- Starring
- Peter Billingsley, Erinn Hayes, River Drosche
- Writers
- Nick Schenk, Clay Kaytis
- Director
- Clay Kaytis
- Rating
- PG (United States)
- Running Time
- 98 minutes
- Release Date
- November 17th, 2022
Overall Score
Rating Summary
A Christmas Story Christmas is a legacy sequel to the 1983 classic A Christmas Story and ignores the events of previous sequels, 1994’s My Summer Story (also known as It Runs in the Family) and most recently A Christmas Story 2. A Christmas Story Christmas is set 33 years after the events of the first film and follows the now-adult Ralphie (Billingsley) who has since moved away from his hometown and is unsuccessfully trying to sell his book to publishing companies. After the passing of his father, Ralphie and his family return to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the ones he had as a child. Along the way, Ralphie reconnects with old friends and reconciles with the passing of his old man.
A Christmas Story Christmas is a surprisingly enjoyable and deeply heartfelt legacy sequel that’s much better than one would ever expect. Viewers can expect a lot of callbacks and references to the original film but for the most part, they actually work and don’t come off as forced or obnoxious. Seeing the same house and a lot of the same locations from the original will bring surely bring out a feeling of nostalgia from fans of the first film. It might not hold a candle to its predecessor or come anywhere close to being as funny or clever but there are still quite a few big laughs to be had. Maybe the most surprising thing about this film is how it finds a balance between a surprisingly mature and emotional story with more lighthearted and fun elements.
Billingsley reprises his role of Ralphie nearly 40 years later and he slips right back into this role seamlessly. He’s exactly what a grown-up version of the character should look like. Billingsley is undeniably the star of the show, but the entire cast are solid while it’s also nice to see a lot of familiar faces from the original pop up throughout reprise their original roles. Julie Hagerty does a fine job stepping into the role of Mrs. Parker, filling in for Melinda Dillon after she retired from acting many years ago. This entire film is dedicated to Darren McGavin who portrayed Ralphie’s Old Man in the original and honestly everything they do regarding his character was touching and will undoubtedly bring a tear to fans’ eyes.
As good as this sequel is, it’s not nearly as memorable or funny as the first and certainly doesn’t have the same rewatchability factor. There are quite a few jokes that simply don’t work, and some may be turned off by the fact that this film contains more drama than the original. Meanwhile, it also goes on for a little longer than it probably needed to be. As it stands, it may not an overly long film but a good 10-minutes could have easily been trimmed off without changing much.
In the end, while the film doesn’t come close to reaching the same heights as it’s predecessor and certainly won’t become a new Christmas staple, it is still one of the better legacy sequels as of late with a great big heart and a terrific Christmas spirit. Those who hold the original near and dear to their hearts will more than likely love this sequel and even shed a few tears. The film is definitely going to play better to fans of the original and those who grew up with it but nonetheless, it should still provide an entertaining time for anyone.
*still courtesy of BellMedia*
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