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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Review: Nostalgia Is Fragile

The cast of the perennial holiday classic “A Christmas Story” returns for this half-baked legacy sequel.

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By Calum Marsh

“A Christmas Story,” Bob Clark’s bittersweet coming-of-age comedy based on the semi-autobiographical writings of the humorist Jean Shepherd, is that rarest of things: a holiday movie that’s actually good. “A Christmas Story Christmas,” the new legacy sequel, is something much more common: a holiday movie that’s very bad.

It’s an important distinction. “A Christmas Story” has gained in repute enormously since its modest release in 1983, to the extent that it has been firmly entrenched in the seasonal canon, cherished for its credible warmth and sly, mischievous humor. “A Christmas Story Christmas” seems destined for swift obsolescence — lost to the featureless sweep of the streaming ecosystem, where nostalgic cash-ins like this seem to vanish as soon as they materialize. When was the last time you thought about, say, “Coming 2 America”?

There have been other “Christmas Story” sequels over the years, including “My Summer Story” (1994) and “A Christmas Story 2” (2012), one of the most reviled sequels ever. This one boasts a stronger connection to the original: Much of the first film’s cast returns, including Peter Billingsley, who starred as the 9-year-old Ralphie, now almost 40 years older. But while there is a strained effort to pay tribute to a recognized classic — the story follows the aging Ralphie’s attempts to recreate his idyllic childhood Christmas for his own family, which entails a lot of nostalgic reminiscence and winking homages — the director, Clay Kaytis, fails to evoke its enduring magic. (Many of the gags are simply flat by comparison. Kid has his tongue stuck to a pole? Funny. Family snowball fight? Dull.) Mostly it made me want to watch the original, which, as always, remains well worth revisiting.

A Christmas Story Christmas Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Watch on HBO Max.

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‘a christmas story christmas’ review: ralphie returns in a forgettable but sweet sequel.

Peter Billingsley reprises his iconic role in this follow-up to the classic holiday perennial.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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But he receives sad news from his mom (Julie Hagerty, charmingly replacing the original film’s Melinda Dillon, now retired), who informs him that his beloved “Old Man” (originally played by the late Darren McGavin, given loving tribute here) has suddenly passed away. So Ralphie immediately heads with his family to his childhood home in Indiana, where his mother assigns him the daunting tasks of ensuring that the family has a happy Christmas in spite of their loss and writing his father’s obituary for the local paper. (Although the original house was located in Cleveland, this replica was constructed in Bulgaria, where the film was shot.)

It doesn’t take long for Ralphie to reunite with friends and family members, played by the original performers (seeing them is as jarring as encountering your classmates at a 30 th high-school reunion). They include his chums Schwartz (RD Robb) and Flick (Scott Schwartz), the latter now the owner of the local tavern, and his old nemesis Scut Farcus (Zack Ward), whose current profession is not one you would have guessed. Ralphie also attempts to cajole his brother Randy (Ian Patrella), now a globe-trotting businessman, to return home for the holidays.   

Despite the lack of originality, only a Grinch would get upset at the homages, which have the comforting feel of familiar holiday traditions. Billingsley, still displaying a youthful enthusiasm, has aged into the role of the story’s narrator, although his commentary lacks the amusing folksiness and reflectiveness that Jean Shepherd, the author of the book on which the films are based, brought to it.  

As with the original, the sequel refreshingly doesn’t depict an idealized Christmas, but rather one filled with the messy mishaps that inevitably accompany the holiday. But it also paints a heartwarming portrait of family members and friends lovingly supporting one another. Although nothing in the screenplay by director Clay Kaytis and Nick Schenk (Billingsley, who also produced, has a “screen story” credit) matches the hilarity of the first film’s iconic “Leg Lamp” or frozen flagpole licking incident, there are enough laughs to fuel the proceedings, including an amusing running gag involving the male patrons of Flick’s bar quaking in their boots whenever the phone rings.      

A Christmas Story Christmas will hardly supplant its predecessor as a holiday perennial. Nonetheless, it’s good to know that the Parker family still knows how to have a Yuletide good time after all these years.

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Review: Peter Billingsley Is Now the Dad in a Mild and Toasty Sequel to ‘A Christmas Story’

With Ralphie grown up, it's like a gentler answer to the first film, and in some ways the better for it.

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Ralph, an aspiring novelist, has taken a year off from the rat race to make it as a published author. He’s penned a sci-fi doorstop entitled “Neptune’s Oblivion” that’s been turned down by just about every publisher in his hometown of Chicago. But then he gets the word that the Old Man has died. To comfort his mother (Julie Hagerty), Ralph drives his family to Hohman, Indiana, to spend Christmas in the same mustard-yellow Cleveland Street home where “A Christmas Story” took place. And in this movie, of course, you can go home again. The holiday week will involve a handful of minor mishaps, a few broken bones, a touch of criminality, as well as several run-ins with key characters from “A Christmas Story,” all played by the actors who played them before.

The new movie, in its mild way, is less snarky and more sincere. The nostalgia here is more casual and homespun — it’s for dial phones and manual typewriters, for the early-’70s prices ($4 for a Christmas tree!), for the relative low-maintenance bar set for Christmas presents (Ralph, buying things like an Easy-Bake Oven and a Flexible Flyer, gets all his shopping done in under an hour at Higbee’s), and for the grandma who acts out her ruthless streak by using the (non)word “bajillion” in Scrabble. The premise of so many ’80s comedies, including “A Christmas Story,” was that men are children — a premise that began, after a while, to seem more like an ideology, a self-fulfilling desire. But in “A Christmas Story Christmas,” Billingsley’s Ralph, in his doleful way, is no buffoon. He’s trying to stage Christmas with joy and dignity, and he isn’t forced to navigate a “Jingle All the Way” world of cartoon capitalist corruption. The bullies are still there (descendants of the Bumpuses next door), but Ralph’s problems are more like how to fit the too-tall Christmas tree into his living room, or what to do after the presents get stolen out of the faulty trunk of his ’66 Plymouth.

There’s a funny bit about Christmas carolers (Hagerty: “They’re like ticks! Once they get to your door you can’t get rid of them”). And I liked the scene in which Ralph and Sandy have to explain to their kids to lower their expectations for Christmas, which carries a ping of reality in these insecure and inflationary times. Flick (Scott Schwartz), who now owns his father’s bar, which the film uses like Cheers, and Schwartz (R.D. Robb), a loser who can’t pay his bar tab, are back, taking swipes at each other, and so is Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), the wildcat bully who, tellingly, never appeared in Shepherd’s writing. This time, though, the film is actually about how Shepherd became a writer. It’s mostly made up, but we feel the spirit of it — that just like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” he’s a man of grand “ideas” who discovers himself in the everyday. “A Christmas Story Christmas” is like “A Christmas Story” with a softer center, but at least it doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve had a glass of eggnog spiked with Long Island Iced Tea.

Reviewed online, Nov. 14, 2022. MPA Rating: PG. Running time: 101 MIN.

• Production: A Warner Bros., HBO Max release of a Legendary Pictures, Wild West Picture Show, Toberoff production. Producers: Irwin Zwilling, Marc Toberoff, Cale Boyter, Jay Ashenfelter, Peter Billingsley, Vince Vaughn. Executive producers: Mike Drake, Nick Schenk, Peter Dodd.
• Crew: Director: Clay Kaytis. Screenplay: Nick Schenk, Clay Kaytis. Camera: Matthew Clark. Editor: David Walsh Heniz. Music: Jeff Morrow.
• With: Peter Billingsley, Erinn Hayes, Julie Hagerty, River Drosche, Julianna Layne, Scott Schwartz, RD Robb, Davis Murphy, Zack Ward.

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ fires off bits of nostalgia like Red Ryder BB’s

Peter billingsley, star of the beloved 1983 holiday movie, returns as a dad going back to his indiana hometown..

