Television and streaming have produced so many Christmas movies in recent years – most of them mediocre at best — that one could be forgiven for seeing the genre as crassly commercial rather than joyously heartfelt. But a new gem had to be mined eventually, and now we have it in the form of “8-Bit Christmas” (HBO Max).
A Christmas story for ’80s kids
Writer Kevin Jakubowski, adapting his own novel, doesn’t merely check the boxes of pop-culture references. “8BX” had me laughing, crying and remembering life (not just the trappings of life, like Trapper Keepers) circa 1988. I could list the pop-culture references in a Santa-style scroll, but that element merely makes for a fun movie.
“8BX” becomes a great movie because the kids are so adorable and perfectly cast, starting with Winslow Fegley as young Jake Doyle. As present-day Jake (Neil Patrick Harris, also currently in “The Matrix Resurrections”) narrates to his own daughter (and us), we follow Jake’s quest to land an NES as a Christmas present … or by hook or by crook.
“8-Bit Christmas” (2021)
Director: Michael Dowse
Writer: Kevin Jakubowski
Stars: Winslow Fegley, Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn
“8BX” remembers the Cabbage Patch Kid craze (transplanted from 1983, but I’ll allow it) and the NES craze, but it also remembers what our classmates were like. Jake is the middle-of-the-road normal kid, having to navigate annoyances like his mom (June Diane Raphael) accidentally buying him girls’ boots and his dad (Steve Zahn) ordering him to pick up the dog poop.
Surrounding Jake are twins (Brielle Rankins and Braelyn Rankins) who not only share a birthday with each other, but also with Christmas; the pathological liar (Max Malas); the weird kid (Jacob Laval) who carries around his music-class recorder and eats erasers like gummy bears; and the bully (Cyrus Arnold) who appears to be 30.
Early in the action, they all gather at the home of the rich kid, Timmy Keane (Chandler Dean), hoping to be one of the 10 “friends” allowed in to play Nintendo with him. But of course, “playing” really means watching Timmy play.
A snow-swept quest
After a mishap that begins with the infamously sucky Power Glove, Jake and his friends’ quest for a Nintendo expands throughout the snow-strewn greater Chicago area. The adventures aren’t quite as wild as “A Christmas Story’s,” but writer Jakubowski peppers in one-liners and gags with kernels of truth like David Cross peddling Cabbage Patch Kids from his trunk.
Even late in the film, the sharp comedic timing had me guffawing. In a wreath-selling contest, a kid wins a globe instead of a Nintendo and throws it in the garbage. Then cut to the next thing.
Director Michael Dowse no doubt deserves credit for drawing humor chops out of a pre-teen cast. But possibly these kids are wonderful actors, too. And although “8BX” has the slightest edge to it (dog lovers might struggle with one particular scene) it’s as warm as the Yuletide hearth in its family portrayal.
Jake begrudgingly but faithfully helps Lizzy (Bellaluna Resnick, doing the precocious kid-sister thing) procure an elusive CPK (with freckles). By the end, the family stuff in “8-Bit Christmas” might have those tears streaming for reasons other than laughter.