A Christmas Story Christmas (sequel to A Christmas Story)

[mrjeff]

It's a solid 3 out of 5. A one and done, I doubt I'll watch it again. You can tell they were struggling to make a feature length plot out of all of it, but Billingsly was giving his all to project as much earnestness as possible. You can tell he cares a lot.

[jess1581]

A 7/10 or stars out of 4 for me. It was never gonna recapture the magic of the original, but it was a thoughtful sequel to a seminal holiday classic that was touching, earnest, wholesome, and amusingly humorous. Billingsley was every bit the Ralphie we remember, just taller, a lil more mileage, and a tad more wisdom. I especially love the tribute to Darren McGavin whose iconic character as the "old man" was felt throughout and culminated into a loving crescendo that brings it all full circle.

I could touch upon the lack of characterizations of certain key players(Novak, the bullies), and the attempts at nostalgia that at times went overboard, but there was so much goodwill at hand. You could tell this film was done with real care and a true spirit of Christmas. Welcome home, Ralphie.

[Zivouhr]

That sounds hopeful, thanks.

Peter Billingsley Talks Return Of Ralphie In ‘Christmas Story’ Sequel - YouTube

Hoping Christmas Story Christmas eventually finds its way onto disc format by some slim chance in the future before considering a temporary pay subscription to watch this and maybe one or two other things.


Relating to this movie franchise:
I will check out the My Summer Story soon on DVD disc thanks to recommendations in this thread (I didn't even realize the film existed till this thread, thanks!), and after watching some clips to hear Jean Sheppard's voice is right out of A Christmas Story, along with Charles' Grodin as the father dealing with his rude neighbors, with the same director and writer, Bob Clark. They said they couldn't get the original cast due to so many delays in production. It was apparently originally called "It Runs in the Family" in theaters of 1994, before it was changed in title to the more connective "My Summer Story", as the sequel to "A Christmas Story". It might take getting used to the Culkin performance as Ralphie.

It did surprisingly well in theaters by some chance:
Budget $15 million
Box office $71,000
My Summer Story (September 23, 1994)
Directed by Bob Clark
Screenplay by Jean Shepherd
Leigh Brown
Bob Clark
Based on In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters
by Jean Shepherd
Produced by Rene Dupont
Starring Charles Grodin
Kieran Culkin
Mary Steenburgen
Narrated by Jean Shepherd
Cinematography Stephen M. Katz
Edited by Stan Cole
Music by Paul Zaza
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
September 23, 1994
Running time
85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

My Summer Story (1994) | (Almost) Cult Classics - YouTube

[master gandhi]

$71,000 is not good. It’s dismally bad.

The original Christmas Story made $20 million 11 years earlier.

[Zivouhr]

A Christmas Story 2 Official Blu-Ray Trailer (2012) - Daniel Stern Movie HD - YouTube

A Christmas Story 2 "Official Sequel" according to the sequel. This was the film released in 2012.

Originally Posted by master gandhi

$71,000 is not good. It’s dismally bad.

The original Christmas Story made $20 million 11 years earlier.

I'm sorry, I was reading it as 71,000,000 for some reason. Thanks for catching that. Yes, that is terrible for the box office.
I started seeing movies almost every week back then but never remember that movie.

[GP Legend]

This wasn't made for theaters. It was made for streaming. So, it's box office shouldn't surprise anyone.

[Lozin]

I haven't watched this yet and will after I watch the new 4K of the first movie around mid December but I'm trying to pin down a timeline. If the first movie takes place in 1940 that would make Ralphie 43 in this?

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Lozin

I haven't watched this yet and will after I watch the new 4K of the first movie around mid December but I'm trying to pin down a timeline. If the first movie takes place in 1940 that would make Ralphie 43 in this?

First A Christmas Movie movie was Set in December 1940. Yes.
This A Christmas Movie Christmas new movie is Set in December 1973. 33 years later, making Ralphie 9+33 years = 42 years old. It's a stretch, as Peter Billingsley is now 51 years old, April 16, 1971 (age 51).

[Michael24]

The original film was never given a specific year, but I guess the sequel retroactively gives it one. I've read before that based on various elements it could be anywhere from the mid-30s to early-40s, but I remember Bob Clark said once they didn't mention a specific year because he just wanted to invoke a general sense of "yesteryear" nostalgia.

[CouchTater]

Red Ryder BB Guns were first produced in 1940.

