‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ may not be the first, or even the second sequel to ‘A Christmas Story’; but this THIRD sequel is the first to bring back Peter Billingsley as ‘Ralphie’.
And, while a copy is never as sharp as the original, re-visiting Ralphie and his family almost four decades later gives a unique look at how our perspectives on Christmas change depending on where we are in life.
The Plot – A Christmas Story Christmas
It’s now 1973, and once again, it’s Christmas time in the Parker household. Ralphie, now a husband to Sandy, and father to son Mark and daughter Julie, is all grown up and heads a family of his own.
The holiday decorations adorn every nook and cranny of the family’s Chicago apartment, as they await Ralphie’s Mom and Dad’s Christmas visit from Hohman, Indiana.
Set 33 years after the original film (even though it’s been 39 years), Peter Billingsley reprises his role as ‘Ralphie’ for the first time since the original film. Ralphie may be grown, but still possesses an overactive imagination leading to vivid daydreams that distract him from real life playing out in front of him.
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Ralphie’s wife Sandy, played by Erinn Hayes, happily supports his dream of becoming a professional writer, but the clock is ticking. He’s spent almost a year pursuing his dream, and the clock is about to strike midnight.
Mark, played by River Drosche, and Julie, played by Julianna Layne finalize their letters to Santa. Hoping he’ll bring the presents they’ve been dreaming of, the kids still believe in Santa just as much as Ralphie did as a kid. Then, the phone rings.
It’s the phone call everybody dreads, but will eventually hear exactly once in their life. The Old Man (as he’s credited in ‘A Christmas Story), is gone.
The family loads up the car for an unexpected road trip. Christmas will be spent in Hohman with Ralphie’s Mom, helping her through the first holiday without her husband.
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The Good – A Christmas Story Christmas
The Returning Cast
Not often do film fans get to see a sequel bring back much of the same cast playing the same characters four decades later. Most of the principle child actors from ‘A Christmas Story’ reprise their roles, now as adults.
Scott Schwartz returns as ‘Flick’, mister ‘Triple Dog Dare’ himself. R.D. Robb returns as ‘Schwartz’, the guy who froze his tongue to a pole. Flick, appropriately enough, owns a bar, and Schwartz takes on any challenge that people ‘triple dog dare’ him to do.
In smaller roles, Ian Petrella returns as Ralphie’s younger brother, Randy; and Zack Ward returns as Ralphie’s one-time-bully, Scut Farkas, now an officer of the law.
The returning, or ‘legacy’ cast help ground the world of Hohman in a the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same sort of way, even though everyone now firmly settles into middle age. They don’t form the core of the story, but fill in the world surrounding Ralphie’s wife and kids — bridging the gap between films.
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The Callbacks
Pretty much every iconic scene from ‘A Christmas Story‘ gets revisited in some way or another.
Santa Claus kicking Ralphie in the face? Yes. Triple Dog Dare Schwartz to stick his tongue to a frozen pole? Yes. Ralphie’s day dreams come to life? Yes.
Each of the most iconic scenes from ‘A Christmas Story’ get revisited in some way or another, and they do so in a way that’s not repetitive or predictable. Each callback has its own twist to keep it new and fresh, and yet feel that pang of nostalgia deep in your core.
None of the callbacks surpasses the original, and none feel particularly iconic or memorable. But, they do feel natural to the story. It makes for a fun look back, and poignant holiday flick.
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The Bad
There’s Nothing **NEW**
It’s hard to criticize something that doesn’t exist. But, A Christmas Story 4 lacks a certain ‘it’ factor to make it stand out.
The Callbacks are fun, and feel natural. It’s fun to see Schwartz and Flick still hanging out and still challenging each other. It’s fun to see Peter Billingsley and his deep blue eyes as Ralphie. And, it’s fun to see the same house from ‘A Christmas Story’.
But, ‘ACSC’ lacks that something special that would make this film stand out, and truly be something special. There’s no special twist, no new character that blows you out of the water, no factor that makes you look at the original film in a whole new light.
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Instead, A Christmas Story 4 rests squarely in ‘fine’ territory, letting you satiate in nostalgia and love for the original. But, at the end of the day, the film doesn’t bring much to the table that’s new. Instead, you feel like you’re stuck eating Thanksgiving leftovers, just like the day old condolence casseroles in the film.
Yes, it’s a warm meal. Yes, it will fill your stomach. But, any nutritional value was stripped out of the meal long ago.
There are plenty of worse things one can say about a film, and this film is ‘fine’. But, the original A Christmas Story is an all time Comedy, holiday classic; and A Christmas Story Christmas is a straight-to-streaming movie that doesn’t get a theatrical release. It’s ‘fine’, but not much more.
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The Review – A Christmas Story Christmas
1983’s ‘A Christmas Story’ is an all time holiday classic that has 24-Hour marathons on network television for a reason. 2022’s ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ is a straight-to-streaming, fourth film in a franchise for a reason.
Peter Billingsley’s return as Ralphie is a fun trip down memory lane, and a cool thought experiment as to ‘what would’ve happened to the imaginative kid from ‘A Christmas Story”.
The idea of a kid with an active imagination growing up to become an aspiring author makes sense. The idea that a kid who loved his family growing up would become a family man himself makes sense.
And, if the idea of ‘A Christmas Story’ is to see Christmas through the eyes of a 9 year old kid; then the idea of seeing Christmas through those same eyes as a 42 year old adult in a sequel makes sense, too. It’s just not nearly as magical.
‘A Christmas Story (2022)’ passes the torch from Father to Son, and we get to see Ralphie all grown up, giving his kids the kinds of holiday memories that he cherished when he was young. I just wish there was more meat on the bones of this story than just the sugary sweet nostalgia desert we were served.
The legacy casts’ return is an added bonus (minus ‘Airplane’s Julie Hagerty stepping in for the now-retired Melinda Dillon as ‘Mother Parker’). And, the new cast members do an adequate job of picking up the story for the next generation.
Well thought out callbacks to the original film will leave you satisfied at the end of the film, but struggling to recall them the next day. They’re fun, but not memorable.
A Christmas Story Christmas is worth a watch. But, it’s probably a good thing the studio sent this movie straight to HBO Max, and avoided tanking in theaters. ‘Good, but not Great.’
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Peter Billingsley returns as 'Ralphie' in 'A Christmas Story Christmas, 39 years after the original film.