If you are a fan of the classic 1983 coming of age/holiday film, A CHRISTMAS STORY, scenes come vividly to mind when I cue you: pink bunny suit; Scut Farkus; Santa and his elves; soap bar; leg lamp; Red Ryder; the dogs and the turkey.
Today’s post is a day late and my only excuse is that a version of the ‘dogs and turkey’ scene unfolded in my home yesterday. This morning, I am still carrying around three different brands of carpet cleaner, still sweeping up broken glass and scrubbing butter from the oddest places, still highly miffed at certain four-legged friends who now occupy the metaphorical and actual dog house. But enough excuses–
If you haven’t seen the film, try to catch it this year. It runs on TV repeatedly during the holiday season so don’t panic if you’ve missed it already.
It is funny and wacky and touching. The showdown between Ralphie and Scut is a classic, and the voiceover narration is a perfect example of how VO can effectively be used: to provide a unique facet of the story that contrasts what we are seeing on screen. (Bad VO simply mimics what we are seeing, worse than ho hum.)
BTW, the movie was inspired by Jean Shepherd’s book, IN GOD WE TRUST: ALL OTHERS PAY CASH; Shepherd’s book is a collection of personal short stories published in “Playboy” magazine in the 1960s.
