Une maison de fous

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.

I remember watching this movie when it premiered on the movie channels as a kid. I hadn't even seen A Christmas Story yet and with that in mind I didn't demean this movie just because it didn't compare. I found it quite humorous and I love how it goes beyond the first movie and more into the craziness of their family once I finally watched ACS. It is an excellent movie for kids and adults, especially those that are still kids at heart. I was actually trying to track this title down so I can purchase it on DVD. Seeing the only comment left on this movie was disheartening and I wanted to express my opinion for this wonderful movie.

I assumed this was a Christmas movie because I recorded it at Christmas but I didn't watch it because the familiar title made me think I had seen it. In fact, if I saw a movie with the title, it was another one. Had I seen the correct title, I would have realized it was new to me and watched it then. After all this time, I went ahead and watched hat I thought was going to be a Christmas movie. I quickly realized it wasn't I(though it did have "Hallelujah Chorus"), but it was a good experience anyway.

I don't know that it's necessary to see "A Christmas Story". I've seen two versions. Because I had to get cable when digital TV became a requirement and a dependable signal was no longer a guarantee, I had the channel the movie always airs on, though I wasn't supposed to. Somehow I picked up a signal comparable to the channels that had a poor signal in the days of analog TV, so I had snow. The other version was a TV presentation where adult Ralphie appeared on screen and even interacted with the family.

With all this out of the way, I can say this was a crazy experience and not at all your conventional family movie. In fact, I would say some of the content was naughty. It may have had to be cleaned up for broadcast.

Ralphie is basically a good kid but not too good. He's fun to watch and always having problems.

Ralphie's Dad was more appealing and more friendly to his sons than one might have expected from a movie set in an era where dads were strict and distant. I don't even know what the man did for a living, even if back then fathers were always working. And yet when the situation called for it he could get angry. He certainly was in his first scene.

Ralphie's Mom wasn't quite as warm and caring as one would expect, but she could be both. And one scene late in the movie, related to an incident at a movie theater, was great. I've always liked Mary Steenburgen, even if she was a little edgier than in most of her roles.

Even Randy has his moments. He's an annoying little brother but realistic instead of overly intelligent.

Pulaski the storekeeper is what one might call a Scrooge if this were actually a Christmas movie. You're not supposed to like him and he's not around long, but he's enjoyable briefly.

The overly dedicated tax assessor is another fun character who appears briefly.

And don't forget the gypsy fortune teller. Really good.

The Bumpus family is fun and not really dumb even if they seem kind of ignorant about modern ways. I did like their hillbilly music but would I get annoyed with it if I heard it too much? I did see one of the Newhart Darryl brothers listed in the cast but forgot to look for him. I assume he talked.

The Chicago exposition looked great, especially the fortune teller's shop.

This movie was set at a time when cars looked good. I don't think the year was ever specified but some people were still driving cars that looked like the Prohibition era or Bonnie and Clyde. And yet other cars looked like they were from the 50s.

I think I had a good time.

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.

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.