117 - A Christmas Story
Added 2023-12-13 07:00:04 +0000 UTCThe lads finally get their Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifles and promptly shoot their eyes out as they cover Bob Clark’s 1983 holiday classic: A Christmas Story. Topics include the japes of Jean Shepherd, the horrors of Scut Farkus, and the true meaning of Christmas.
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Media Referenced in this Episode:
- A Christmas Story. Dir. Bob Clark. Available on Max.
- Ingraham, Christopher. “Why Our Christmas Music is Still Stuck in the ‘50s”. The Washington Post. December 23rd, 2014.
- Kashner, Sam. “How A Christmas Story Went from Low-Budget Fluke to an American Tradition” Variety, November 30th, 2016.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Commercial: “Franco Fragile’s Fuck Lamp Funhouse”
Comments
We were a Rankin-Bass "Rudolph Red-Nosed Reindeer" household, and I still have a ton of nostalgia for it. Now to listen to the rest of the episode. Hopefully these wonderful hosts don't put all the Rankin-Bass holiday movies in some sort of Christmas Bin...
Farecoal
2025-01-23 23:04:38 +0000 UTC"If you're bored of the parade, run in the opposite direction. You will fast forward the parade" Mitch Hedberg
Nathan Woods
2023-12-20 06:46:33 +0000 UTCAlso, thanks for reminding me that as a result of this experience, I asked my mom to buy Ovaltine so I could see what it was like. It was so disappointing!
Elizabeth Power
2023-12-17 23:59:13 +0000 UTCThe Christmas I was 12, a lady from my church directed the stage version of this movie. She must have talked it over with my mom and said I could watch the rehearsals. Then I hung out backstage every show. At the time, I had never seen this movie, but I memorized every line of the play, especially the narration parts, because I loved watching the rehearsals and performances so much. I remember thinking that the actors, who were all normal people doing community theater, were the coolest people in the world. They were all extremely nice to me, They let me touch the fake snow, and one time they let me yell “special delivery“ when they delivered the lamp, So the nostalgia here is not so much with the movie, but with the fact that that production is what I consider to be my first real experience as a theater person. Merry Christmas lads!
Elizabeth Power
2023-12-17 21:53:15 +0000 UTCThe beginning of this episode went on for so long that I thought I had somehow skipped the beginning of it, and was wondering when you were going to get to the topic
Elizabeth Power
2023-12-17 21:45:16 +0000 UTCThis episode made me look up nehi Soda and see they rebranded in 2008 and realize that I currently work for them so now I get to think of the leg lamp every time I go into the office, thanks I guess.
tristan krout
2023-12-17 02:27:45 +0000 UTCSo our family must have seen this coming a mile away because there were 4 of us and when we got Animal Crossing they immediately bought us our own memory cards lol
Brandon Chinn
2023-12-16 01:58:36 +0000 UTCI always drank Anti-Lephite Nehi during my Utah County childhood
Max Johansson
2023-12-15 11:56:50 +0000 UTCAn acquaintance of mine asked for some podcast recommendations for an upcoming road trip. I, of course, recommended TWoAPW and even mentioned that the most recent episode is seasonal so they should check it out (not having listened to it yet). I cannot say how happy I am that this absolutely unhinged cold open is going to be their first experience both of your fantastic podcast, and my recommendation to them.
Chris M
2023-12-15 03:40:24 +0000 UTCThere are so many instances of this podcast where I feel like you guys are like psychically connected to my upbringing, or some kind of devil spirits.
Brandon Chinn
2023-12-15 00:48:31 +0000 UTCi'm with AJ on the parade front. parades are a relic of the time period in the movie where absolutely no one had anything else even a little bit more entertaining to be doing
BrianAlflordIsGoodActually
2023-12-14 22:39:01 +0000 UTCSo I’m very drunk and on my way home from my end of year Christmas party and the fucking intro to this episode fucking broke me. It went on for so long it was so funny. Fuck you all
ArcticFridge
2023-12-14 13:24:45 +0000 UTCWhen I looked it up once, most of the information I could find was about it being a weirdly big hit in Germany to the point of having multiple famous performances in both English and German. So I'd guess we probably just got it from there, though I have no idea when and how. Maybe just one of those things that happened as a result of being geographically close and having a lot of people travel for work in either direction in the post-war period. I've only ever seen that one May Warden/Freddie Frinton recording though, that's the one we broadcast.
Elaine Åhlfeldt
2023-12-14 08:27:43 +0000 UTCIt's very funny! I had no idea the Swedes did it too
The Worst of all Possible Worlds
2023-12-14 07:47:06 +0000 UTCHey we also watch "Dinner for One" every new years' in Sweden. Except we've renamed it to something that'd translate back directly as "The Countess and the Butler" for some unknowable reason. I stand by it being a very funny skit though
Elaine Åhlfeldt
2023-12-14 06:44:54 +0000 UTCI know Gordon Food Services (I’m from Ohio) 🙂
Sergeant Hare Apollo
2023-12-14 01:52:29 +0000 UTCI loved the cold open! I want to send friends this episode just for that.