Once a boy breathlessly excited about Santa’s arrival, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) now is a dad trying to stir up holiday spirit in his own children (Julianna Layne, left, and River Drosche) in “A Christmas Story Christmas.”

Warner Bros.

If Hollywood delivered a decades-later sequel titled “It’s Still a Wonderful Life” that picked up the story of Zuzu Bailey as a middle-aged florist undergoing her own existential crisis, or “Another Miracle on 34th Street,” with Susan Walker all grown up and having forgotten she once believed in Kris Kringle, you wouldn’t expect either to be great, right? You might even question the wisdom of anyone even attempting such a follow-up.

That’s how I felt when I heard about “A Christmas Story Christmas,” the long discussed and finally realized sequel to the 1983 cultural touchstone. Was it wise to drop in on the life of the adult Ralphie Parker after all these years? Isn’t there something magical about Ralphie and the Old Man and Flick and Schwartz and all the rest forever frozen in nostalgia?

Remember or not, we actually did get a sequel to “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the forgettable and regrettable 1990 Family Channel movie “Clarence,” with Robert Carradine (!) as the angel Clarence Odbody, and there WAS a sequel of sorts to “A Christmas Story” in “A Christmas Story 2” (2012), a straight-to-DVD release set six years after the events of “A Christmas Story.” with a young fellow named Braeden Lemasters as a teenage Ralphie and Daniel Stern as the Old Man. Still, it’s as if “A Christmas Story 2” never existed for 99.9% of the population.

Now comes a legitimate sequel: “A Christmas Story Christmas,” directed by Clay Kaytis and based on the characters and writings of Jean Shepherd. You won’t be surprised to hear it’s not the equal of the original, but it succeeds as a sweet, family-friendly follow-up, with the welcome return of Peter Billingsley as Ralph and a number of other actors back in their iconic roles. It’s a bit like attending a 40-year reunion and telling old stories while trying to re-create a few of those crazy adventures from days gone by.

The exact year of “A Christmas Story” was never specified (it’s either 1940 or 1941), but the kitchen calendar informs us the sequel is set in December of 1973, with Billingsley’s Ralphie Parker serving as our narrator, telling us we’re at “our humble abode on the South Side of [Chicago], just like I remember in all of its yellow, orange and avocado green glory.” Ralphie is married to the lovely and kind Sandy (Erinn Hayes), and they have two adorable children, Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne), who are very excited for Christmas, which will really kick into gear when Ralphie’s parents arrive in Chicago in a couple of days. In the meantime, Ralphie is desperately trying to sell his first novel, a 2,000-page sci-fi opus titled “Neptune’s Oblivion,” which has been rejected by more than a dozen publishers. (Hmmm, if only Ralphie would consider writing about experiences closer to home…)

Then comes the call from Ralphie’s mother. The Old Man is gone.

Ralphie, Sandy and the kids make the drive to Ralphie’s hometown of Hohman, Indiana, where they’ll spend the holidays with Ralphie’s mom (Julie Hagerty) in “our old house on Cleveland Street [that] looked like it had been frozen in time.”

Indeed it does. But given the Old Man has died, doesn’t that mean Christmas will be put on hold for a memorial service? The script handles that issue by having Ralphie’s mom say, “All that can wait. Your father was so excited about Christmas. If he saw us moping around, he’d throw a fit.” This gives the family license to embark on a series of adventures involving snowball fights; battles with some local bullies; the quest for the perfect toys; a couple of slapstick injuries, and of course, a visit to Higbee’s Department Store, with its amazing window displays, and a Santa Claus who still sits way up high and a helper elf who dumps kids down a precarious slide.

Director Kaytis indulges in a few fun stylistic flourishes, e.g., a snowball fight is filmed like a shootout in a Spaghetti Western, but for the most part, “A Christmas Story Christmas” is rendered in a low-key, straightforward style, as Ralphie struggles with the loss of his father, his flailing writing career and a number of setbacks to his plans for a perfect Christmas. In the process, he reconnects with pivotal figures from his past, including Flick (Scott Schwartz), who has inherited Flick’s Tavern from his old man; Schwartz (R.D. Robb), who famously triple-dog dared Flick to stick his tongue on that frozen pole and these days is running up a huge tab at Flick’s Tavern and living with his mom, and the notorious Scott “Scut” Farkus (Zack Ward), and we’ll leave it to you to discover what happened to ol’ Farkus. (Ralphie’s younger brother Randy, best remembered for being rendered immobile by too many layers of winter clothing, also makes an appearance, with Ian Petrella reprising the role.)

“A Christmas Story Christmas” features the occasional quick clip from the first film, and the closing credits remind us of just how many scenes in the sequel mirror events from the original. If watching “A Christmas Story” is a part of your annual holiday ritual, you might want to make time to catch the sequel. It’ll make for a warm double helping of Christmas nostalgia.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A Christmas Story Christmas

Follows the now-adult Ralphie as he returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and rec... Read all Follows the now-adult Ralphie as he returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man. Follows the now-adult Ralphie as he returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man.

• Clay Kaytis
• Jean Shepherd
• Nick Schenk
• Peter Billingsley
• Erinn Hayes
• River Drosche
• 265 User reviews
• 44 Critic reviews
• 55 Metascore
• 1 nomination

Top cast 49

• Ralphie Parker

• Sandy Parker

• Mrs. Parker

• Pulitzer Emcee

• Delbert Bumpus

• Officer Scut Farkus

• Lead Caroler Terence

• Larry Novak
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Peter Billingsley (Ralphie), deliberately adjusted his voice to sound closer to Jean Shepherd , who did the narration as adult Ralphie in the original A Christmas Story (1983) .
• Goofs Ralphie's daughter says she wants the Hungry Hungry Hippos game for Christmas. The movie is set in 1973 and the game wasn't introduced by Hasbro until 1978.

Narrator : Kids ignore every important thing you say, then recall with painful accuracy every incriminating word you've uttered in the last five years.

• Crazy credits There are pictures showing similar scenes from both the original and this sequel during the credits.
• Connections Edited from A Christmas Story (1983)
• Soundtracks We Wish You a Merry Christmas Traditional Arranged by Jeff Morrow

User reviews 265

• ashwetherall1
• Nov 16, 2022
• How long is A Christmas Story Christmas? Powered by Alexa
• November 17, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Warner Bros.
• Legendary Entertainment
• Wild West Picture Show Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 38 minutes
• Dolby Atmos

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Review: Ralphie’s Return Mixes New Holiday Gags With Labored Fan Service

The original movie skewered Christmas nostalgia, and this follow-up works best when it avoids dwelling on the original

Because 1983’s “A Christmas Story” has achieved iconic status among holiday movies and has become a nostalgic cornerstone to millions of fans who revisit it every December, it’s easy to forget that the film’s initial success came from its skewering of nostalgia itself.

The original tagline ironically called the film “A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas,” and director Bob Clark’s adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s comic reminiscences struck a chord precisely because it revealed the greed, venality, occasional cruelty, and recognizably human behavior that lurked beneath the Norman Rockwell façade of hazy Yuletide memories.

After several unsuccessful attempts to craft a sequel to Clark’s film, we finally get “A Christmas Story Christmas,” which brings back several of the original movie’s cast members. While it spends perhaps too much of its running time either recreating or directly quoting moments from its 1983 predecessor, it still manages to land some new and original gags of its own.

The first film harkened back four decades to the 1940s, and this sequel looks back to December 1973, which finds middle-aged Ralphie (Peter Billingsley, who also produced and co-wrote) in the bleak midwinter of his discontent: He’s got until the end of the year to find a publisher for his science-fiction magnum opus (which 14 of a possible 15 companies have already rejected), and he gets a call from his mom (Julie Hagerty, taking over for Melinda Dillon) telling him that his larger-than-life father, “the Old Man,” has passed away.

