‘8-Bit Christmas’ Review – Second Opinion
Stars: Neil Patrick Harris, Winslow Fegley, Steve Zahn, June Diane Raphael, Che Tafari, Sophia Reid-Gantzert, Santino Barnard, Max Malas, Brielle Rankins, Braelyn Rankins, Cyrus Arnold, Chandler Dean | Written by Kevin Jakubowski | Directed by Michael Dowse
We all know by now how popular the 80s are in modern day. The nostalgia of the past is a huge selling point in media, be it video games, books, TV shows or, indeed, movies. Well festive film 8-Bit Christmas follows suit as the adult Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) tells his daughter the story of child Jake Doyle (Winslow Fegley) and his attempt to get hold of a Nintendo Entertainment System back in the 80s. The film is told with Harris’s narration on top, for the most-part, in a flashback style. Reminiscent of A Christmas Story, we hear about Jake’s life back then, his friends, the bullies in town, the outrage of parents regarding video games, and his parents.
Directed by Michael Dowse (Stuber) with a screenplay penned by Kevin Jakubowski (Play by Play), 8-Bit Christmas is a nostalgic film indeed, and manages to capture some of that excitement of being a kid again and staring obsessively at the shelves of the toy stores.
I mentioned the iconic Christmas picture, A Christmas Story, earlier, and I must make mention of it again here. This movie seemed to very-much be inspired by it. The tone and voice-over narration, as well as the general set-up and layout of Jake’s childhood suburbia, is extremely similar to A Christmas Story, but Jake Doyle wants a Nintendo, not a Red Ryder BB gun like Ralphie. 8-Bit Christmas is all-too obviously inspired by the Bob Clark classic.
Homage or not, this is a fun movie to watch at this time of year and is able to create a snapshot of a world long since passed. A world with Cabbage Patch Kids and Nintendo Power Gloves, a world with tree-forts and no internet, where phones were hung on walls and not glued to everyone’s hands. It was a different time, and for those of us who grew up back then, it’s cool to see a portrayal of it on screen from time-to-time.
8-Bit Christmas is festive, breezy fun with enough heart to push it along. It isn’t groundbreaking and won’t likely be looked back on as a classic, but there’s enough here to make it worth a watch, especially for those who like to see that magnificent decade honoured on screen. Unlike the Nintendo Power Glove… this is actually worth bothering with for 97 minutes.
