Everyone with cable TV at Christmas has probably watched the 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, 785 times. Even if we’ve only seen the movie once, certain moments stick in our memories, such as a tongue on a frozen flagpole. It’s those moments that make the movie more than just nostalgia for an era, with its coal furnaces and radio shows, that passed long before most of its fans were born. Like a good meatloaf, there are plenty of mysterious ingredients. But what’s in the special sauce that ties it all together? Ovaltine, perhaps?
In You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!, Quentin Schultze holds the film up to the proverbial leg lamp, offering a light on why A Christmas Story warms our hearts today even though it was a clinker at the box office. One might imagine Schultze needed a special ring to decode its deeper meanings, but in actuality he was friends with Jean Shepherd, the author of the stories. Shepherd approached life with a humility that shaped his humor. When we laugh at Ralphie, we’re also laughing at Shepherd—and probably at ourselves. Yet as wonderful as humility is for crafting amusing ideas into gut-busting situations, it serves another purpose. Proverbs 11:2 notes that “with humility comes wisdom.”
These nuggets of wisdom are the focus of the book. Through A Christmas Story and examples from Schultze’s own life, we’re reminded to watch out for bullies, play fair, embrace unexpected delights, and much more. We can learn from the Old Man the dangers of obsession without upsetting our households and half the neighborhood. Not that there’s anything wrong with letting our lights shine every so often (though if that light looks like a shapely leg, maybe it doesn’t belong in the front window).
Along the way Schultze takes us down some pink bunny trails, leading us to behind-the-scenes information about the development of the movie, from ideas that were never used, to how certain moments were brought to life. There’s also an appendix with helpful tips for aspiring writers who want to write their own stories in the same spirit. All of the bad words from the script have been scrubbed with Lifebuoy soap, so it’s safe for kids who don’t know any expletives worse than “FUUUUuuuudge.”
Like the film, You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out! is something we can return to every Christmas, as much for the stories as the life lessons. Knowing what will happen, Schultze observes, allows us to be participants in the highs and lows of the story, making it into a sort of ritual to be experienced again and again. (Edenridge Press)