Ralphie’s parents usually come to Chicago for the holidays, but his dad’s passing means he needs to take his family — wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes, “Bill and Ted Face the Music”), son Mark (River Drosche, “Miracle Workers”) and daughter Julie (Julianna Layne, “Prodigal Son”) — back to the old homestead to throw a “perfect” Christmas in his father’s honor. Attempts at perfection are, of course, a recipe for disaster, and one after another occurs, from the theft of the Christmas presents to an escalating series of winter-related injuries befalling all of Ralphie’s family members.

Going home gives Ralphie the opportunity to reconnect with old pals like Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R.D. Robb), as well as former nemesis Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), and “A Christmas Story Christmas” takes every opportunity to insert old footage to remind us of their (and much of the audience’s) childhood. Director Clay Katis did a brilliant job of updating the “Peanuts” TV specials with this year’s “To Mom (and Dad), With Love,” and when he trusts the new material and his talented ensemble, he scores some wonderful new comedic moments, from the family attempting to avoid aggressive carolers to Ralphie skillfully completing the holiday shopping while his wife and mom knock back martinis in the lounge at Higbee’s department store.

Too often, alas, the film falls into the sequel trap of “we did it then, we gotta do it again now.” It doesn’t dip into this repetition as aggressively as, say, “Coming 2 America,” but these hollow callbacks often feel like a betrayal of both the original film and the hilarious writing that inspired it. (In the narration department, Billingsley is no Jean Shepherd, but to be fair, it’s never as evocative to narrate in the present tense as it is to look backwards.)

It’s always a pleasure to see Hagerty, and Hayes takes a mostly underwritten role and imbues it with comic warmth. There isn’t a ton for the returning vets to do, but Christmas has always been a time to run into people you used to know, see how they’ve aged, give them a hug, and then walk away when everyone runs out of conversation.

Mostly filmed in Bulgaria, this sequel nails the wintry midwestern feel of the material, and the 1973 period touches look accurate without getting too cartoonish. “A Christmas Story Christmas” won’t ever stand up on its own in the holiday pantheon, but unlike “A Summer Story” or the direct-to-video “A Christmas Story 2,” it makes for a suitable decoration to hang off the original.

“A Christmas Story Christmas” premieres on HBO Max Nov. 17.

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A Christmas Story Christmas Review: Nostalgic Holiday Sequel Might Make You Shoot Your Eye Out

Peter Billingsley's Ralphie returns in a movie that's unlikely to inspire any marathons

Peter Billingsley,  A Christmas Story Christmas

Even after the annual marathons and kitschy merchandising, A Christmas Story is one of the rare holiday fixings that still earns its gauzy charms. By filtering events through little Ralphie Parker's grown-up reminiscence, the 1983 movie evokes the romanticism often attached to childhood memories. It's all a bit of a fantasy, if only because what sticks in Ralphie's mind when he recalls his Yuletide quest for a BB gun is so heightened. The low stakes generate madcap antics most meaningful to a child, or an adult convinced he remembers his childhood in vivid detail.

Since Hollywood can't let a good thing go, Ralphie Parker is back. A Christmas Story Christmas , premiering Nov. 17 on HBO Max, checks in on a Ralphie who has replaced unwanted bunny jumpsuits with unwanted gray hairs. The sequel treads familiar ground, but instead of the reflective narration that gave the original its wink, the new movie features Ralphie chronicling his life in present tense. This is no longer a tale of kid-sized dreams. A Christmas Story Christmas tries to maintain a playful tone, but what results is a drab reminder that adults experience the world in much starker terms than children. 

A Christmas Story Christmas

• Peter Billingsley is still a good Ralphie
• Lacks a compelling plot
• Plays like a greatest-hits medley
• Swaps grainy comfort for glossy bores

Peter Billingsley , who conceptualized the new movie with writer Nick Schenk ( Gran Torino ) , still has the awestruck gaze and cherubic cheeks to pull off Ralphie, now a father of two in 1973. Ralphie recently left his job to become a novelist, leaving the family strapped for cash as he toils away at an unpublishable sci-fi tome called Neptune's Oblivion. As if that weren't traumatizing enough for his supportive wife ( Erinn Hayes ), Ralphie's mother (a batty Julie Hagerty ) phones right before Christmas to inform him that his old man has died. They load up the car to return to the Chicago suburb where Ralphie nearly shot his eye out all those years ago. 

From there, A Christmas Story Christmas strikes an odd tonal balance. Death and regret loom on the periphery, but the movie is too committed to recounting its predecessor's greatest hits to acknowledge such weightiness with any credibility. This turkey has no meat on its bones, so Billingsley, Schenk, and director Clay Kaytis ( The Christmas Chronicles ) juice it up with a dose of reality that goes nowhere. It's a movie about a parent wanting to execute a perfect holiday despite familial loss, which isn't much of a plot if no one actually contends with the loss. 

A Christmas Story Christmas rambles along, reintroducing us to what came before: Flick ( Scott Schwartz ) and Schwartz ( R.D. Robb ), former schoolyard bully Scut Farkus ( Zack Ward ), "hillbilly" neighbors, the gleaming department store Higbee's, fickle fuses, triple-dog dares. (Thankfully, this one skips the Chinese stereotyping.) In substituting the original's comforting graininess for uninspired gloss, the callbacks seem artificial, shoved into the script like boxes checked on a to-do list. No character feels anything half as strong as the desperation Ralphie once showed for that BB gun, which hollows out the momentum.

Another recent sequel, Hocus Pocus 2 , faced a similar dilemma . Lacking an organic reason to resurrect those beloved characters, the film injected a cheesy message about the power of sisterhood as a way to manufacture meaning. In a sense, A Christmas Story is to December what Hocus Pocus is to October. The 24-hour loop that TNT and TBS have aired since 1997 turned the former into one of the most canonized American films ever made, a bar few follow-ups can clear. At least Hocus Pocus 2 coasted on Bette Midler's charisma. A Christmas Story Christmas can't pinpoint anything as humorous as the disconnect between Ralphie's perspective and that of his parents, and none of the actors survive its forced whimsy. Even the narration, performed by Billingsley instead of the late humorist Jean Shepherd, lacks the original's sprightly urgency.

At what point do objectionable sequels like A Christmas Story Christmas , Hocus Pocus 2 , and Halloween Ends deplete their brands? Hocus Pocus 2 had the most-watched streaming debut in history, but did viewers come away feeling fed? The traditions these movies inspire become a little less special when their present-day incarnations are so bland. Sure, it's just a harmless sequel, but A Christmas Story Christmas might leave you feeling like the adult Ralphie did in 1983, peering into the snow globe of your memories to recall a more idealized time. 

Premieres:  Thursday, Nov. 17 on HBO Max Who's in it:  Peter Billingsley, Julie Hagerty, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, Zack Ward, Erinn Hayes  Who's behind it:  Clay Kaytis (director, co-screenwriter), Nick Schenk (co-screenwriter), Peter Billingsley (story by) For fans of:  Not getting what you wanted for Christmas

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A Christmas Story Christmas review – a pure joy filled nostalgic ride

In a year full of nostalgic films that missed the mark, A Christmas Story Christmas hits a home run. The perfect film to get you in the holiday spirit.

We review the HBO Max film A Christmas Story Christmas, which does not contain spoilers.

Thirty-nine years after the original film debut, we have a sequel to a holiday classic, A Christmas Story , titled A Christmas Story Christmas . What a mouthful that is. Does the movie fit well with the original? Let’s dive in.

The movie kicks off with Ralphie narrating what has gone down since being a little kid. He is married with a pair of kids and is in the middle of writing a novel. Every year his parents travel to meet with the family to have a big Christmas in Chicago. Ralphie sent his book to 16 publishers, and 14 said no. Finally, a publishing company agrees to meet with him only because he wouldn’t stop writing them. They also said they weren’t interested in the book.

