Reviews

Simply put, it is easy to get into this movie. The characters are diverse, and each has the chance to tell her part of the story, so there is plenty for the audience to relate to. It is very refreshing that the characters have individual values and standards, as opposed to many more recent movies who assign characters generic standards of conduct, and it gives the characters and the film depth. Each of the girls has these standards challenged, making it a rich coming-of-age story. The film is not about the ending, but rather about every moment of the girls' lives that the viewer is there to see. It is worth the extra bit of concentration that it takes to untangle all of the different plot lines.

Incidentally, Mystic Pizza is a real pizzeria and much of the filming was done on location, so if you find yourself vacationing in the area, you can stop by and pick up one of the trademark t-shirts that the girls wear in the movie, and of course taste some of the famous fare. The home-grown feeling of the restaurant in the movie is part of the fun, and it's even more fun to see it in person.

I do not absolutely hate this movie, and I have seen it a fair amount of times. However, to me, this movie seemed very shallow and therefore missed any true Christmas atmosphere that it could have contained.

It really is the motif of this film that is a turn-off to me. I can understand that you would enjoy the film if you identify with Ralphie's childhood experiences, but from my perspective, the whole atmosphere of the film just seemed bleak and empty. My feelings could best be summed up by saying that I thought this was a rather dark film, more dark than Christmas-y. The parents seem shallow and are nothing more than parodies, and the brother seems to be a whimpering non-character. Individually, the characters are funny, but the sum of the parts fails to make a whole; the characters are defined by nothing more than their comedic antics, and there is nothing more to them. The sheer lack of realistic and meaningful interpersonal relationships in this movie makes it feel hopeless, in spite of its comedy. Not even Santa is jolly! Visually, although capturing some atmosphere of the era, the film just seems monochromatic. Overall, it just seems impoverished when it comes to rich characters or visual lushness. If the film had but one or two meaningful characters or places to redeem itself, it would be far more tolerable. I realize that this is a comedy, but the main reason that I do not like this movie is that I find the atmosphere and the taste of the humor depressing. In fact, I don't understand why people view Ralphie's childhood as blissful and sweet, because it simply doesn't come across that way to me. Moreoever, the idea that it is a Christmas movie is sortof incidental and gets lost in the plot; it could have easily been about a boy's birthday or any other gift-giving occasion, because other than spartan Christmas imagery and the Santa scene, there is little in the movie that is actually relevant to the holiday.

If you identify with Ralphie's childhood experiences, or appreciate the cynical, sarcastic humor, you will probably like this film, but if you agree with me, it will just leave you feeling icky.