A Christmas Story Christmas

• Directed by Clay Kaytis
• November 17, 2022
• Based on the 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
• Max

At Christmas time Ralphie’s father passes so he takes it upon himself to deliver a memorable Christmas just like the Old Man.

The original A Christmas Story was never a rip-roaring success. It came and went. Yet it grew in popularity and much like It’s a Wonderful Life became considered a holiday classic. Eventually it spawned an official sequel called A Christmas Story 2 which was direct-to-video and reportedly a film called My Summer Story (though I’ve never seen it) is a sequel as well. This, however, is probably the truest of any of the sequels as it brings back much of the original cast to reprise their roles to one extent or another.

In this Ralphie must face the passing of his father who was the heart of the Christmas season for the family. As all adults do at one point or another he must face the passing of a parent. Ralphie is a bit lost and is desperately trying to be just like his father while also facing a strong possibility that he will never get to live his dream of being a published writer.

Ralphie is faced with the task of crafting the perfect holiday as he feels the need to take over his father’s mantle. But he still feels his father’s Christmas shadow and the story becomes about him ultimately becoming his own man not only in life in general but at Christmas. This is yet another weird Christmas for the Parker Family but not in the quirky and more comedic way that the original film was. I’m not saying this is a downer film but when you start with a death of a parent it’s certainly something different than a child desiring his dream gift of a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun.

Life has moved on for everybody from the original. We learn a little about Randy Parker (Ian Petrella), Flick (Scott Schwartz), Schwartz (R. D. Robb), Grover Dill (Yano Anaya), and even Scut Farkus (Zack Ward). Julie Hagerty takes over for Melinda Dillon as Ralphie’s mom Mrs. Parker since Dillon was ill at the time of production. What I liked is that nobody’s life is either too perfect or in the pooper. The current trend in legacy sequels is to cut everybody down and put them in a depressing state. At least to the viewer. Nobody is really a glowing success, but rather life has moved on.

This movie manages to pull at the heartstrings as it deals with the topic of the first Christmas after the death of a parent. How do you move on? What do you do? It’s a topic we all must face at one point or another. Regardless of how involved they were in the whole holiday the loss of their presence leaves a hole.

The narrative is often meant to parallel what happened in A Christmas Story to one extent or another. But it also bounces between what happens with Ralphie as well as what happens with his kids Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne), which you learn at the end connects with Scut Farkus. Apparently it’s a generational thing with his family and the Parker Family.

Speaking of Scut Farkus his appearance finally in the movie is a big payoff. His existence is acknowledged in one way or another, but you never really see him. I knew Zack Ward was definitely in this but as the movie went on and I knew the credits were getting closer, I had no idea when or how he could show up. Aside from Ralphie, Scut is probably the second best known and most significant character from the original movie and his appearance is borderline unexpected when he finally does show.

Ralphie is feeling the pressure of becoming a writer. He made a deal with his wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes) and he knows this really is his last chance even though his wife will probably support him for another year if he chooses to continue to continue to pursue it. A Christmas Story Christmas touches on finding your place. Usually that’s where you belong but in this it’s his place is what he’s good at and what he’s good at is writing about his life and those around him. Weirdly in that way this movie becomes an origin story for Jean Shepherd.

Ralphie’s son Mark gets a broken arm. Ralphie dings his daughter Julie in the eye with a snowball. And all the family gifts get stolen three days before Christmas. All this while handling his dad’s death. There is absolutely nothing positive in that set up, but the message there is in how you handle what life throws at you. Your character determines whether or not things are truly bad or merely issues to overcome.

And as before this is also about how Christmas is not about gifts or any one person in the family. Rather it is family in general and happy memories. Even imperfect Christmases can be genuinely perfect. The season is not material but immaterial and this much like the last one effectively communicates that.

As a sequel it stands on its own. It certainly references plenty of the original film, but you don’t necessarily need to have seen the first film to get what’s going on in this. Everything in this is a standalone story. Then again it’s been 30 or 40 years since the original film so that may have helped.

A Christmas Story Christmas is a very good sequel that captures the spirit of the original. Not only does it deal with the themes of its predecessor but takes on a few new ones as well. It’s got heart and emotion and if you’ve ever lost a loved one I think you might tear up here or there. If you enjoyed the original film you’ll love this.