It Runs in the Family

I am a huge fan of A Christmas Story and was unaware that Bob Clarke had filmed more of Jean Shepherds work until I listened to the commentary track on the Christmas Story DVD. I had read peoples comments here and been a little concerned by its 5/10 score. I still wanted to see it for myself so I picked up a copy on VHS for £1.00. With all our VCRs now replaced with DVD players we only have one VCR in the house so I didnt get to watch this til after midnight one Sunday night. Whilst not brilliant and no where near as good as Christmas Story (but I guess thats because this isnt about Christmas!) I found this film to be a very delightful piece of light-hearted entertainment. Yes the choice of actors dont seem to be as memorable but thats probably because Ive watched Christmas Story hundreds of times. Dont expect any huge moments, but this is a perfect lazy day nostalgic movie. The adults will probably enjoy it more than the kids though.

"It Runs in the Family" is a great movie for the whole family! It is one of the cutest films I've ever seen! It's right up there with "Stand by Me" and "A Christmas Story." It's the kind of movie that give you a warm feeling, yet it's very entertaining. The Culkin brothers do a great job in my opinion, and Mary Steenburgen is a gem as always. If you're looking for a movie that will make you laugh, and maybe even bring back great childhood memories, this is definitely the movie for you!

I just caught this follow up on TV today and I simply found myself laughing all the way through it. A Christmas Story is a true classic flick that I watch every Xmas. I had not heard up until about a year ago that a follow up even exsisted! Obviously the film was promoted poorly. I think it's very underrated, for one reason JEAN STAPLETON. This man a true master of narrating a film, he gets us from beginning to end through the picture with pure satisfaction of re-living of childhood. I personally love Mr. Stapleton's narration in both films and his comedy & witt is just priceless to listen to. All in all "It Runs in the Family" is an enjoyable funny follow-up, but will never achieve the classic & beauty that "A Christmas Story" achieved.

This film is a good example of how not to make a sequel. That Bob Clark who did such a perfect casting "A Christmas Story" should have blown this vital aspect of the film is beyond understanding. Charles Grodin is just terrible as the Old Man. Kieran Culkin who plays Ralphie is not quite as horrid,but is still a sad comparison with Billingsly in the original.One wonders if he was not cast because he was the brother of another kid actor who had a huge Christmas hit. Only Mary Steenburgen as Mom does a decent job,and even she is not quite as good as Melinda Dillon did in the original. In addition to the casting mistakes,but other wrong decisions were made.Showing the Bumpasses for no good reason is a prime example.They were so much funnier left to the imagination (except for he dogs) in the original. All in all,Bob CLark should have known better.

This was a funny movie, but I thought the original THE CHRISTMAS STORY, was better.. The original is a classic, but I think this is a good movie.