Over the holidays we watched A Christmas Story (1983) from the creative mind of Jean Shepherd (1921 - 1999). It is based on his novel, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Even though they were not mega-stars, Melinda Dillon (b. 1939) and Darren McGavin (1922 - 2006) were big stars and brought a lot of talent to the film.
Perhaps there was some over acting, but the movie is supposed to be the memories of Jean Shepherd's youth, seen after the years have embellished them. Over acting was required to make it more fun. The choice of music was interesting as well. I noticed some Peter and the Wolf used when Ralphie and his friends encountered the neighborhood bully.
Of course Melinda Dillon was in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) as her big role. Close Encounters was the top grossing film of all time, until E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial blew it away in 1982. My favorite scene of hers in A Christmas Story is when she is trying to get Ralphie's little brother to eat.
Darren McGavin always seemed to play the same character in everything. No one will forget his expression of pride when he wins the crossword puzzle contest and receives his "major award." I remember him well from his TV series, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" in the 1970s. His screen work started in 1945 and he has 180 titles in IMDb, mostly TV work. In one movie role he played the gambler in The Natural (1984) but was uncredited.
Billingsley has been successful in Hollywood as a producer, director and actor. He has 31 titles as an actor. A Christmas Story was his fifth movie. He produced ten titles, about half of them on TV, and he directed Couples Retreat just last year.
Most of the other children in this film didn't fair well in acting, except maybe Zack Ward (b. 1970). Zack has 85 titles so far, although none of them are really big hits. He makes a living, and that's the important thing.
I must now look forward to New Year's Eve movies. Any suggestions?