credit: A Christmas Story Christmas
I’ll be honest and say that I was against this movie from the start, thanks to nostalgic feelings that came from loving the first movie. But to be fair, this movie wasn’t bad at all, though it was just about as corny in some ways, though from the point of view of an adult and a parent rather than that of a daydreaming kid who was dreading not getting the present he was after. The return of the actual Ralphie decades later, as well as several of the other cast members that made the first movie so great, was quite enjoyable since it was like a reunion for those who didn’t realize they needed one. But seeing Flick, Schwarz, and even Scut Farkus was all kinds of great since it made the movie feel a little more personal and not as though it had been torn apart only to be pieced haphazardly together again. There are likely those who are going to note various inconsistencies in the story and plot holes, but the upside of keeping the movies so far apart is that by taking Ralphie’s perspective as a kid, it’s very likely that a lot of things were remembered in a very jumbled manner. But the memory of his old man, one of the main elements of this movie, brings everything together in the end.
credit: A Christmas Story Christmas
A lot of fans might be wondering why Melinda Dillon didn’t take her role back.
Melinda Dillon actually retired from acting back in 2007, and being that she’s in her 80s today, it doesn’t feel fair that she would be pressed back into this role unless she absolutely wanted to. Old Man Parker passed away in 2006, which makes his death in this movie carry less of a sting since it makes more sense to mourn his passing than it does to recast him. Some people might want to argue that point, but the fact is that Darren McGavin, he of the incoherent swearing and fixer of all things in the Parker household, was the perfect man for this role, and even if another person could be found to take his place, it wouldn’t feel the same. It’s enough that Julie Hagerty was brought in to replace Dillon since Hagerty is a beloved and famous actress that’s shown up in various movies and TV shows over the years, but she’s still quite a bit different from the original Mrs. Parker. Hey, she still makes it work.
Ralphie’s kids are a lot sharper than he was back in the day.
Ralphie wasn’t a dumb kid back in the day, but he wasn’t exactly the slightly cynical and quick-witted individual that each of his kids in this movie happens to be. Unfortunately for the kids, they didn’t toughen up as Ralphie had to in his day since their inability to deal with their bullies, at least at the beginning of the movie, makes it easy to think that they’ve relied on their father to take care of their issues. But hats off to the kids for this: they managed to get inventive when it finally came to getting one over on their bullies since building a snowman around a tree stump might be deemed a bit dangerous, but it was definitely useful. If people want to complain about this, then it’s fair to say that they shouldn’t try to remember how a lot of folks handled their bullies when they were younger. Sometimes a bully has to learn the hard way not to mess with people who know how to use their wits.
credit: A Christmas Story Christmas
Not much has changed in Ralphie’s hometown; it would appear.
For much of the movie, it was kind of like a step back in time, but the dreaded ramp that a grown-up Flick made Schwarz ride down to settle his bar tab is a new addition. But the use of the dreaded triple-dog dare was a nice return to normalcy since it had the desired effect of getting Schwarz to take the dare instead of losing face. Hey, we’re all kids at heart sometimes, and there are some challenges that we can’t walk away from, so long as we’re capable of meeting them in a physical sense. But from Higbees to the Christmas tree lot to Ralphie’s old home, a lot of this movie was a pleasant trip down memory lane for a lot of fans, no doubt.
All in all, it’s a touching holiday movie that is worth watching.
It doesn’t feel as though this movie was bound to be a blockbuster or even much more than an attempt to say thanks to the fans, but it was fun all the same since it showed Ralphie’s evolution in a sense, and it honored his old man in a way that was touching and definitely humorous. If nothing else, this movie capped off a story that was fun the first time and became a nice nostalgic look at the past while enjoying the present.
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