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Higher education professional by day, writer and pop culture enthusiast by night. When he isn't writing for The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found creating content for his YouTube and TikTok pages, or working on the young adult novel he has been trying to finish for the last three years.
I vividly remember being in middle school when I discovered TNT’s weeklong marathon of Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story. I quickly become obsessed with Ralphie Parker’s (Peter Billingsley) obsession with obtaining the Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB Gun. Despite everyone from his parents, teachers, and the mall Santa Claus (Jeff Gillen) telling him it would shoot his eye out, he persisted and daydreamed until he successfully received the gift.
A Christmas Story is a holiday classic in my household, and although TNT’s marathon is now 24 hours instead of a week-long, I still watch it every year.
I will admit that I was ambivalent about the sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas, when it was first announced. However, after watching it, I’m thrilled to say it’s an excellent follow-up to the original film.
Discussion
Set 33 years after the original movie, Ralph “Ralphie” Parker (Peter Billingsley) is now a husband and father living with his wife (Erinn Hayes) and kids in the windy city. Ralph’s childhood flights of fantasy have led to him becoming an aspiring novelist in adulthood. While he does not have any luck getting his work published when the film begins, after another soul-crushing rejection, he decides to turn his attention to enjoying the holiday season with his family.
The sudden and devastating loss of his father changes his family’s holiday plans and he and his family return to his childhood home to spend Christmas with his mother, Mrs. Parker (Julie Hagerty). Revisiting his hometown results in Ralphie and his family finding themselves in a series of hijinks.
This movie is a gift and perfectly captured the spirit of the original film. From watching Ralphie hilariously haggle for a terrible Christmas tree to watching his children, Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne) take on the next generation of bullies, it retains so much of what made the original great. The absence of Mr. Parker (the late Darren McGaven) lingers throughout the film and is the driving force for much of Ralph’s reflection. As he struggles to write his father’s obituary, he thinks over his childhood and his life. Can he ever live up to the legacy of his Old Man? It’s a great driving force as the film moves from one comedic moment to the next.
So much credit is due to the main actor, Peter Billingsley. He steps back into the role without issue and realistically portrays the man that the boy from the original film would have become. As I mentioned earlier, Ralphie’s overactive imagination leading to him becoming an aspiring author in adulthood makes perfect sense. Although he has more responsibilities now, he has not lost his childhood imagination.
Other returning cast members like Scott Schwartz, Zach Ward, R.D. Robb, and Ian Petrella do an excellent job at stepping back into their characters as well. It is easy to see the essence of who these characters were in the original, and how adulthood has changed them for the better and the worse.
A Christmas Story Christmas is a worthy and entertaining heir to the original.
Higher education professional by day, writer and pop culture enthusiast by night. When he isn't writing for The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found creating content for his YouTube and TikTok pages, or working on the young adult novel he has been trying to finish for the last three years.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.