Watching Christmas movies is a timed honor tradition for many people around the holiday season, from well-known classics like “Elf” and “Home Alone” to underground adult-oriented hits like “Die Hard” and “Bad Santa.” Almost every year, new Christmas movies are made in the hopes that they will be remembered and beloved like the classics that came before them. Some succeed, while others fail miserably, and sometimes, there are those movies that are somewhere in between. 8-Bit Christmas, released on Max in 2021, is one of those movies, a film that, while inspired by other Christmas classics, still has a few tricks up its sleeves that, in the end, make for an enjoyable Christmas movie that tried harder than what it appears to be at first glance.
Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) tells a story to her daughter Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) about the time he was a kid (Winslow Fegley) in the ’80s, and all he wanted for Christmas was an NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). What follows is a series of no’s from Jake’s parents and elaborate schemes to get his hands on the popular gaming system at the time. Jake enlists the help of his friends and even his little sister, Lizzy (Bellaluna Resnick), to get his hands on an NES, even when all the odds seem to stack up against Jake and his company.
The Story takes significant inspiration from other Christmas movies, notably “A Christmas Story.” Yet thanks to its pacing, 80s setting, and well-timed jokes, this movie feels like a new coat of paint despite retreading certain story elements from other Christmas movies. I enjoy how our main character, Jake Doyle, as an adult, tells how he tried to get an NES for Christmas when he was a kid in the 80’s. Everything in his story has an over-the-top feel from a writing perspective. There are many ridiculous scenarios, such as a bully who is way too big and old to still be in middle school or an NES talking to Jake in the shopping mall. These are crazy scenarios, but admittedly, it does help make the film more memorable and captures how a kid would exaggerate and tell his story most imaginatively and insanely possible. I also credit that the movie carries some unexpected twists, especially with the ending, which ties everything together in such a neat bow and admittedly makes me feel sentimental. However, this movie could be better. Sometimes, the pacing can drag too much, such as in the opening, which gets the film's narrative off to a rocky start. Also, the over-the-top nonsense, while fun, can get a little tiresome after a certain amount of time. Make no mistake, though, I enjoyed this movie even more than I thought I would. The narrative is familiar, but it still works rather decently thanks to its direction and even most of its writing.
The Characters have moments of charm and development, even if some get more attention and screen time than others. Neil Patrick Haris plays adult Jake Doyle, who tells the story about his tale of attempting to get an NES for Christmas as a kid, played by Winslow Fegley. Neil does a decent job acting as the narrator, but Winslow does an even better job of being the kid version of Neil’s Character. Jake is basically Raphie from “A Christmas Story” if he had the personality traits of Mike from “Stranger Things.” the rest of the kid cast is quite good, too. Each one has unique characteristics, such as Jeff Farmer, a pathological liar played by Max Malas; Timmy Keane, the richest kid in the neighborhood who owns an NES and is a pretty narcissistic show-off played by Chandler Dean; and Josh Jagorski, an oversized bully who was clearly held back many years and still attends middle school, played by Cyrus Arnold. Even David Cross appears in this movie as he plays a dealer who sells out-of-stock toys at ridiculous prices. The only character I felt was off was Jake Doyle’s Father, John, played by Steve Zahn. I wasn’t a massive fan of Zahn in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, and I wasn’t much of a fan of him in this movie. I don’t have a hatred toward the actor it's just that I personally think he’s weak when it comes to acting. Credit where credit is due, though, his acting improves as the film progresses, and the final scene with him is pretty touching and genuine. Some character work and others could have been improved a bit more, but the direction they are given does help all of them provide the best performance they could muster.
The Cinematography brings the viewer back to the 80s in a nostalgia-filled ride that harkens back to a time when things were, let's just say, different. Even though it does take place in the 80’s and there are many visual references to '80s culture, I give the film credit that it does not constantly shoehorn references in your face and instead lets the visuals only give 80s visual cues when it is deemed necessary. There are plenty of beautiful shots of winterly neighborhood landscapes and Christmas decorations in Doyle’s house and the shopping mall. Then there are some creative uses of cinematography, such as the NES talking to Jake in a fantasy at the mall as the NES moves its cartridge slot up and down to speak, which is crazy yet very intriguing. I will bet the cinemotogrpy will bring any 80’s movie fan back to the time and decade when things were simpler yet also very insane at the same time.
The Music was composed by Joseph Trapanese, who is most well known to me as the person who collaborated with the music group Daft Punk to help make the soundtrack for Tron Legacy. The sounds and tunes are unmistakably 80’s themes as this soundtrack features a lot of synthesized tunes that could even put Stranger Things to shame (Not really, though). When it's not playing its original synthesized score, the rest of the soundtrack has regular orchestrated sounds and a few well-known Christmas songs. The music is fun and nostalgic, which is precisely what you’d want to have in a movie that mostly takes place in the 80’s.
New Line Cinema has made a Christmas film that is nowhere near the greatness of their other well-known Christmas movie, “Elf.” Still, thanks to a decent story, likable characters, well-done cinematography, and an excellent synthesized music score, the filmmakers made a film that, while problematic, is pretty decent and enjoyable. I can see this movie getting a cult following as the years go on; this movie is relatively new, but like I said, it has a few tricks up its sleeve and may end up surprising you when you least expect it to. If you are subscribed to Max and have not watched this movie yet, do yourself a favor this Christmas season and give the film a chance. It's a fun time, and while yes it isn’t perfect, it is a contender for a possible new Christmas classic in the making.
(Final Grade: B-)