 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
A Christmas Story
- Review Date: May 19, 2003
- PG
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 1983
Common Sense Media says
Wonderful antidote to cutesy holiday tales; some swearing.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that both kids and adults use and discuss strong language ("ass," "son of a bitch"), and one famous scene involves young Ralphie using the "F" word (though movie viewers hear the word "fudge"). In one scene, the main character is punished for swearing by having his mouth washed out with soap. He's also bullied and beats up his nemesis, then cries afterward. One child sticks his tongue on a flagpole on a dare and needs the fire department to unstick him.
What's the story?
Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is a 9-year-old boy in 1930s/'40s Gary, Indiana, whose entire life is consumed with his one wish: to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. He also has to deal with a seemingly endless wait for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring, a nasty bully, and an overworked department-store Santa. His father (Darren McGavin) seems preoccupied with the neighbors' dogs (he hates them), a huge lamp in the shape of a lady's fishnet-stocking-clad leg that he won, the family's furnace, and the Christmas turkey. His mother seems preoccupied with getting his brother to eat and getting the leg-lamp out of the house, but both parents manage to come through for a chaotic but very merry Christmas.
Is it any good?
Part of the appeal of this movie, based on the memoirs of humorist Jean Shepard (who narrates), is the authenticity of the period detail, much of which will seem bizarre to kids today. But what is really engaging is his feel for the timeless details of childhood. Today's kids may not have Ralphie's exquisitely calibrated system of dares and double-dog dares, but they will have some equivalent that is just as thoroughly understood and immutable in their own schoolyard community. And they will have a bully to deal with, something sent away for with box-tops to haunt the mailbox for, a sibling to be annoyed by, an essay to dream of impressing the teacher with, the adult world to try to figure out, and, most of all, some magic dream of the ultimate Christmas present to hope for beyond all reason.
This is a nice antidote to all those Christmas television specials with perfectly harmonized carols and perfectly wrapped gifts. Because people tend to get so obsessive about every single detail at Christmas, the last scene of this movie, when the family's Christmas dinner is exactly the opposite of what they had planned, is especially sweet. Their reaction, seeing it not as a disappointment but as a delightful and funny adventure to enjoy remembering in future Christmases, is a lesson for all families.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about bullies: What makes people act like bullies? What makes people befriend bullies? How will the bully's life change after Ralphie fights him?
Why is it hard for Ralphie to talk to his parents about what he wants for Christmas?
Why is Ralphie so disappointed by the decoder? Do products get advertised during your favorite shows? Does it sometimes catch you by surprise like it did Ralphie?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Screen it before your kids do
I know my husband loves this movie, but I can't stand it at all. As a parent, I like it even less. The language is terrible for kids to see, it makes children think Santa does not get you what you want-and he is portrayed as being really nasty in this movie at the mall.
The father feeling up a sexy leg lamp is something little ones just simply would not get.
All in all, I think that you have to decide on how mature your child is before you watch this movie. It also is really watered down when they run it on television, so if you buy it on DVD, make sure you screen it before showing your kids, I think you will be shocked at the content the networks leave out.
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AGE
good movie, but some stuff maybe to inappropriate for younger kids
i think this movie is really hilarious, but i think that the language is too strong for elementery school kids. even though a bunch of the language was hard to make out, some words were clear to me. it also references the f words, even though it is not described.
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AGE
Classic Christmas Film
This is a good movie. It has some bad language, although there is much more language that is implied than actually said (including the f-word, which just sounds like "fudge"). They also say a*s and b***h and a few other bad words.
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AGE
Funny for adults and teens, but language is terrible for younger kids
I have watched this movie many times, and think it's really funny. I thought my 9-year old would like it this year, so we started to watch it, and I had apparently forgotten how bad the language is! MUCH more swearing that you would typically see in a PG or even PG13 movie these days... My daughter also really hated the bullying. We didn't finish watching the movie... we'll probably try again when she's about 12!
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AGE
Great Movie For 10 and Up
This is such a great movie and for my family it is a classic. We are watching right now on Christmas. It is not ok for younger kids because they say bad words and there is the leg lamp of course.
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Kid, 9 years old
December 25, 2010
AGE
love it I thin you should watch it
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AGE
A Christmas Story: A Christmas Classic Of the 20th Century!
I feel that, after 26 years, that this movie is worthy of being one of the great holiday movies of the 20th Century!
I should also mention that there are some examples of big bullies and adults who did NOT understand Ralphie's wish and quest to get what he really wanted in the first place.
But, Ralphie fought back and on Christmas Day, he did get what he really wanted!
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Kid, 11 years old
December 13, 2009
AGE
Too much swearing
ok movie but way too many cusses out of a lil kid. lil kid drops the f bomb in front of dad but movie changed the word to fudge so it wasnt heard although they told you he said it. gets secret decoder pen from ovaltine and gets a message, decodes it, finds out its an advertisement and says son of a b****
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AGE
Not for children
I rented the movie so it was not edited by cable. The language used by the children were very bad one would call his friend Ralphie a smart ass, a few times and Ralphie said he used the F word instead of the Fuuu that replaced it. Not really for children and too much innuendo for tweens. Watch it on cable not rented version. But most children don't get the humor so they don't really like it anyway.
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AGE
Verry Funny
I watched this movie, mostly by accident once, and I loved it. It's really funny, and very family appropriate. There aren't really any draw backs, except bullying (which is combatted in this movie) and swearing, but the words were only implied with other harmless words. However, the kids were punished for saying the words that the harmless words stood for. But it was a funny movie.
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| Topics: | holidays |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Bob Clark |
| Cast: | Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Peter Billingsley |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 98 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 18, 1983 |
| DVD release date: | October 7, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
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