Current Events > I watched Neil Patrick Harris's 8 Bit Christmas on HBO Max!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I mean, it was ok I guess. The truth is the script wasnt that funny and theres not much you can do about that. All the funny parts are in the trailer.

That's a problem because Im exactly this movies target audience. I was around these kids age in the late 80s. But this movie still didnt really connect with me. I mean, it should have. My life mirrored this kids life in a lot of ways. But guys, it just wasnt funny. Like there was no real spark to the film.

The good news is theres tons of nerdy stuff to complain about! Like I dont think the red zapper was available in 88. Maybe it was. And that clearly wasnt an NES game they were playing in the basement. Lol. But I get why they chose to do that.

I dont know. Its was OK. But this is no new classic. Its not Elf. Also, it seemed really long even though it wasnt.

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I really liked it, but I only watch like 3 movies a year, so when one grabs my attention enough to finish, that's a solid A for me. Made me tear up at the end, can't lie.

As for TC - I never say the trailer, never knew anything about the movie until I saw it on HBOMax's new section. So I wasn't expecting anything other than a movie. I don't like comedies, so I guess that's why I helped

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I watched it last week too and was honestly underwhelmed. I was expecting they'd go harder on the nostalgia but it was pretty tame. It was cute, but not really that funny. Enjoyed it mostly, but probably won't ever watch it again.

I was also bugged by it not being a real NES game lol. The colors also looked too vivid to be NES.

One thing I did like about it was that the storytelling aspect of the movie seemed to be a call back to Princess Bride. So that was kinda cool.

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That's disappointing

Oh well, NPH is still pretty fuckable

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Any movie that focuses on a "scene" or niche like that, NES, arcade games, computer games of a certain era.... they almost always suck because the writers/filmmakers just aren't hardcore gamers/members of these niches themselves and you can tell.

That movie Whiplash about the college kid in high level big band, that felt more legitimate. Apparently it didn't get every single detail about playing in a band right, but it did capture it mostly, and it ends up the director was in such a big band in school. You could tell.

I've never felt that when I've watched mvoies about nerdy subjects like these. They always feel fake.

I honestly thought The Wizard was more reflective of NES culture than this movie.

One of the faults of the movie (although I guess you could argue NPHs character is making this story up) is that I really dont find this movie to be that true to 1988. I mean, this movie treats the NES like its the PS5. Like its super expensive and sold out. The entire neighborhood is raging for one! But I dont remember it being anything like that.

Seems like there were plenty of NESes around and they werent that expensive. Like not PS5 expensive. I got my NES December 88 and we just walked in the store and bought it. And my family certainly wasnt rich. Seems like it was pretty affordable. And I dont remember any kids going nuts to play one. Video games were still coming out of the crash. Like we actually were still going outside and building forts, etc. A typical NES session lasted like an hour. I dont know, this story tries to shift too many modern day video game tropes on the NES era.

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Yeah that's weird. It had already launched in 86 right? I wasn't even alive then and I know that

BeyondWalls posted...

Like its super expensive and sold out. The entire neighborhood is raging for one! But I dont remember it being anything like that.

This wasn't the case at all in the movie. It was the Cabbage Patch kids that were sold out like crazy in this movie. The NES was very clearly available in the stores when the kid was playing the games. The main issue the kids were having was whether or not they could convince their parents to buy one for them. Then the whole protest about video games happened and the town folk were not trying to buy them

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AlCalavicci posted...

The main issue the kids were having was whether or not they could convince their parents to buy one for them. Then the whole protest about video games happened and the town folk were not trying to buy them

Yeah, this movie's "you'll put your eye out!" argument seems to be "video games will make your kids braindead and violent" (even though those are two different things)

And yes, Cabbage Patch dolls were the hot item in the late 80s. People got trampled to death over those things...

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I went in expecting nothing and I really enjoyed it, thought the script was fresh and funny, and the nostalgia was right on the mark. The ending especially got to me, had some tissues nearby though thankfully. Overall, a really nice Christmas movie for the family.

HylianFox posted...

Yeah, this movie's "you'll put your eye out!" argument seems to be "video games will make your kids braindead and violent" (even though those are two different things)

The movie wasn't really try to say that, the whole thing was just poking fun at overprotective parents back then.

