Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) tells his daughter the story of what happened back in 1988 when he and every other kid were dreaming of getting a Nintendo for Christmas.

A film that seems to want to become its generation’s answer to A Christmas Story (1983), sharing a similarly warm and sweet sense of humor and nostalgia where a Christmas gift comes to reflect its time period. In the end, the kid learns what’s really important.

A lovely Chicago tale (shot in Toronto) that may lack outstanding ingredients, but it does have an engaging cast of kids.

2021-U.S. VOD. 97 min. Color. Directed by Michael Dowse. Screenplay, Novel: Kevin Jakubowski. Cast: Winslow Fegley (Young Jake Doyle), Neil Patrick Harris (Adult Jake Doyle), Steve Zahn (John Doyle), June Diane Raphael, Sophia Reid-Gantzert, David Cross.