Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

This is a great movie. I am surprised, given how popular the Christmas Story is, that they have not released this to DVD as a sequel. I wish I could get a copy to show my kids, but have never been able to find it. Many favorite lines that we can relate to, e.g. when the family kinds a junky gift shop, "somehow, things that you would never buy at home, when you are on vacation, they make sense!" The movie has the same slow-paced, Garrison-Keillor-type wry humor that the Christmas Story has. It has the same nostalgic sense that times of blue-collar kitsch were silly, but also there was something noble about the attempt of the working man to create beauty.

There are more Jean Shepherd films than some folks know about, starting with a truly great pair of movies, The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1978), and The Great American 4th of July and Other Disasters (1982). These two are absolutely wonderful, low budget PBS American Playhouse prequels to A Christmas Story (1983), the classic movie that put Shepherd on the maps of millions. Squeezed in there after Xmas Story is The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (1985), also charming and set in Ralphie's senior year, then finally this one: Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss in 1988. I won't even mention It Runs in the Family, that unfortunate entry from 1994, except to say it's better than this one.

This one barely holds up, and although it doesn't have the charms of the previous four Shepherd films, it is still sorta worth watching because it's all we have.

I'm really not sure why this particular installment was stretched out to 90 minutes, because it drags on, and it's clear it was just filling cinematic time. Maybe Disney had a slot to fill and they dragged this one out in the editing room. Ollie Hopnoodle would have benefitted from the 50 minute runtime format of Great American 4th of July, and the Phantom of the Open Hearth. This film is a bore and a chore. I get it, we want to love it because it's Jean Shepherd, and the library is all it will ever be, but honestly it's spread thin.

So, the whole movie is cobbled together, which isn't unusual for a Shep film story. But this one is drawn out too long. It's not all bad, but it lacks the genuine charms of the fantastic four Shep films that precede it. If nothing else, it's a nostalgic piece of storytelling where we get to sit back and bask in the glorious voice of Jean Shepherd's timelessly spun narratives, and we will never get another one. That much is a good thing.

OK, if you loved "A Christmas Story"....then there's no way you won't LOVE this movie!!! It's Ralphie as a teenager! The family takes a summer vacation and it is HILARIOUS!!!!!! We even get to see Flick and Schwartz again! Will Flick stick his tongue to the flag pole again?? HMMM...could be!!! You'll have to watch it to find out! I think what makes this movie SO funny is how realistic it is...exaggerated a tad, of course. The trip they take is exactly how all my family vacations went as a kid. If you watch "A Christmas Story" every Christmas, then you need to start watching "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" every 4th of July!

This, I believe, is a superb installment of the Jean Sheppard Christmas Story trilogy. Jerry O'Connell does a, though very different from the "A Christmas Story", wonderful job in his portrayal of Ralphie. I believe it offers many humorous parts (ie. the mother's voice, "We're not buying any junk today!", etc.) There may be some slow parts, but if you pay attention to dialogue and such there really aren't any excessively dull moments. The Randy character, though not as major a character as in "Christmas", takes the scenes he is in he makes absolutely and annoyingly funny. The unique stylized format and period obvious clothes put you directly into the movie. My family and I enjoy this movie very much and I think if you took the time to sit and watch the movie you will, too.

My family and I have been watching this movie at least once every summer since 1988 (we taped it). It's one of those movies you can watch a thousand times, have every line memorized, and still laugh at all the same jokes. One thing I noticed about this one is that they switched the characters of Schwartz and Flick. In "A Christmas Story", Schwartz is the cool, cocky one and Flick is the pathetic loser. In this installment, Flick is the cool one and Schwartz is the loser. Is this intended? Oh well, no matter what it's a great movie. The people who play the parents are excellent. Especially James Sikking, he is absolutely hilarious. I want to see this on DVD sometime soon. Everyone should see this movie. Family Channel should run it again.