Thursday, December 23, 2021

Merry Christmas Eve Eve from Our Pal Steve

Zahn, that is.  Because I'm talking about the HBO Max original movie 8-Bit Christmas (which does indeed, however indirectly, have something to do with this pic.  But we'll get there.).  As nostalgic and charmingly rough around the edges as A Christmas Story8-Bit Christmas strikes a chord with anyone who's ever made a Christmas list, but especially those of us who grew up in the '80s.  Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) tries to connect with his cell phone-obsessed daughter by telling her the tale of how his tween self would stop at nothing to get a Nintendo.  So starts the setup for a classic Christmas frame story as Jake detours down memory lane.  And it turns out that scoring an NES is a tall order for young Jake (Winslow Fegley) and his ragtag group of friends.  First, because Nintendos are hard to come by in 1988.  Secondly, because, in a rare case of conscience over consumerism, the local parents' protest against video games has convinced stores not to sell them.  Jake's own dad (Steve Zahn) would rather Jake spend his time helping him with his endless home renovations than snagging extra lives and getting to the next level.  That is, when he's not nagging Jake to pick up the dog poop dotting their yard.  But Jake doesn't listen.  When he realizes that he's not getting a Nintendo for Christmas, he enters a competition to win one.  His tunnel vision pursuit of Super Mario Brothers bliss begets one disaster after another.  Yet somewhere in this caper -- which also features girls' Esprit snow boots, counterfeit Cabbage Patch Kids, and a steady stream of upchucked SpaghettiOs -- is the meaning of Christmas.

This was only one of my takeaways from the movie.  The other was that I won a Nintendo in 1989 for drawing this:


Never mind that the "little" girl is too big to fit through the door of the candy cottage.  Or that the angel doubles as a banner plane.  No, the most questionable thing going on here is the seemingly inexplicable sentence scrawled at the bottom: "I'm a girl!"


 All I can say is that for Halloween that year, I'd gone as an astronaut, and some young thug at the mall (because, yes, that's where I went trick-or-treating) hooted, "Hey, look at the little astronaut dude!"  Although I now see this as the compliment it was, I was filled with all the righteous indignation of a serious seven-year-old, my fury so fierce that it made its way onto my art contest entry more than a month later.  Which, now that I think of it, has a bit of a gender bender parallel, however tenuous, with something that happens in the movie.  Not to worry; as my gift to you, I'll squelch my spoiler impulses.  

None of this is the punchline of this yuletide anecdote, though.  That would be that I already had a Nintendo, kind of sort of making me the spoiled kid in 8-Bit Christmas -- minus the power plays and bullying.  (Always on the other side of the bully divide, I played my two Nintendos by myself, thank you very much.)  But nerd or not, I was still a nerd with multiple gaming systems, and this embarrassment of riches is just one of the reasons I (briefly) considered not blogging about this humble brag of an art contest win.  

We all knew how that would turn out.

Now the NES is a relic and kids play with something called the Switch.  But even if 8-bit doesn't mean what it used to, it's still better than a two-bit anything else.

And also picking up dog poop.

8 comments:

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

Your review of 8-Bit-Christmas sounds inviting but I think I'm watched out for this Christmas season. I've watched about 6 Hallmark and 5 other Christmas movies so far this week!!!!! Your artwork is very talented for age 7- with lots of detail and imagination. Have you kept up your drawing? Hope your are ready for Christmas. Looking forward to seeing your photos during the holiday.

ellie said...

Oh, how fun. Love this! Wow, what a wonderful Christmas Eve post. Love this so much. The movie sounds like a soon to be classic too! Great art work!

Happy Holidays! Ugh..I finally got the fudge made and some Oatmeal cookies too. I want to say I'm done, but I have a green been casserole to whip up. It has truly been a strange lead-up to the holidays. People on the brink of being fired. Others come up with great excuses as to why they can't have Christmas to someone who wants to invite the world over to their apartment for dinner. Oh, it's a bit of a horror movie at times..but hopefully, it will all work out. While I keep thinking..I'd rather be writing. Truly, a great time to start new traditions.

Thanks so much for being here and your wonderful comments and other inspirations too. Wishing you a beautiful time.

Better Left Unsaid said...

Lovely! So nostalgic too! Oh, those gaming system..and I love that line, "I'm a girl!" Such wonderful commentary!

Wishing you a great Christmas! Here's to staying in and watching wonderful Christmas movies and more!

ON TOUR said...

Such a wonderful Christmas story! The mall was massive with people then. & trick or treating, too. I am afraid ours had to close because of gangs hanging out there..or so they said. Love the nostalgia this post holds. So wonderfully said. Loved that you talked about this movie too.

May you enjoy the indoors this season. Merry Christmas!

Ivy's Closet said...

Adoring this post! Oh, so sweet! & with a wonderful message too. Thanks for the review as well. Sounds like a great cast!

Merry Christmas and more! Hope you have a wonderful time!

Actually, I like to make face oil and hair oil too. I might as well be a kitchen witch because I do use from the kitchen, avocado oil, and olive oil on these little experiments. However, I have never became an essential oil fanatic like a co-worker who actually sales the stuff. I just pick up on the cheap..according to her. Yet a little essential oil goes a long way.

Thanks so much for being here! All the best to a new year of blogging too!

Caitlin'nMegan said...

I so enjoyed your post. This is so cool. You are in a sense a pioneer! & it wasn't all that long ago either. So love your art!

Thanks for your comments about Bren. I had been waiting what felt for ever..about Mario. I kept thinking well, maybe he won't ever meet anyone. But I think Bren is unique..perhaps. I just didn't want him hooking up with anyone, either. And Bren's faceclaim I had been wanting to use for a while. Although, this model always looks a little sad. Thanks for reading! Thanks for being inspiring, too!

Samantha said...

This is so dang CUTE!!!!!! That black and white photo of you is absolutely adorable, and I love the tie-in with 8-bit Christmas and you winning a Nintendo. That's a great drawing, especially for a 7-year-old! The details are amazing. I, too, went trick-or-treating at the mall (so much fun!) and that's so cute that you went as an astronaut; I love how you came back with the "I'm a girl!" line in your artwork, as a nod to the young thug's comment! 8-bit was the best; I had a little Nintendo Gameboy that I loved. :) Thanks for sharing this great photo (and story) of you!

Jewel Divas Style said...

Sounds like a fun movie.