In these days where advertisers have substituted the word holiday for Christmas, as if the word Christmas is somehow offensive, seeing a movie come out with the word Christmas twice in the four-word title is refreshing.
We want to thank Eric for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.
If you’ve had basic cable television for any portion of the last thirty-five-plus years, you’ve probably stumbled on the movie A Christmas Story at least once. The 1983 movie was a box office flop. It became a holiday classic thanks to TBS and the need for lots of programming on cable TV. The story centered around a young boy growing up in the Midwest in the 1940s who wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.
Thirty-nine years later, HBO Max offers a sequel starring much of the original 1983 cast. (There was a 2012 sequel, A Christmas Story 2, without the original cast).
The latest offering stars Peter Billingsley as a forty-something-year-old Ralphie. Other returning actors are Scott Schwartz as Flick, RD Robb as Schwartz, Zack Ward as Scut Farkus and Ian Petrella as Ralphie’s brother Randy Parker. Billingsley also handles the role of narrator in the new version.
Julie Hagerty, known for playing flight attendant Elaine Dickenson in the comedy classic Airplane!, stars as Ralphie’s mom, Mrs. Parker.
The story takes place in December of 1973 when Ralphie is in his early 40’s. Ralphie is now an aspiring science fiction writer and is attempting to get his 2000-page manuscript, Neptune’s Oblivion published. A few minutes into the movie, we learn that Ralphie’s dad has passed away, which is the basis of the new story.
Upon learning of his old man’s death, Ralphie packs up the car with his wife, son, and daughter, leaves Chicago, and heads back to his childhood home on Cleveland Street in Hohman, Indiana, to console his mom.
Back in Indiana, Ralphie reunites with his old pals Flick and Schwartz. You’ll remember Flick as the kid who got his tongue stuck to the flagpole in the original. Schwartz was the instigator. In the 2022 movie, Flick is a bar owner, and Schwartz is a deadbeat barfly who doesn’t keep current on his tab. The Scut Farkus and Randy Parker characters also have roles in the new movie.
A Christmas Story Christmas has a lot of callbacks to the original movie. Viewers will recognize familiar music from the original score featured throughout the new movie. Another tribute to the original, when asked by his kids, what he wants for Christmas, Ralphie states that he wants a radiator for his 1966 Plymouth Belvedere. You’ll recall that in the first movie, the old man says he wants a new furnace which amused his two sons.
In this sequel, Ralphie, the professional writer, is asked to write his old man’s obituary. He suffers from writer’s block and lacks self-confidence in his ability due to the fact that his manuscript has yet to be purchased.
If you are a huge fan or even a casual fan of the 1983 A Christmas Story, I highly suggest checking out A Christmas Story Christmas. It is a fun movie that pays homage to the original. It is not just a sequel that was cranked out looking to cash in on the success of the first. If you’ve not watched or do not like the 1983 movie, this one is not for you either.
Warning: This may not be a good movie for little kids. If your kids are waiting for the big guy (and I don’t mean Hunter Biden’s dad) to come down the chimney on Christmas Eve, this movie contains several Santa spoilers. Also, there is alcohol consumption and drunken behavior presented in the movie.
So, in the next few nights, when you’re looking to find a new Christmas movie, instead of watching something you’ve seen 20 times before, give A Christmas Story Christmas a look-see.
Sources: IMDB.com, HBO Max
