Christmas tradition that I hope never goes away.
Rated 14 Mar 2008
89
89th
Nostalgia plays a big factor in why I love this movie, but that's ok. It was a great movie when I was a little boy, and it's a great movie now. No other movie makes me feel the "Christmas spirit"- for lack of a less cornball term - as this movie.
Rated 20 Apr 2008
90
92nd
Ah, Christmas.
Rated 08 Aug 2008
30
3rd
Unbearable. Like a Family Circus strip brought to life.
Rated 02 Sep 2008
69
50th
It's not an altogether great piece of film, but it oozes a tone of Midwest nostalgia rarely (if ever) achieved in modern cinema, where teachers are witches, bullies have yellow eyes, and the world is complete with a BB rifle in your fingers. Imagination and a drab and dreary Cleveland come together for a winter's tale of woe.
Rated 15 Dec 2008
85
94th
You'll shoot your eye out, kid.
Rated 07 Jan 2009
95
94th
This is my favorite X-mas movie. Every time I see it (which has been countless times) there is something new that I find completely hilarious. A true classic.
Rated 16 Jul 2009
90
92nd
It is a can't miss part of our holidays
Rated 17 Feb 2010
85
72nd
He shot his eye out, swore revenge on Santa. Big cliffhanger for sequel that never came (A Christmas.. Gory??) I hate it when they do that.
Rated 04 Mar 2010
35
24th
i don't understand people's love for this film. maybe its a generational thing.
Rated 17 Jul 2010
9
71st
A Christmas Story is unapologetic nostalgia for childhood. It evokes that period not as it was, but as we remember it. It's about the thrill of Christmas morning, not when you have opened the presents, played with your toys, and had a bad case of buyer's remorse, but the thrill that comes with waking up that morning as a kid. That is the primary draw of this film, and your opinion depends largely on that fact.
Rated 18 Jul 2010
86
74th
An utterly beguiling, perfect little Christmas picture. The excellent sense of period detail and the letter-perfect casting is surprising, considering that this precious bit of Christmas cheer was directed by the man who had previously given us _Porky's_.
Rated 31 Dec 2011
77
60th
Classic Christmas fare much like Christmas ham and the Salvation Army and their annoying fucking bells. It's funny and good for it purpose but, like the Salvation Army people, overstays its welcome when you can't go 5 minutes without seeing it in the month of December.
Rated 29 Jun 2012
93
99th
One of those special Holiday movies that's always a joy to watch anytime it's on TV.
Rated 05 Jun 2013
88
76th
To call A Christmas Story a movie that everyone can love, is an understatement. It's a movie that everyone can relate to. The main character's narration, that of a grown man telling of his childhood Christmas, enhances this feeling and nostalgia a conveys a sense of nostalgia. This doesn't merely refer to the major plot points, but more so the small moments, such as the way the family communicates with each other. But, it would not have become so iconic if the family wasn't played so flawlessly.
Rated 21 Aug 2014
80
44th
As a kid, I was convinced this movie was actually made in the 50's. Not even it's yearly overkill marathon has dampened my appreciation for this film. One of the last good filthy kid's comedies before Goonies killed them.
Rated 24 Dec 2014
71
97th
I can't think of any other movie that satirizes the childhood perspective for the entire duration. The father's gibberish-sounding swearing, the helpless little brother, the yellow-eyed bully, the intimidating adults, etc. And the narration (by the author) serves as a comically dramatic reading of poetically childish thoughts.
Rated 15 Mar 2016
80
63rd
I advise anyone out there: be careful how much you are exposed to this movie. I say this because every year I had family members watch the 24-hour rerun of this ALL DAY; definitely ruined the movie for me, and I'll never watch it again. However, my rating tries to reflect what I thought the first time I saw it, and it was good. Still not a better Christmas movie than Die Hard.
Rated 05 Mar 2017
50
10th
I fucking hate this movie
Rated 19 Jul 2020
97
83rd
Not as good as Ollie Hopnoodles, but this is a requirement to watch at Christmas in order to be human.
Rated 26 Dec 2023
80
89th
The commitment to idiosyncrasies, like the soap poisoning scene or Randy hiding under the sink, and the brilliant narration from Jean Sheppard make this an instant classic.
Rated 05 Dec 2006
85
84th
It isn't Christmas until you've seen this like 5 times on tbs.
Rated 27 Dec 2006
83
82nd
Fun
Rated 04 Jan 2007
85
88th
The one movie you're guaranteed to see at least once a year. Good thing it's highly entertaining.
Rated 07 Jan 2007
100
99th
The ultimate Christmas movie.
Rated 20 Jan 2007
70
44th
Uma história de Natal estreava há 40 anos no Brasil. É um filme gostosinho e divertido, mas me incomoda demais essa veia de de glamourização da obsessão de americanos por armas, aff, nada mais patriarcal de orientação da masculinidade tóxica do que isso. YTS.
Rated 20 Feb 2007
85
71st
Who hasn't seen this a billion times? Only good during Christmas unfortunately.
Rated 25 Feb 2007
83
73rd
One of the greatest Christmas films made. So good you feel you could watch it for the whole 24 hours it takes over TBS in December.
Rated 26 Mar 2007
93
91st
This might just be the quintessential Christmas movie.
Rated 27 Mar 2007
85
86th
Greatest Christmas film of all time? Yes. Terrified that the just announced sequel will ruin this film, but excited to have Peter Billingsley returning to the role, which gives me honest hope.