Moments later, Ralphie gets a call that his father has passed away. While he wants to be down in the dumps over it, his mother tells him that that is not what his father would’ve liked. The pressure to make Christmas perfect for everyone starts to take a toll on Ralphie. Not that the pressure wasn’t enough, Ralphie’s mom asked him to write his father’s obituary. It might be the hardest thing that he has ever had to write.

Peter Billingsley was made for the role of Ralphie. He brought so much life to this role that makes you smile, laugh, and empathize with what Ralphie is going through. You can tell how much passion was put in between his acting and narrating throughout the film. It was almost as if he took it personally to ensure that they kept the legacy of the original intact—genuinely outstanding work by Billingsley.

Speaking of the original, one of the more impressive things about the film was how much it had that authentic feel. Taking us back into the old town and seeing the houses and flashbacks, you can’t help but be reeled into this world, and I loved it. They even used some similar notes to the original score. Of course, using many of the original actors from the first film helped out too. The writers and people behind the scenes knew they had to handle this story delicately and knocked it out of the park.

Look, I was very nervous about this movie because the original is a Valero household staple during the holiday season. My wife plays it ALL DAY during Christmas. But honestly, this movie is incredible. It’s funny, charming, and filled with so much nostalgia. They did right by the original, which makes me so happy. I can’t wait to add this to the yearly holiday watch schedule.

Overall, A Christmas Story Christmas aligns with the other great nostalgic films of the year ( Top Gun: Maverick , Clerks III ). You will laugh, cry, laugh, and be in the most incredible, joyous mood after you are done watching it. It’s the perfect movie to jumpstart your Christmas spirit. You won’t want to miss this one.

What did you think of A Christmas Story Christmas? Comment below.

Additional reading:

• A Christmas Story Christmas ending explained .
• What are the 5 scariest and most violent Christmas movies?
• Best Christmas Movies To Watch Out For This Year

Article by Ricky Valero

Ricky Valero joined Ready Steady Cut in January 2022 as a Film and TV writer and critic, and since then has published over 700 articles on the website. Ricky, a recognized movie critic, has been writing about films for almost a decade. Since joining the industry, he has covered numerous movie festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, AFI Fest, and SXSW Festival, and is a member of the prestigious Critics Choice Association.

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Review: Another Forgettable Entry in the Holiday Sequel Annals

Kate erbland, editorial director.

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When Bob Clark’s “ A Christmas Story ” hit theaters the week before Thanksgiving 1983, no one could have foreseen the cultural impact the family comedy would have on the holiday film canon. A modest box office showing (it took in $2 million its first week and failed to crack $20 million during its full run), mixed reviews , and some awards attention from Canada’s Genie Awards added up to a hazy picture of a film that was good enough but hardly a game-changer. Later, of course, came the television airings, landing the film in near-constant rotation during the holiday season and turning it into an unexpected holiday favorite. Familiarity, it seems, didn’t breed contempt when it came to this TNT and TBS staple; it only inspired outright adoration.

Nearly 40 years after the film’s initial release — and just in time to capitalize on those same TV showings that will carry it through the next six weeks — comes the inevitable: a sequel. There’s certainly fertile ground to cover here, as both Clay Kaytis’ clunkily titled “ A Christmas Story Christmas ” and its predecessor were inspired by Jean Shepherd’s sprawling “Parker Family Saga,” based on the author’s own stories, which in turn led to books, radio plays, movies (including “A Christmas Story 2,” which does not exist in this new timeline), and much more.

And yet, despite the apparent warmth with which Kaytis, co-screenwriter Nick Schenk, and returning star and co-writer Peter Billingsley approach the material, whatever magic propelled the original to holiday film canon glory is sorely lacking. Also lacking: availability. Thanks to the magic of contractual agreements, the streaming-only feature will likely never appear in rotation on the same cable channels that made the original such a hit. Instead, it will exist as a curiosity only available to the HBO Max subscriber faithful and the Parker family super-fans who seek it out. Forgettable in execution and  convoluted in availability? It’s enough to make a fan want to shoot their eye out.

Set in the ’70s, “A Christmas Story Christmas” finds our hero Ralphie (Billingsley) taking on the role of patriarch of the Parker family. He’s a husband and father, a struggling writer, and things are challenging even before he gets some heartbreaking news: his father (aka The Old Man) passed away just days before Christmas. Suddenly, making the holiday bright isn’t just an ideal to strive for; it’s the only thing that can cheer up his heartbroken family, particularly his beloved mother (Julie Hagerty, replacing original star Melinda Dillon, who retired over a decade ago).

Soon enough, Ralph, wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes, who has great chemistry with everyone, especially Hagerty), and cute kids Mark (River Drosche) and Julie (Julianna Layne) are hightailing it out of their avocado-green Chicago apartment to head home to Hohman, Indiana, to have the kind of Christmas the Parkers have made their bread and butter. That means folksy anecdotes about Midwest living, kids obsessing over essential presents, and salivating over the sparkling windows of local department store Higbee’s. Lies about Santa are told, casseroles are consumed, and a genial tone reigns supreme, even if it is often deflated by increasingly convoluted storylines and a fairly understandable interest in stuffing the film with winks and nods to the original.

And, yes, nods to the first film run the gamut, from the eye-rollingly obvious (Ralph tries to sweeten up a potential publisher with a holiday gift, just as he did with his teacher so many years ago) to the genuinely fun (the Parkers’ neighbors, the Bumpus clan, continue to offer a home for a large pack of carousing dogs, with a snuggly addition). Billingsley is joined by a cadre of other returning stars, like his old pals Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R.D. Robb), his little brother Randy (Ian Petrella), and forever nemesis Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), which adds some sparkle to the entire outing.

Inevitably, many lessons are learned (are Ralph and Sandy coddling their kids? do bullies ever change? is a “triple dog dare” really the worst thing you can be challenged with?), and mistakes are met with both laughs and understanding. The Old Man is retconned into being the biggest, best champion of Christmas in the entire world, a bastion of holiday cheer and happiness, a glossy take on a lovingly curmudgeonly character, and one that totally misses the point of his appeal.

No one tries to assemble a leg lamp. One person does nearly get their eye shot out. A kid pukes on Santa. Play the hits!

But there’s something oddly manufactured about this whole thing. If “A Christmas Story” was an unexpected hit that took off because of its offbeat charm and amusing familiarity, Kaytis’ film feels crafted totally in its image, afraid to be its own thing at nearly every turn. Fans of the first film will likely be beset by the sense that something is just slightly off about everything in “A Christmas Story Christmas,” like the persistent voiceover from Billingsley (who takes over from the dulcet tones of Shepherd himself, who memorably narrated the first film) to the meticulously recreated Parker family home (built from the ground up in Europe, whereas the original was shot in Cleveland).

It’s not a sequel; it’s a replica. And while that might bring some comfort and joy during the holiday season, wouldn’t you rather savor the real thing?

“A Christmas Story Christmas” starts streaming on HBO Max on Thursday, November 17.

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Shoots Your Eye Out With Nostalgia

A MAJOR AWARD

The sequel to the 1983 holiday classic is a completely unnecessary retread of the original—until its reminder of the tinsel-covered weight of our own mortality makes you sob.

Coleman Spilde

Entertainment Critic

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/HBO Max

Christmas, perhaps more than any other holiday, is a time that has the word “nostalgia” practically baked into its framework. We find comfort in the rituals passed down to us from family and friends when we were young, and then take joy in creating new ones when we’re older. For some of us, even a slight chill in the air is enough to conjure those memories. It’s why some people are so keen on celebrating Christmas the minute November 1 rolls around . Who can resist a free, two-month pass to bask in the warm glow of the past?

A Christmas Story Christmas —HBO Max’s newly streaming, 39-year-later follow-up to the beloved 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story —knows this well. It’s a film that understands our predilection toward sentimentality. Hell, it wouldn’t exist if its predecessor didn’t so vividly recapture the memories of an old-fashioned 1940s Christmas. From the jump, it stabs you right in the heart for a second, twisted dose of yearning for simpler times by throwing the old Warner Bros. logo from the late 20th century right in your face.

