Here is the problem. You like Christmas Story, and this comes along and insults you immediately - even the cover is a tasteless rip-off of the original. How could this be any good?
Well. It is. You do have to take some things into account first.
1) A Christmas Story may be one of the most watched films ever. It plays all Christmas Day and makes everyone nostalgic for the season. Even if this were a perfect followup, it would take 30 years for it to establish the following of the original. You cannot expect the same feeling.
2) Jean Shepherd is dead. Surprise, he didn't narrate this film. He also didn't write the script - but his book is still used for some parts of the story. Expect a voice actor trying to sound like him, expect a writer trying to write like him... the key word is try. It is so clear that the people involved with this film really do love the original as well as the material.
3) Don't expect to like Ralphie as much as you did. It isn't even the actor - it is the age. A young boy is almost unisexual in his wishes and schemes, it could very well be a young girl. Everyone likes young Ralphie because he IS everyone. Teen Ralphie is a boy becoming a man. He is attracted to girls now, and wants a car. You shouldn't like him as much and you won't.
4) Expect re-use of plots. It is a given. Is there a Harry Potter that doesn't mention Voldemort? Then get over the fact Aunt Clara is still sending gifts, or that Ralphie still says Fudge, or that an over protective mom is still trying to bundle her last child. In fact, if you don't let yourself be turned off by these things you realize that they are a part of the essence of this story. It is referenced several times, but things don't change. It is the foundation for the beautiful story of forgiveness between the fighting parents, it is part of the definition of Ralphie as a stubborn person, it is the very basis of ritualizing Christmas and accepting nostalgia. It is almost the theme of the film, and to understand that is critical.
If you accept these things before you watch the movie, I assure you that you will like it - mostly because you know that you aren't expecting another gem.
There are some details worth mentioning. I really did not like somethings about the film. I don't like the digital filter to appear old. The first movie got it right, this one looks digital and that harms the film. It actively removes the nostalgia. I also hate the title. The correct answer was "Another Christmas Story" - why are we obsessed with putting a 2 after everything? And did they really need to say B*tch so much??
In the pros side, the Chinese Dinner in this film actually made me tear up a little - which also happens to be the subject of the best monologue voice-over in either film, in my opinion. There are plenty of new stories to build on the recycled gags - and they are funny. I find that this movie actually has more heart. The first was so biographical that it was a love story by an author to his family and childhood. This is a love story to all families, and that is a very different thing.
The bottom line is that no one involved in this move was perfection, but they were all expressing some love of the original - it shows, and in its own way, I think it is worth pulling out once a year.
Well. It is. You do have to take some things into account first.
1) A Christmas Story may be one of the most watched films ever. It plays all Christmas Day and makes everyone nostalgic for the season. Even if this were a perfect followup, it would take 30 years for it to establish the following of the original. You cannot expect the same feeling.
2) Jean Shepherd is dead. Surprise, he didn't narrate this film. He also didn't write the script - but his book is still used for some parts of the story. Expect a voice actor trying to sound like him, expect a writer trying to write like him... the key word is try. It is so clear that the people involved with this film really do love the original as well as the material.
3) Don't expect to like Ralphie as much as you did. It isn't even the actor - it is the age. A young boy is almost unisexual in his wishes and schemes, it could very well be a young girl. Everyone likes young Ralphie because he IS everyone. Teen Ralphie is a boy becoming a man. He is attracted to girls now, and wants a car. You shouldn't like him as much and you won't.
4) Expect re-use of plots. It is a given. Is there a Harry Potter that doesn't mention Voldemort? Then get over the fact Aunt Clara is still sending gifts, or that Ralphie still says Fudge, or that an over protective mom is still trying to bundle her last child. In fact, if you don't let yourself be turned off by these things you realize that they are a part of the essence of this story. It is referenced several times, but things don't change. It is the foundation for the beautiful story of forgiveness between the fighting parents, it is part of the definition of Ralphie as a stubborn person, it is the very basis of ritualizing Christmas and accepting nostalgia. It is almost the theme of the film, and to understand that is critical.
If you accept these things before you watch the movie, I assure you that you will like it - mostly because you know that you aren't expecting another gem.
There are some details worth mentioning. I really did not like somethings about the film. I don't like the digital filter to appear old. The first movie got it right, this one looks digital and that harms the film. It actively removes the nostalgia. I also hate the title. The correct answer was "Another Christmas Story" - why are we obsessed with putting a 2 after everything? And did they really need to say B*tch so much??
In the pros side, the Chinese Dinner in this film actually made me tear up a little - which also happens to be the subject of the best monologue voice-over in either film, in my opinion. There are plenty of new stories to build on the recycled gags - and they are funny. I find that this movie actually has more heart. The first was so biographical that it was a love story by an author to his family and childhood. This is a love story to all families, and that is a very different thing.
The bottom line is that no one involved in this move was perfection, but they were all expressing some love of the original - it shows, and in its own way, I think it is worth pulling out once a year.