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I watched the first half and said shit this movie isn't really funny and turned it off.

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I saw most of it on Thanksgiving at my brother's house. We had to turn it off with like 20 minutes left, to eat dinner. Never got around to finishing it

I was a little younger than the main kid in that time. I do remember being blown away by the change between Atari and NES. But it wasn't anything like in the movie. I dont remember people going insane over it. I think by the time of the movie, they were easy to find

I was unaware of the NES in 86 when I think it launched, plus way too young to understand it. But from what I have read, it was only available in NYC at first for like a fee months maybe. Then it appeared in the rest of the country. By 1988 when I think this movie is, it would be unrealistic to have a whole town where only 1 person owns a NES and everyone worships him for it

JimmyFraska posted...

It had already launched in 86 right?

Zikten posted...

I was unaware of the NES in 86 when I think it launched

Most people hadn't heard of it in '86. In fact, the SMB/Duck Hunt NES that everyone remembers wasn't even available until 1988. Things back then weren't like they are now. The NES launch wasn't like the PS5 launch where people were camped outside waiting for launch day. The NES launch was this gradual thing over the course of a year or longer.

AlCalavicci posted...

The NES was very clearly available in the stores when the kid was playing the games. The main issue the kids were having was whether or not they could convince their parents to buy one for them.

Except that's not true. This is a logical inconsistency in the movie. Because the whole neighborhood (including the Coach) is camped outside the rich kid's house waiting to play the NES like it's PS5 rare. Why is the Coach offering money to play the NES if you can pick it up at the store? The movie acts like it's rare one minute then easy to get the next. You've got one scene where the scalper has got one NES left and then a scene where the local store is fully stocked. Whether the NES is "rare" depends on which scene you're watching.

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BeyondWalls posted...

Except that's not true. This is a logical inconsistency in the movie. Because the whole neighborhood (including the Coach) is camped outside the rich kid's house waiting to play the NES like it's PS5 rare. Why is the Coach offering money to play the NES if you can pick it up at the store? The movie acts like it's rare one minute then easy to get the next. You've got one scene where the scalper has got one NES left and then a scene where the local store is fully stocked. Whether the NES is "rare" depends on which scene you're watching.

I don't actually recall there being anyone stating that the reason the kids didn't have NES was because it was rare. That might be the assumption you made based on the scenes but I didn't make that assumption. The crowd of kids in front of the house (and the guy with the money) is supposed to emphasize how cool the NES was to the kids (and even adults) and make the point to the daughter that the NES was as important to people back then as the cell phone is to her. The scalper having an NES wasn't supposed to be that this is the only way the kid could get one, it was supposed to give another avenue where the child could have gotten one but his Father once again denied it.

I could be wrong, but I don't think scarcity of NES was played up at all. That was just the conclusion you came to and assumed when you watched it. As someone else mentioned, it probably isn't realistic to think no kids in the neighborhood would have an NES at that point (other than the one kid), but that's the story they chose to tell in this movie. But it wasn't due to not being on shelves, it seems the movie was going for that it was the new toy and all the kids wanted it. I don't recall if it was because the parents couldn't afford it (was the one kid who had it played up as a rich kid?).

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Yea the one NES owner was the richest kid in town

BeyondWalls posted...

Most people hadn't heard of it in '86. In fact, the SMB/Duck Hunt NES that everyone remembers wasn't even available until 1988. Things back then weren't like they are now. The NES launch wasn't like the PS5 launch where people were camped outside waiting for launch day. The NES launch was this gradual thing over the course of a year or longer.

Another thing to remember is that the NES had a ridiculously long lifespan
Not counting bootlegs, I believe the last official NES game was released in 1994, a full three years into the SNES' lifespan

Sure, the NES wasn't new in 88, but it was still the must-have console.
Prior to the Genesis, Nintendo pretty much dominated the gaming landscape.

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HylianFox posted...

Sure, the NES wasn't new in 88,

You know what? I'm going to argue it kind of was, a little bit. I never even saw an NES before sometime in 87. There was no launch day. It just sort of got popular in your town whenever it happened to make it there. By the end of 88 and going into 89 is when the popularity exploded. The first issue of Nintendo Power wasn't even until Aug 88.

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