Set in 1973, 33 years after the events of the first film, A Christmas Story Christmas checks back in with Ralphie (Peter Billingsley, reprising his famous role). Now an adult, Ralphie is returning home to his old house in Hammond, Indiana , with a family of his own, following the death of his spitfire father. In the wake of his Old Man’s passing, Ralphie is determined to honor him by giving his family a Christmas as memorable as the one he had all those years ago.

Both unfortunately and unsurprisingly, this leads to a pretty basic plug-and-go structure, with most of the film’s plot replicating the first film beat by beat, just with the dust blown off of it. Its comforts are familiar, and at times very amusing, but after a while, one wonders if A Christmas Story Christmas is going to be anything but cash-grabbing nostalgia-bait—a reminder that we’re all rapidly hurtling towards demise. That is, until the last 20 minutes of the film, when it makes a play for your heartstrings that is so heinously effective, it’s impossible not to fall prey to its wistful charms and have an old-fashioned holiday sobfest.

Photo by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images

Ralphie’s still got his same haircut (now darker and grayed a bit), the same big spectacles, and the same hopeless drive. He’s traded his longing for a Red Ryder BB gun for a shot at becoming a writer, taking a sabbatical from his career to attempt to write the next great American novel. He’s made a pact with his wife, Sandy (Erin Hayes), that if he fails, he’ll return to work in the new year. Turned down by publisher after publisher, Ralphie is staring down the barrel of Christmas with only a few chances left.

When news of his father’s passing comes just weeks before the holiday, Ralphie is devastated. He’s always had a complicated relationship with his father, but it's one that he wouldn’t trade for the world. So, he scoops his family up and hits the road for Indiana, hoping to revive the spirit of Christmas by forcing them all through the same experiences that made the holiday from 1940 such a standout.

Yes, if you’re looking for a stroll down memory lane this season, you’ve got it here. There are trips to the Higbie’s department store to see the Santa who kicked Ralphie down the slide as a child; run-ins with the Bumpus family next door and a new batch of neighborhood bullies; kids who are desperate for the hottest toys of the moment; and even Ralphie’s car is a piece of shit, just like his Old Man’s.

What’s more, almost the entire original cast returns, with the exception of Ralphie’s Mother (Melinda Dillon), now played by Julie Hagerty, whose warmth and humor make a sufficient stand-in for the beleaguered Parker matriarch. There’s even that old, familiar narration throughout, and Billingsley does a remarkable job at holding up to the stature of Jean Shepherd’s iconic voiceover from the first film.

All that recycled nostalgia is pretty amusing at first, but it wears thin. And it doesn’t take much to see through the small changes either. Instead of frozen flagpoles to stick their tongues to, there’s a frozen junkyard ramp that becomes the triple-dog-dare sledding deathtrap. Most of the jokes ask you, “Isn’t it funny that this thing is like that other thing ?”

Photo by Yana Blajeva/HBO Max

How much you enjoy A Christmas Story Christmas will depend on your threshold for this kind of inconspicuous nostalgia. It’s like some spiked eggnog—a little makes you feel warm, and happy, recalling old memories of days of yore. Too much makes you feel deeply depressed about the state of, well, everything.

That’s the real insidious kicker of A Christmas Story Christmas , it not only plays on our natural habit of ruminating on the past, but our fear of mortality as well—and to gut-punching results. When Ralphie returns to his childhood home—an exact replica of the original house from the first film—he looks around for the first time without his father there. Soundbites of Darren McGavin’s beloved lines from the first film echo over the scene while Ralphie’s narration tells us, “It struck me that my Old Man’s voice would never echo through these halls again.” It’s such a cheap ploy for emotion, but damn effective nonetheless. I laughed and got choked up at the same time.

A Christmas Story Christmas isn’t entirely a regurgitated turkey bone of a movie, it does have some big laughs of its own and a decent dose of originality. (There’s a scene about the treacherous nature of door-to-door carolers that’s particularly hilarious.) But where it really finds its groove is in the film’s last half hour, an incredibly sentimental coda that hits like a brick, reminding us why coming together with our families each year is a gift more precious than anything under the tree. A fair warning to anyone grieving the loss of a loved one this season: put this one on the shelf until next year.

A Christmas Story became such a beloved film because its comedy was derived from creating a family that was both unlike anything we’d ever seen before and completely like our own. The Parkers had their own language and customs; The Old Man would scream things so hoarsely into the night sky that they were unintelligible, and yet we understood them because all of our dads have done some version of the same thing.

For some of us (present company included), the film was released before we were even born and still managed to become an annual staple watch. And though the sequel might rely on repeating that slapstick comedy without really revealing anything new about Ralphie’s family and their own quirks, it manages to work by twisting the knife to make us not just nostalgic for what we had, but grateful for what we have.

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Both warmly nostalgic and darkly humorous, A Christmas Story deserves its status as a holiday perennial.

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In the holiday season of 1983, director Bob Clark ( Black Christmas ) took audiences back in time to the era of the 1940s and introduced them to the beloved Parker family. More specifically, we were introduced to Ralphie Parker ( Peter Billingsley ), as he looked for every avenue possible to convince his parents to buy him a BB gun, only to be repeatedly told that he would shoot his eye out. The film wasn't exactly a box office smash upon its release, but in the following years, it has become one of the most well-known and beloved holiday classics of all time . Not only is the film endlessly quotable and laugh-out-loud hysterical, but it also has elements that families who celebrate Christmas can relate to. Most notably, the family dynamic is one of the best in any holiday film, where the family members are driving each other crazy one second, and comforting each other in the next.

Calling A Christmas Story (1983) a cult classic doesn't even really seem fair, as it's become so well-known to the point where every person on the street can quote at least one line from Ralphie's story. The marketing potential of the iconic film is also off the charts, with plenty of merchandise and Christmas decorations getting sold every year, with the infamous fragile leg lamp almost constantly making an appearance. The film even got the Broadway musical treatment in 2012, going on to receive three Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. Finally, to drive home how much people love the movie, TBS holds a twenty-four-hour marathon consisting of just A Christmas Story on a loop.

We got that sequel in 2012 with A Christmas Story 2 , and we've done our darnedest to forget that it exists. Thankfully, another sequel is set to release later this year with A Christmas Story Christmas (2022) . Now Ralphie is all grown up in the era of the 1970s, and unlike that straight-to-video sequel that we're still going to pretend never happened, A Christmas Story Christmas will feature some cast members from the original classic. Who exactly is returning this time around? Is the new film releasing or in theaters? Will we ever find out if Little Orphan Annie had anything more to her secret message beyond telling kids to drink their Ovaltine? Read below to find out everything we know so far about the return of Ralphie Parker (as well as a few of his old friends).

Related: 'A Christmas Story Christmas' Teaser: Peter Billingsley Returns as Ralphie Parker

The one-minute trailer sizzle features some visuals that fans will almost certainly recognize from the original film, including the untouched Parker family living room, the lampshade of Old Man Parker's ( Darren McGavin ) notorious 'major award', and a framed photo consisting of Ralphie and his two best friends Flick ( Scott Schwartz ) and Schwartz ( R.D. Robb ). We got a much better look at what’s in store for A Christmas Story Christmas , showing Ralphie, along with his new family, reuniting with childhood friends Flick and Schwartz as well as his dear mother. Ralphie is currently dealing with the passing of his 'Old Man', and now is told by his mother that the responsibility of giving the Parker family a Christmas to remember lies on him. That’s much easier said than done, as it will more than likely be a hectic affair with numerous callbacks to the original film, such as Ralphie reminding his kids not to get kicked by Santa and Flick getting revenge on Schwartz with his very own triple dog dare.