Rated 31 Mar 2007
85
77th
Still watch it every Christmas.
Rated 09 Apr 2007
86
87th
An all time classic! So many memorable scenes in this one from the fight to the tongue on the telephone pole to the horrible rendition of Jingle Bells at the Chinese restaurant!
Rated 20 Apr 2007
89
82nd
classs-ic
Rated 21 May 2007
90
89th
Even though Turner manages to play it ad nauseum on Christmas, it IS a fantastic film. Damn near flawless child entertainment with jokes for adults as well. Mr. Clark, even though you made Baby Geniuses, I will always remember you for this film...R.I.P.
Rated 08 Jun 2007
25
70th
Good to watch once or twice during the Christmas season. If you have the DVD, it should be stored away with Christmas decorations.
Rated 01 Jul 2007
95
89th
THE christmas movie. That's all.
Rated 07 Jul 2007
100
97th
Required Christmas viewing with my family. I love this movie to bits.
Rated 12 Jul 2007
96
96th
Probably my favorite Christmas movie. Get the DVD edition with old radio broadcasts from Jean Shepherd (who also narrates).
Rated 18 Jul 2007
20
10th
Sometimes I think I am the only person in the world who hates this movie. But I do. I just do.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
74th
If you don't love this holiday classic you probably have no joy in your life. Either that or you once shot your eye out.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
93rd
You'll shoot your eye out over this fun adventure. This movie has that special "it" factor that makes it a classic Christmas movie. Put on your pink bunny suit and enjoy the show.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
91
97th
Perfect.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
83
81st
American Christmas incarnate.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
43
36th
A film that despite the popular wisdom, does not grow on you over time.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
95th
THIS IS MY FATAL FILM. I found it today (after so many years of desperate searching) by chance here at Criticker.com. Jesus, that's great! :))
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
67th
A Christmas classic, this narrative of a boy's quest for his perfect gift is exaggerated, but believeable.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
88th
Always will be my favorite holiday flick ever.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
61st
Quite the classic Christmas film for a more cynical generation. Brings up a lot of good childhood memories, and there's a reason TNT shows it for the entirety of Christmas Day.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
39th
Always a classic. You'll shoot your eye out.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
88
68th
Ha ha, always makes me smile.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
91
84th
A classic.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
83
60th
Probably my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Great humor and memorable characters.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
81st
Hilarity simply hilarity.
Rated 19 Aug 2007
87
82nd
the definition of timeless.
Rated 24 Aug 2007
85
81st
Despite being forced to watch it in like every one of my classes for Christmas parties, it's still great.
Rated 31 Aug 2007
100
94th
Oneof my favorite movies of all time. Everyone should see this.
Rated 01 Sep 2007
80
84th
I was there! I was that midwest kid, in a working family wanting a BB gun...Jean Shepherd's great comedic flair was wonderfully done as a movie. A good cast doing this comedy justice.
Rated 14 Sep 2007
30
4th
I'm not sure why this film irritates me so much, but it does.
Rated 25 Sep 2007
70
41st
The tongue on the pole and everything...iconic.
Rated 19 Oct 2007
98
89th
Perfect Christmas movie.
Rated 27 Oct 2007
85
35th
I'm pretty tired of this movie given its constant play during the Holiday season, but Darren McGavin's reaction when Ralphie unwraps the rifle still gets me every time. Cleveland represent!
Rated 16 Nov 2007
75
81st
classic tale! overshown these days, but still a great film.
Rated 17 Nov 2007
85
69th
...but you have to go read the book(s) by Jean Shepherd too! Brilliant stuff.
Rated 15 Jan 2008
88
88th
A true classic.
Rated 20 Jan 2008
90
93rd
Love it! A classic holiday comedy that grows more memorable throughout the years.
Rated 19 Feb 2008
88
69th
This now classic Christmas tale really isn't the best movie ever made (th eacting can be sub-par and the story draggy at times), but everyone knows of it and it affects us much as our memories of Christmases of our youth do. It's a tradition, so you watch it. And you feel better for having done so. That simple.
Rated 23 Feb 2008
93
98th
Hysterical movie. My favorite part is when Randy can't keep his arms down and finally gets knocked over on the way to school... "I can't get up!!!" Oh and then the FRAGILE Statue incident, and then there's also the whole triple dog dare strategy. So many great scenes to count them all.
Rated 06 Mar 2008
95
81st
classic
Rated 24 Mar 2008
90
85th
There are certain things I look forward to during the holidays other than Christmas, itself. This movie is one of them. This movie has so many memorable lines/moments that make it - in my opinion - the last holiday classic that's been made...'Home Alone' made alot of money, but isn't a 'classic' in my book. "NOT A FINGER!"
Rated 15 May 2008
85
72nd
A classic.
Rated 28 May 2008
85
97th
It's a movie I seem to watch on tv every year in December and actually look forward to it. The narrator is the perfect fit for this film, his dry, almost monotonous voice adds so much to the story, and the two brothers are hilarious.
Rated 01 Jun 2008
81
60th
Amusing to watch every year around the holidays.
Rated 02 Jun 2008
90
60th
If you don't watch this every Christmas, you're doing it wrong.
Rated 02 Jun 2008
92
95th
A classic film, entertaining. One of the few films you will see decade after decade and never tire of.

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