A Christmas Story Christmas

It starts out slow as it tries to give a recap of how we got to this time and place. But about midway through, it breaks into a memorable movie with some laugh out loud moments and some very touching scenes. Obviously Peter Billingsley had a lot of input but Vince Vaughn also leaves his mark on the story. Might not be the classic that the original one is, but it is certainly a well executed sequel destined to someday run back-to-back with the original in an all day marathon.

Ralphie may not be screaming Bumpus! Every five minutes like Darren McGavin did but then he was never destined to have the same personality as his on screen dad. He's the character we all assumed he would grow up to be.

... This one was solid. Even better it isn't one of those garbage Christmas rom coms that get churned out this time of year. It got an extra star from me just for that!!!!

The story was touching. Independent from the first movie. But it stayed true to the first movie when important and had good callbacks. Peter Billingsly reprises Ralphie perfectly. The mannerisms and face expressions took me right back.

The story is relatable and touching. A little heavier in subject matter than the first. But plenty of lighter moments too. I liked the Christmas carolers scene because I feel the same way about them. Haha. Overall a pleasent watch. It's not going to replace the original as your favorite. But you're going to be able to sit thru the entire movie without questioning why they bothered making a sequel. And it's going to get you into the season!

Peter Billingsley reprises his role as Ralph "Ralphie" Parker, the blue-eyed daydreamer who, as a young boy in the Midwest during the 1940s, longed to possess a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Using Bob Clark's original 1983 holiday classic, "A Christmas Story", this film's producers have crafted a wonderfully updated and almost carbon-copied tale that at first glance felt a little light in creative writing until I realized just how important it was to structure the narrative so similarly to its original. It's a touching homage to what is now a yearly viewed ritual for millions of Christmas movie fanatics and a tribute to the original film's famed father figure, the Old Man, portrayed by the late Darrin McGavin.

It is now 33 years later and Ralph now has a family of his own consisting of his wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes), his son Mark (River Drosche), and daughter Julie (Julianna Layne), and Christmas is just around the corner when he receives notice of a family emergency from his mother (Julie Hagerty). A car ride later has the Parkers back in Ralphie's old haunts including his original childhood household. Yes, the neighborhood looks very much like it did so many years ago which adds to the warmth you get from your memories of the first movie. It also helps greatly when you get to also see quite a few of Ralph's neighborhood acquaintances that we've met and seen so many times before including Flick (Scott Schwartz), Schwartz (R. D. Robb) and even the green-eyed Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), all portrayed by their original actors. There are also enough flashbacks, soundbites, a few daydreams, and even a triple-dog-dare moment that add to the movie's charm with enough seventies updating to give you another chance to laugh once again at some scenes that closely mimic its predecessor.

Ralphie's snow-covered backyard makes an appearance as well as Higbee's Department Store fully decked out for the holidays along with a faithful recreation of Santa's meet-&-greet cotton-covered mountain. Yes, the slide is included. As the film went on it grew more sentimental by the minute and its conclusion I felt was just as delightful and emotional as the first movie. There have been other sequels produced in the past but this storyline ignores them all.

Will it become a yearly must-watch companion piece to compliment its popular original yuletide favorite? I don't see why it wouldn't but then again, only time will tell. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Just watched this and to be honest I was hoping for the best but really expecting the worst.. Thats why, I watched it early.. Well thank god... It was a very worthy sequel to the Christmas classic.

Never over doing it and keeping the character's real.

It also benifits from getting many of the original cast back and keeping them very likable. Now, without giving to much away, the story now set in the early 70s and follows Ralphie now in his 40s coming to terms with his fathers (The Old Man) passing and also dealing with percieved personal faliures. But his mother has asked him to make a special christmas and thats what he's going to do. (All this is in the trailer).

The film has all the style of the original and the new character's such as Ralphies wife and kids are very well drawn and acted.

I will be watching this again as part of double features with the original closer to Christmas.

All in all a very fine sequel that manages to bring the story full circle..

Oh my lord, what in the world, how was this so good?

The original Christmas Story is one of the best Christmas movies ever created, naturally I had high expectations for this film but to say it exceeded them is just an understatement, this film was just beautiful, and it's honestly just as good if not better than the original film, which I didn't think was possible.

A Christmas Story Christmas manager to perfectly use callbacks to the original film while also weaving in brilliant originality, beautifully bringing in real world issues and dare I say, it almost managed to make me cry on multiple occasions.

It's a truly hilarious film, and I wasn't expecting Polly from Malcolm in the Middle to show up, Peter Billingsley puts on a truly beautiful performance and it just managed to fill my heart with joy and is one of the best early Christmas gifts I could ever have.

I'm gonna give a Christmas story Christmas an A.