Upon its announcement, A Christmas Story Christmas is now confirmed to be streaming exclusively on HBO Max . The holiday film was released in 2022 and had no plans for a theatrical release — which affected Ralphie's hopes of ever winning an Oscar. That's probably for the best, as Ralphie probably would have poked his eye out again with the trophy.

Watch on Max

HBO Max released A Christmas Story Christmas on November 17th, 2022. Hardly a coincidental release, as this would make it thirty-nine years almost to the day since the release of the classic that started it all.

Related: 'Spirited': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far About the Ryan Reynolds-Will Ferrell Christmas Musical

The brief yet official synopsis for A Christmas Story Christmas confirms that this will be Ralphie's most personal story yet, where the character is obviously far wiser and more mature at his adult age.

Follows Ralphie, now adult, who returns to the house on Cleveland street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man.

That last line implies that the sequel will at the very least be partially a tribute to the late Darren McGavin, whose role as Ralphie's potty-mouthed father has become known as one of his most famous roles. Now the role of the patriarch has passed onto Ralphie who now has a family of his own, and only time will tell if he'll father in his father's footsteps or take a wholly new approach to parenthood this holiday season.

In addition to starring in the film, Peter Billingsley ( Iron Man ) will also be producing, along with Vince Vaughn ( The Internship ), Mike Drake ( Riddick ), Iliya Sotirov ( The Toxic Avenger ), and Nick Schenk ( Manhunt ). Schenk, the writer of Gran Torino (2008), will also be co-writing with the film's director, Clay Kaytis ( The Christmas Chronicles ).

Other members rounding out the jolly crew of filmmakers include composer Jeff Morrow ( Olaf's Frozen Adventure ), editor David Heinz ( The Call of the Wild ), and costume designer Shay Cunliffe ( Westworld ).

The biggest news by far is Peter Billingsley's return as Ralphie. Since playing the iconic role, Billingsley has mainly stuck to appearing in smaller cameo roles, such as Ming Ming the Elf in Elf (2003) and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe with both Iron Man (2008) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Billingsley isn't the only star returning either. He'll once again be joined by Ian Petrella ( Crimes of Passion ) as Ralphie's brother Randy Parker, Scott Schwartz ( The Toy ) as the frozen pole-licking Flick, R.D. Robb ( Matilda ) as the triple dog daring Schwartz, and finally Zack Ward ( Freddy vs. Jason ) as Ralphie's former bully Scut Farkas, who has now reportedly become a police officer since getting cussed out and beaten senseless by Ralphie.

One of the few major actors from the original not returning is Melinda Dillon ( Close Encounters of the Third Kind ) as Ralphie's Mother , but reportedly she has been recast with Julie Hagerty ( Airplane! ). The rest of the cast is rounded out by the members of Ralphie's family, including Erinn Hayes ( Bill & Ted Face the Music ) as Ralphie's wife Sandy, as well as River Drosche ( Gaslit ) and Julianna Layne ( Prodigal Son ) as his children Mark and Julie.

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‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ Review: Ralphie’s Return Mixes New Holiday Gags With Labored Fan Service

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Because 1983’s “ A Christmas Story ” has achieved iconic status among holiday movies and has become a nostalgic cornerstone to millions of fans who revisit it every December, it’s easy to forget that the film’s initial success came from its skewering of nostalgia itself.

The original tagline ironically called the film “A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas,” and director Bob Clark’s adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s comic reminiscences struck a chord precisely because it revealed the greed, venality, occasional cruelty, and recognizably human behavior that lurked beneath the Norman Rockwell façade of hazy Yuletide memories.

After several unsuccessful attempts to craft a sequel to Clark’s film, we finally get “A Christmas Story Christmas,” which brings back several of the original movie’s cast members. While it spends perhaps too much of its running time either recreating or directly quoting moments from its 1983 predecessor, it still manages to land some new and original gags of its own.

Also Read: 4 Original ‘A Christmas Story’ Cast Members Return for Sequel

The first film harkened back four decades to the 1940s, and this sequel looks back to December 1973, which finds middle-aged Ralphie ( Peter Billingsley , who also produced and co-wrote) in the bleak midwinter of his discontent: He’s got until the end of the year to find a publisher for his science-fiction magnum opus (which 14 of a possible 15 companies have already rejected), and he gets a call from his mom ( Julie Hagerty , taking over for Melinda Dillon) telling him that his larger-than-life father, “the Old Man,” has passed away.

Also Read: Vince Vaughn-Produced Comedy ‘Christmas With the Campbells’ Acquired by RLJE, AMC+

Ralphie’s parents usually come to Chicago for the holidays, but his dad’s passing means he needs to take his family — wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes, “Bill and Ted Face the Music”), son Mark (River Drosche, “Miracle Workers”) and daughter Julie (Julianna Layne, “Prodigal Son”) — back to the old homestead to throw a “perfect” Christmas in his father’s honor. Attempts at perfection are, of course, a recipe for disaster, and one after another occurs, from the theft of the Christmas presents to an escalating series of winter-related injuries befalling all of Ralphie’s family members.

Going home gives Ralphie the opportunity to reconnect with old pals like Flick (Scott Schwartz) and Schwartz (R.D. Robb), as well as former nemesis Scut Farkus (Zack Ward), and “A Christmas Story Christmas” takes every opportunity to insert old footage to remind us of their (and much of the audience’s) childhood. Director Clay Katis did a brilliant job of updating the “Peanuts” TV specials with this year’s “To Mom (and Dad), With Love,” and when he trusts the new material and his talented ensemble, he scores some wonderful new comedic moments, from the family attempting to avoid aggressive carolers to Ralphie skillfully completing the holiday shopping while his wife and mom knock back martinis in the lounge at Higbee’s department store.

Too often, alas, the film falls into the sequel trap of “we did it then, we gotta do it again now.” It doesn’t dip into this repetition as aggressively as, say, “Coming 2 America,” but these hollow callbacks often feel like a betrayal of both the original film and the hilarious writing that inspired it. (In the narration department, Billingsley is no Jean Shepherd, but to be fair, it’s never as evocative to narrate in the present tense as it is to look backwards.)

Also Read: Peacock to Become Hallmark Streaming Partner, Just in Time for Christmas

It’s always a pleasure to see Hagerty, and Hayes takes a mostly underwritten role and imbues it with comic warmth. There isn’t a ton for the returning vets to do, but Christmas has always been a time to run into people you used to know, see how they’ve aged, give them a hug, and then walk away when everyone runs out of conversation.

Mostly filmed in Bulgaria, this sequel nails the wintry midwestern feel of the material, and the 1973 period touches look accurate without getting too cartoonish. “A Christmas Story Christmas” won’t ever stand up on its own in the holiday pantheon, but unlike “A Summer Story” or the direct-to-video “A Christmas Story 2,” it makes for a suitable decoration to hang off the original.

“A Christmas Story Christmas” premieres on HBO Max Nov. 17.

A Christmas Story Christmas Review: The Holiday Classic's Magic Can't Be Replicated, But It's The Thought That Counts

It's been almost 40 years since the holiday classic "A Christmas Story" followed young Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) as he pined for the ultimate Christmas gift back in the glory days of the 1940s: an official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. The original 1983 holiday comedy has become a fierce favorite around the holidays, so much so that it's earned a now-traditional 24-hour marathon every single year, stretching from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. 

Now Peter Billingsley has returned for "A Christmas Story Christmas," which seeks to give fans a legacy-quel that follows an adult Ralphie as he attempts to give his own family a Christmas they'll never forget. Not only is Billingsley back as Ralphie in front of the camera, with his brilliant and occasionally mischievous blue eyes still shining bright behind rounded spectacles, but he also has a big role behind the scenes as both a producer and co-writer. Though the film expectedly follows in the snowboot footsteps of its predecessor, for better and for worse, there comes an added layer of heart as Ralphie, his wife Sandy (Erinn Hayes), son and daughter (River Drosche and Julianna Layne), and mother (Julie Hagerty stepping in for Melinda Dillon) come to terms with the sudden passing of The Old Man (the late Darren McGavin) just a few days before Christmas.

Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas

The reason " A Christmas Story " has endured after all these years is because of how it washes away the Norman Rockwell-esque glimmer of Christmas in America. Rather than giving us an endlessly chipper family unconditionally loving each other in the 1940s and basking in the joy of togetherness during the holiday season, director/co-writer Bob Clark and the stories of author Jean Shepard give us the Parkers and a handful of neighborhood kids incessantly barking at each other in the days leading up to Christmas. 

Ralphie and his brother Randy are endlessly fighting with each other. The Old Man is always pissed off about something. Ralphie's mother never gets a warm meal to herself. Every kid in the movie, including Ralphie's friends, is a scheming or whiny brat of some kind. But most importantly, Ralphie is desperately vying for that Red Ryder BB gun, even after his first brush with corporate-sponsored disappointment thanks to a crummy commercial for Ovaltine. There's greed, crass capitalism, pettiness, bitterness, bullying, peer pressure, and a dysfunctional Midwestern family who is at each other's throats. It flies directly in the face of the roundtable of smiling family members surrounding a steaming turkey dinner and the shiny tinsel of the perfect Christmas that graced the covers of "The Saturday Evening Post." But that doesn't mean there isn't love and a helping of true holiday magic at the center of all that dysfunction, and that's what makes "A Christmas Story" so beloved to this day.

Thankfully, "A Christmas Story Christmas" keeps the spirit of casual cynicism and irresistible charm alive as it flashes forward to 1973 (and ignores "A Christmas Story 2" ). This time, Ralphie is after two things. First, he wants to sell his lengthy sci-fi novel "Neptune's Oblivion" to a big Chicago publisher after spending a year on the book and hoping to break free from the rat race of the big city. But that takes somewhat of a backseat to helping give his widowed mother and the rest of his family a memorable Christmas to help alleviate the grief they're all feeling after the passing of The Old Man. Both of these story threads fuel the ups and downs of a Christmas filled with friendly reunions, slapstick antics, some clever family comedy, and of course a big holiday heart. But the overall result is a mixed bag that is weighed down by clumsy nostalgia.

Heavy-handed nostalgia

"A Christmas Story Christmas" mostly stays close to the path of its predecessor (and thankfully stays far from any other sequels that followed ) once Ralphie and his family head back to Hohman, Indiana after Ralphie's mother calls with the bad news. Once Ralphie's mother says she doesn't want to wallow in sadness, she makes her son promise to deliver the perfect Christmas. From there, we get plenty of family flourishes from the original movie: finding a Christmas tree, decorating it, shopping at Higbee's department store, seeing Santa Claus, dealing with neighborhood bullies, and all that jazz. 

Peter Billingsley is also providing the film's narrative voiceover all the way through. It's a somewhat distracting change, as it never feels quite as natural or clever as Jean Shepard's narration in the original, mostly because there's not much of a perspective shift between the adult Ralphie we're watching and the one narrating the story. In the sequel, the narration acts more as a present-day inner monologue rather than a wiser voice from the future looking back on the past. The good news is that Billingsley still has some of that boyish charm from his childhood, allowing him to ham it up for comedy while still giving a touching performance when the story requires it. Ralphie even still has silly daydreams that provide some goofy levity.

The biggest problem with "A Christmas Story Christmas" is that it tries too hard to remind you about the warm feelings that the first movie gives fans. The allusions to the original film are painfully obvious, and they're occasionally made unnecessarily more obvious by having quick, intrusive flashes of clips or lines from "A Christmas Story" for those who somehow don't remember for whatever reason. Do we really need to hear The Old Man's line about Ralphie looking like a "pink nightmare" when we see the pink bunny suit that Ralphie was famously forced to wear on Christmas? Isn't just the sight of the bunny suit in a dusty box enough to get the point across? It would be as if, when we saw the Millennium Falcon in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," we heard Han Solo's voice echo, "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts," just as Finn and Rey run towards the ship to make their escape. It's constantly reminding you how much you love "A Christmas Story," almost to the point that you might feel like you should be watching that for the umpteenth time instead.

Don't shoot your eye out just yet

Where "A Christmas Story Christmas" succeeds is in creating new vignettes that capture the more unsung elements of life in the 1970s, especially around the holidays. There are funny flourishes like the terror that the local barflies feel when the hometown pub's phone rings with a wife looking for their absent husband, and these scenes are the best showcase for returning cast members R.D. Robb and Scott Schwartz as Ralphie's childhood friends Schwartz and Flick. Comparatively, the return of Ian Petrella as Ralphie's brother Randy feels tacked on in the worst way possible.

The Parkers are still a family without a lot of money, so there are also practical discussions about the family budget and affording a good Christmas for the kids, something that rings true to the middle-class nature of the original. Ralphie's family shares some of the same snarky banter too, especially when it comes to having the kids decorate the tree while the adults watch and drink wine. Those kinds of conversations take a turn to familiar cynical comedy, especially when the kids are told that they might need to lower their expectations when it comes to the Christmas gifts they'll receive. Their reaction is predictably upset when they're told to focus on gratitude and to remember that trite phrase, "It's the thought that counts." All of these moments allow for some decently hearty laughs. 

Even so, part of the problem with "A Christmas Story Christmas" is that, on more than one occasion, it feels more like a legacy-quel for " National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation " than the franchise it is meant to be paying tribute to, and you'll know those moments when you see them. That's especially true when you realize that, for no clear reason, there's absolutely no funeral planning or even a single mention of what's being done with The Old Man in the wake of his passing, other than an obituary that Ralphie is asked to write by his mother. That ends up providing the emotional backbone for the movie and Ralphie's character arc as an adult, but part of me wishes that emotional core resonated more significantly. And that's coming from someone who lost their father just after the Christmas of 2020, which should make me prime to let the tears flow. 

Unfortunately, no matter how hard "A Christmas Story Christmas" tries to replicate what audiences loved about the original, it can't help but feel overshadowed by the legacy of nostalgia that the 1983 classic inspires. Like "The Force Awakens" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" before it (and plenty of other legacy-quels), this follow-up to "A Christmas Story" relies too much on the reverence for its predecessor without carving out enough remarkable new memories for itself. That doesn't make it downright terrible, but it does make it mostly forgettable and only temporarily entertaining. But you know what? Maybe it really is the thought that counts. 

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’ on HBO Max, A “Legacyquel” That Brings the Holiday Cheer

Where to stream:.

• A Christmas Story Christmas
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2022 is apparently all about dusting off old characters for the holidays. After Disney+ gave us a new take on the Sanderson sisters with Hocus Pocus 2 , HBO Max brings back Ralphie in A Christmas Story Christmas . The unlucky kid is now much older … although whether he’s any wiser is anyone’s guess.

A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Everyone’s favorite woebegone holiday humbug Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) now has two kids of his own when A Christmas Story Christmas finds him in 1973. He’s taking a year off the corporate grind to achieve his dream of writing the next great American novel but his wife’s deadline to get published by the year’s end looms. The unexpected death of his dad means Ralphie now has to be his home’s Father Christmas, ensuring his kids and the entire family have all the fixings for a great holiday. In the absence of a strong head of the house, Ralphie has to face his foibles and fears – many of which have changed little since the last time we saw him in the house on Cleveland Street – to ensure a great Christmas.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Well, obviously, the original 1983 A Christmas Story … though not as heavy-handedly as you might expect. Sure, there’s a brief reappearance of the pink bunny suit, but it’s also quite literally being dredged out of mothballs. The plot of the film more closely resembles another fabled holiday favorite, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation , as Ralphie’s quest to prove himself a worthily providing patriarch for Christmas recalls the travails of Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold.