Nate Buck
2023-12-14 01:30:40 +0000 UTCBrian's Norm McDonald-ass intro but without the fucking payoff (you truly are the worst 💜)
Anne Huston
2023-12-14 00:38:51 +0000 UTCSmarter people then me have said it but the reason this movie is such a touchstone for people is because it’s about the indignity of being a child, subject to all kinds arbitrary rules and roles
John Leavitt
2023-12-14 00:23:17 +0000 UTCTime to dramaturge 12:56
Lucas White
2023-12-14 00:18:12 +0000 UTCJust got to the chip bag bit. Can confirm my Dutch-Dutch mum would definitely do that sort of thing.
Regular Sized Horse (Small)
2023-12-13 23:59:51 +0000 UTCI would like AJ to know that my family has watched It's A Wonderful Life on Xmas eve and A Christmas Story on Xmas day every year my whole life
Ciara Rhiannon
2023-12-13 23:40:43 +0000 UTCI might be wrong but I find it interesting how specifically American this seems to be as one of the Canon Christmas films? I'm from the UK and I have never heard or seen anyone reference this film, I only heard about it for the first time last year on another podcast We have plenty of American Christmas films that everyone knows (your its a wonderful lifes, your elfs, your santa clauses etc) but this one doesn't seem to have any cachet here despite it being such a big deal in the US
Alex
2023-12-13 21:04:31 +0000 UTCChaw mentioned
Jon
2023-12-13 20:59:20 +0000 UTCI was checking my device, speakers, ears, toast smells, everything.
im so daddy i havent slept in a year
2023-12-13 20:11:25 +0000 UTCThe 12 minute opening dissociation with the muffled audio made me question my sanity.
im so daddy i havent slept in a year
2023-12-13 20:08:58 +0000 UTCGreat!
The Worst of all Possible Worlds
2023-12-13 19:56:22 +0000 UTCFun fact: I saw A Christmas Story a Musical! And they do, in fact, make the restaurant scene a Whole Thing. They do the accent jokes, the song jokes, etc. They even add an extra jape where the Old Man points and goes “hey look, there are the Schwartzs!” as an homage to how Jewish folks get Chinese food on Christmas Day. Hooray….?
HollyBroWoo
2023-12-13 18:26:19 +0000 UTCJean shepherd appears to be a American Stuart McLean fascinating
Zipzapzop
2023-12-13 18:04:09 +0000 UTCFor work, I sometimes have to read people's divorce paperwork, mostly it's boring or sad, but sometimes you'll get one that paints a real picture. Like the guy who listed the things he wanted in the divorce: his car, his power tools, and his Christmas Story leg lamp.
Addison Stumpf
2023-12-13 17:21:47 +0000 UTCThe only thing I've ever won was a Darth maul phone from a phantom menace contest. It sat in the basement for years, unused
Yura
2023-12-13 16:07:38 +0000 UTCThe Flash Gordon sequence was filmed but cut for pacing late in the production, which is why Flash Gordon shows up in the credits. They talk about it on the DVD special features. There are stills.
MuppetImp
2023-12-13 15:06:31 +0000 UTCAlthough my family had a lot more affinity for It’s A Wonderful Life, we were a both a A Christmas Story and a It’s A Wonderful Life household.
Josiah Sutton of the Fruitless Podcast
2023-12-13 14:15:31 +0000 UTCThe more Josh says "eploids" the more it sounds like a futuristic slur.
BarFly
2023-12-13 13:28:17 +0000 UTCUncle Brian Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Amy Godliman
2023-12-13 13:23:09 +0000 UTCRegarding the It's A Wonderful Life v. A Christmas Story household theory: my mom was one of the former, my dad one of the latter. Whenever the 24 hour Christmas Story marathon would start, our tv was locked to that channel for the entirety, much to my mom's dismay. Now, I'm not gonna outright say: "this movie is the reason my parents got divorced", but it is very likely *a* reason.
Craig Sokol
2023-12-13 13:09:19 +0000 UTCI had my own pruistian flashback becaus I grew up a five minute walk from that chicken.
Patrick Tessmer
2023-12-13 12:43:58 +0000 UTCIs the audio slightly less clear than usual in this one? Like slightly lower bitrate? (It's fine, just different in a way that I can't tell for sure if it's the file or something on my end) EDIT: Oh that was only in the intro bit, nevermind!
Elaine Åhlfeldt
2023-12-13 10:08:50 +0000 UTCYeeeessss!! My dad was obsessed with this film when I was growing up, so we watched it whenever he spotted that it was on TV.
The Token Detergent Rinser (British)
2023-12-13 08:20:56 +0000 UTC
