8-Bit Christmas Is A Fun, Cheesy Holiday Flick For The Family
8-Bit Christmas, Warner Bros. Pictures (2021)
By Nick M.W.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was a generation-defining piece of computer hardware that dominated youth pop-culture during that stretch of years. Mario was ubiquitous in households across the U.S. (and, I’m guessing, in a few other places around the world), whether he was showing up on your lunch box, your bed sheets, your T-shirts, your backpack, or on your TV screen. He became the figure head of a global corporation that launched with the NES, and whose loyal gamers followed through multiple hand-held and console-based excursions over the decades. If you count yourself among those folks, then the Nintendo nostalgia in 8-Bit Christmas may stir up memories of Christmas past.
In this movie, Jake Doyle, played by Neil Patrick-Harris, attempts to connect with his daughter, Annie, played by Sophia Reid-Gantzert, over the tremendous heartache of not getting what you want for Christmas. Such a first-world dilemma, right? Annie wants a cellphone, but her dad has already squashed that idea. In order to keep her mind off the cellphone, Jake introduces Annie to his old NES as he tells her a story about the time he wanted one for Christmas, but didn’t get one. It seems unlikely that Annie will find any relevance between her dad’s experience and her own, but, predictably, she becomes interested in the outcome of his story.
8-Bit Christmas tiptoes a fine line between heart-warming and saccharine sentimentality, and it attempts the challenge of appealing to both the aforementioned elder Millennials and anyone else interested in a modern variation of A Christmas Story. Some of the silly slapstick comedy that plays out on screen seems to have been included for youngster viewers, or folks who get a laugh seeing people slip on ice. It’s not all bad on the comedy front for 8-Bit Christmas, though. Michael Dowse (director) and Kevin Jakubowski (screenwriter) waste no time taking the story from the present day to the flashback-style retelling of the fateful Christmas of 1988. The movie’s best moments occur during the hyperbolic flashback sequences. Adult Jake Doyle’s embellished reimagining of his past is meant to provide laughs, and it succeeds for the most part. The cast—from the Doyle family to the crew that makes up Jake’s friends (look them up here)—was well-suited for this movie. They all nailed their roles; their characters played within the tone of the film, and they were enjoyable to watch as they interacted with each other in chaotic environments, amidst the hoopla that the Nintendo system was causing in town.
But there’s more to this movie than the first eighty minutes let on. (SPOILER!!!!) In the final minutes of 8-Bit Christmas we learn that adult Jake Doyle is grieving over the loss of his father, played in the 1988 timeline by the consistently entertaining Steve Zahn. I didn’t see that coming until right before the actual reveal. When I realized where it was going, I was moved to tears. I recently lost my father, and the movie ends with the reveal that John Doyle had passed away, perhaps even recently, and that this Christmas the family was celebrating might have been the first one without Grandpa Doyle.
Damn.
Right in the feels.
It struck an unexpected personal chord, and I was fighting back a serious waterfall as the credits rolled. I managed to keep it together, coming away with an overall appreciation for 8-Bit Christmas. Despite its few flaws, this is an enjoyable holiday flick that should resonate with middle-age gamers and fans of cheesy, feel-good Christmas movies.
