A Christmas Story 2

It's a direct to video sequel of a famous well established film that was released 29 years after the original. If any of that sounds like a good idea I have a bridge to sell you.

This should be warning enough that this movie will suck big time.

The only reason this film was made is because you can get the first film for under $10 and newer DVD/Blu-Rays cost more. They are trying to cash in on the first film by giving you similar scenes in this "new" film. Personally I would like to see more stories from the book it was based on.

This movie deserves to have a bar of Life Buoy taped in it's mouth and forced to wear pink bunny footie pajamas for the rest of it's life.

Nothing about this movie is The Christmas story. The story line is horrible and the acting seems forced and strained. The father looks like he got younger rather than older. Why? Much like other sequels, it did a disservice to the original movie.

In 1940, Thomas Wolfe wrote a book entitled "You Can Never Go Back"...and it comes to mind as I watch "A Christmas Story 2". Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that "A Christmas Story" is considered a classic...a tradition that many of us enjoy watching year after year. This sequel is, at best, watchable...but about as welcome as a case of the Clap. You just can't go back and replicate the success and charm of the first one no matter how hard you try...and the folks who made this one hardly tried.

The story has many of the appearances of the original, as the characters are the same in both films. But apart from that and themes 'borrowed' from the original (such as most of the plot about Ralphie wanting something BIG for Christmas as well as the sub-plot involving the furnace), it's an unpleasant walk down memory lane that only serves to show how good the original is...and how third-rate this film is.

The bottom line is that sequels that are made MANY years later (such as this one...made 29 years later) invariably suck...think about the sequels they made for "High Noon" and "Gone With the Wind" many decades later. Most of the jokes fall flat and the charm is notably absent.

So COULD this story have worked? Yes, had they made the characters all new and NOT tried to make it a sequel...in that case this could have worked...at least had it been written better and actually made it funny.

You might wonder WHY I gave this abomination a 5. Well, despite being a TERRIBLE idea, the acting was good and although the film was NOT funny, it was at times well written and entertaining. I think it's best seen if you've never seen the original.

"When I was 9 I pulled the wrapping off the present of my dreams and knew right then that no Christmas would ever be the same and none were, until today." Ralphie (Lemasters) is a few years older and it's Christmas time again. This year instead of a gun he wants a car. When he is testing out how it feels behind the wheel an accident happens and he owes the dealer $85. When his dad (Stern) refuses to help him and his friends get jobs, which turns out to be a huge adventure. I have to admit I was very skeptical going in to this movie. I loved the first one but after seeing "Christmas Vacation 2 : Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure" I am a little leery about sequels to classic movies. This was better then that one but this is still nothing to rush out and see. Stern is a little over the top and every other scene is him yelling at the furnace. They try to just re-hash the funny gags from the original but they aren't funny in this one. Pretty much the movie is what you would expect and most people will watch it out of curiosity, like I did. Overall, I was expecting worse but this is still forgettable and not really worth seeing. I give it a C.

Ralphie obsesses over what he wants for Christmas, doesn't get it, then gets it after all. He says, "Oh Fudge!", wears an embarrassing animal costume, isn't able to have turkey for Christmas, and eats at the Chop Suey Palace. Mrs. Parker overdresses Randy for the cold weather. The Old Man yells 'It's a clinker!' fights the furnace, and gets a leg lamp. And, of course, Flick gets his tongue stuck to something.

You may think I'm talking about A Christmas Story, but sadly this is also the description for the completely unnecessary sequel, A Christmas Story 2. Clearly, there is no attempt made here to capture the magic of the original, only a blatant attempt to cash in on its success by recycling all its funny moments and adding tired family movie formulas. At one point, Ralphie blurts out what I'm sure the entire audience is already thinking, "Oh no! Not again!" It could easily have been the tag line for the movie posters.

Despite all this, A Christmas Story 2 is certainly not as bad as it could have been, considering the current family movie genre's obsession with vomit and flatulence. If you're just feeling a bit nostalgic for A Christmas Story, A Summer Story and Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss are far better sequels with fresh material, though they, too, pale in comparison to the original classic.