8-Bit Christmas - 2021
Once a year there is a picture that comes along which reminds me that the cold, bloody pump in my chest still has some warmth left in it after all. This year, that film was 8-Bit Christmas. A picture which is a little like Jingle All The Way without all the Austrian brawn, and a LOT like A Christmas Story without all the annoying characters (kinda) and, you know, mannequin leg lamps. Which is to say, it does not have an original thought in its "head." But, as is often the case, classic beats done well are more than sufficient.
8-Bit smartly peddles its prime currency. It traffics in nostalgia like Unfriended does dark web torture. It just so happens that all of its reminiscences were quite familiar to a certain 80's and mostly 90's kid. I too wanted but did not have a Nintendo, at least not at first. It took my dear grandfather convincing my mother (an anti-video game parent in her own right at one time) that owning the 8-bit console would "improve my hand-eye coordination." (Yeah, you read that one right). At last, I had one in my grasp, and 60 some games later, it remains an indelible mark of my childhood.
But this Christmas tale isn't really all about game systems, after all. This is why the picture is chock full of cool kids with idiosyncrasies just like Ralphie's world mentioned above. There is a dumb bully, and a teacher with constant sniffles. A lovable loser and a cheeky liar. More late 80's cultural Easter eggs and name drops than could possibly be imagined. And of course, parents who just don't seem to hear their children's deepest heart desires. Or do they?
In short, it's about family and relationships and connection. By the time 8-Bit Christmas got around to its tender conclusion on these fronts, I was happily in my holiday feelings. Sometimes "nothing new" comes off just fine.
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