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by Michael24

The original film was never given a specific year, but I guess the sequel retroactively gives it one. I've read before that based on various elements it could be anywhere from the mid-30s to early-40s, but I remember Bob Clark said once they didn't mention a specific year because he just wanted to invoke a general sense of "yesteryear" nostalgia.

One thing is certain: the original movie would have to take place at least in 1939, because of The Wizard of Oz references.

[Lozin]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

First A Christmas Movie movie was Set in December 1940. Yes.
This A Christmas Movie Christmas new movie is Set in December 1973. 33 years later, making Ralphie 9+33 years = 42 years old. It's a stretch, as Peter Billingsley is now 51 years old, April 16, 1971 (age 51).

That's what I thought. It would have made more sense to have the movie take place in 1983 the year the original came out.

[Zivouhr]

'Farkus' actor talks about upcoming A Christmas Story Christmas' - YouTube

Scott Farkus talks about his role in the new film.

Originally Posted by CouchTater

Red Ryder BB Guns were first produced in 1940.

The Red Ryder BB Gun (based on Red Rider from the 1938 character) is a BB gun made by Daisy Outdoor Products and introduced in the spring of 1940 that resembles the Winchester rifle of Western movies.

Thanks. That makes sense if it was the first year in stores, being a must have gift for Ralphie back then since it was just released in stores.


---

Originally Posted by Jay H.

One thing is certain: the original movie would have to take place at least in 1939, because of The Wizard of Oz references.

Good point, 1939 is the year of that film's release, and then with Red Rider in 1940 in time for Christmas. I can imagine the success of Oz lingered over to the costumes of the big Department Store a year later, and that kid saying "I like the Wizard of Oz." And Ralphie responding with a blank "Yeah."

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Took advantage of the HBOmax Black Friday deal of $1.99 for 3 months and gave this a watch last night. I thought they did a really good job. Not as good as the original but as they say "it was a solid follow up." Just wish Melinda Dillon returned. It would've been a really nice bonus if they would've actually filmed it in Cleveland again too. I give it a 4/5.

[WonkaBedknobs83]

A costume depicting the Fred Moore re-design of Mickey Mouse with more realistic-looking eyes instead of the button eyes of the original design also makes 1939 the earliest year it could have theoretically taken place in. The latest date it could have taken place is 1941 because the Little Orphan Annie radio show ended in 1942 (on Carol Burnett's birthday, no less). If it was 1941, war would have been all over the news because the bombing of Pearl Harbor happened weeks before Christmas.

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

They need A Christmas Story Yom Kippur to atone for that and for ignoring the actually good sequel made by MGM in their 1990s receivership years: My Summer Story, aka It Runs in the Family. That might have done better if it had actually gotten booked in more places. I didn't even know it existed until it was already on video. This doesn't even get the perfunctory theatrical release that got!

Still, I'll check this new film out. At least it was done for more than just cash-grab reasons.

[dalemcmxciii]

I just finished watching this, and was glued to the screen throughout the entire movie. I absolutely loved it. I doubt a 4K would ever be released, but if a disc release does happen down the road, I'd appreciate a Blu-ray for sure.

[Bubbles-11]

Now available on Digital For Purchase

[Zivouhr]

Thanks.

Finally saw My Summer Story, featuring the familiar narration of Jean Shepard of A Christmas Story, which really helped the film. Without it, I don't know if the film could've been enough to watch through to the end. It's not too bad, and was kind of entertaining despite some flaws, with two laugh out loud moments to my surprise, though the rest was a slight smile at best for the comedy. I did like the overall theme of the tops battle. And the fishing scenes were decent. Along with the father dealing with the Bumpuses.

If Billingsley was Ralph Parker again instead of Kieren Culkin, that could've helped, though Kieren did decent work as the actor I guess.

With Charles Grodin, the audio of this film was all over the place from so loud I had to lower the volume, to so quiet I had to raise the volume. Imbalanced audio in the film itself, and Charles Grodin's role as the father has him mumbling things that were important to the scene, but I could not understand and there were no subtitles on the DVD. And no extras at all.

A decent watch and I don't regret seeing it. 3/5.


On topic, good to hear this film can be purchased in some form, if not going for that free 7 day trial deal. If I can watch this film on HBO Max before the 7 days are up and a few other things, I hope I can dump the offer before the 14.99 monthly charge starts up.

[BluBonnet]

So glad they were able to get Julie Hagerty for this

[Edo]

i really enjoyed this one