Performance Worth Watching: All credit to Peter Billingsley for not just re-playing the hits as Ralphie. His performance doesn’t just reheat what fans have loved about the character for decades, instead offering a thoughtful take on where the character would be at this stage in his life. It’s got just enough recognizable hallmarks of the bashful young boy we remember yet is not so tethered to him that we just see a man-child.

Memorable Dialogue: “Sometimes, if we’re lucky, the yuletide stars shine full upon us in a rare moment of truth,” a reflective adult Ralphie begins the film narrating, “and how we react in these moments can forever seal our fate.” It’s a good indication that the film will operate in a more rueful mode as opposed to going for more laugh lines like the unforgettable “you’ll shoot your eye out!” from the original film.

Sex and Skin: The only “ho ho ho”-ing here is from good old Saint Nick himself.

Our Take: A Christmas Story Christmas avoids the worst trappings of sequels that revive long-dormant characters and stories. This is not just fan service replaying the moments we already know and love. The film actually finds a way to authentically transpose similar moments of humor and heart into a more mature, introspective adult version of the protagonist. Credit to director Clay Kaytis, too, for not giving into the frantic line-o-rama style of modern comedy and actually matching the unhurried pace of the original.

Our Call: STREAM IT! While it’s unlikely TBS will program a 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story Christmas , this film is still a warm holiday treat. This legacy-quel is trying for something a little different, and it works as its own thing as a nice enough Christmas tale. (For those who just want the original, it’s still there to rewatch for the hundredth time!)

Marshall Shaffer is a New York-based freelance film journalist. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, Little White Lies and many other outlets. Some day soon, everyone will realize how right he is about  Spring Breakers.

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A christmas story, common sense media reviewers.

Wonderful antidote to cutesy holiday tales; some swearing.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Shows kids growing up in the 1930s/'40s listening

Underneath some ironic and satirical humor, this i

Ralphie engages in some iffy behavior (lying to st

A snapshot of White, middle-class Midwestern famil

Kids are bullied daily, mostly yelling and twistin

Ralphie's dad wins a lamp shaped like a woman's st

Strong language, used by both adults and kids, inc

Ralphie is obsessed with getting a Red Ryder BB gu

Ralphie's parents drink wine after opening present

Parents need to know that A Christmas Story has become a perennial holiday favorite. Its 1940s setting offers an appealing sense of nostalgia for those who grew up in middle-class, Midwestern homes. And it really gets what a kid in that setting felt at Christmas -- main character Ralphie (Peter Billingsley)…

Educational Value

Shows kids growing up in the 1930s/'40s listening to the radio for entertainment. Kids can read up more about the "Little Orphan Annie" program.

Positive Messages

Underneath some ironic and satirical humor, this is a warm story about a 1930s/'40s family. It's a refreshing look at a less-than-perfect holiday experience and the unexpected joy that can be found when things don't go as planned. Family and friendship are both valued. Characters learn the value of self-control .

Positive Role Models

Ralphie engages in some iffy behavior (lying to stay out of trouble, getting in a fight, etc.). But he's mostly well intentioned, and he does show determination. And while Ralphie's dad seems like the disciplinarian, it's his mom who hands out the soap when he's caught swearing.

Diverse Representations

A snapshot of White, middle-class Midwestern families in the 1940s, without much other diversity. Ralphie fantasizes about shooting robbers -- two are Black -- and several Black children are in Ralphie's class, but they aren't part of the story. Ralphie's mother (who is never named) and teacher have important roles in Ralphie's life, but they're mainly caretaking and disciplinary ones. Racist statements about "children starving in China" and "bargaining as much as an Arab trader" and stereotyping of Asian people's English pronunciation and food preparation. Though Jewish people go to Chinese restaurants on Christmas, it's treated as a bizarre holiday ritual. Ralphie fantasizes about how sad his parents would be if he were blind.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Kids are bullied daily, mostly yelling and twisting arms behind backs, though Ralphie's friend does come to class with a black eye after one altercation. Ralphie punches a child who's bullying him until he gets a bloody nose. A dream sequence shows Ralphie with his prized BB gun shooting and killing four comical bandits. A kid touches an icy metal pole with his tongue on a dare, and it freezes to the pole. A dog's ear gets caught in a door, and Ralphie's dad jokes about shooting the dogs. Children are physically punished, and Randy believes their dad will kill Ralphie. After meeting an intimidating Santa and his elves, children are forced down a scary slide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Ralphie's dad wins a lamp shaped like a woman's stockinged leg. Ralphie calls it the "soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window" and runs his hand up the leg when his mother's not watching. A bowling ball is dropped onto Ralphie's dad's lap, and he calls it a "blue ball."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language, used by both adults and kids, includes "ass," "son of a bitch," "hell," "hot damn," and insults like "idiot," "dumb," etc. Lots of discussion about the use of profanity, both by Ralphie's father -- who constantly swears while fixing the heater -- and especially by Ralphie himself, when he lets the "F" word slip in front of his dad, which is heard by the audience as "fudge." He's punished with a mouthful of soap.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Ralphie is obsessed with getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Mentions of other brands, some still available (Ovaltine) and some not ( Look magazine). The infamous leg lamp is now a hot holiday item.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Ralphie's parents drink wine after opening presents and his dad offers him a sip -- Mom turns it down for him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that A Christmas Story has become a perennial holiday favorite. Its 1940s setting offers an appealing sense of nostalgia for those who grew up in middle-class, Midwestern homes. And it really gets what a kid in that setting felt at Christmas -- main character Ralphie ( Peter Billingsley ) has to practice self-control to earn his dream gift. That said, both kid and adult characters use and discuss strong language ("ass," "son of a bitch"), and one famous scene involves young Ralphie using the "F" word (though viewers hear the word "fudge"). Afterward, he's punished for swearing by having his mouth washed out with soap. Ralphie is also bullied and eventually beats up his nemesis, then cries afterward. One child sticks his tongue on a flagpole on a dare and needs the fire department to unstick him. A scene set in a Chinese restaurant includes racist stereotypes about Asian people, and Black characters are only robbers or in the background of the story. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (55)
• Kids say (83)

Based on 55 parent reviews

CSM needs to review their review

Racist and weird, what's the story.

A CHRISTMAS STORY is about Ralphie ( Peter Billingsley ), a 9-year-old boy in 1940s Indiana whose entire life is consumed with his one wish: to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. He also has to deal with a seemingly endless wait for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring, a boy who's bullying him, and an overworked department-store Santa. His father ( Darren McGavin ) seems preoccupied with the neighbors' dogs (he hates them), a huge lamp in the shape of a woman's fishnet-stocking-clad leg that he won, the family's furnace, and the Christmas turkey. His mother seems preoccupied with getting his brother to eat and getting the leg lamp out of the house, but both parents manage to come through for a chaotic but very merry Christmas.

Is It Any Good?

Part of the appeal of this movie, based on the memoirs of humorist Jean Shepard (who narrates), is the authenticity of the period detail. Much of Ralphie's world may seem bizarre to kids today, especially if they're from different racial/ethnic, religious, or economic backgrounds, but Shepard's feel for the timeless details of childhood emotions and growing pains is genuinely engaging. Today's kids may not have Ralphie's exquisitely calibrated system of dares and double-dog dares, but they will have some equivalent that's just as thoroughly understood and immutable in their own community. And many will have to deal with bullying, an annoying sibling, an assignment to dream of impressing the teacher with, the adult world to try to figure out, and, most of all, some magic dream of the ultimate gift to hope for beyond all reason.

A Christmas Story is a nice antidote to all those Christmas movies with perfectly harmonized carols and perfectly wrapped gifts. Because people tend to get so obsessive about every single detail at Christmas, the last scene of this movie, when the family's Christmas dinner is exactly the opposite of what they had planned, is especially sweet (other than the racist portrayal of Asian people, that is). Their reaction, seeing it not as a disappointment but as a delightful activity to enjoy remembering in future Christmases, is a lesson for all families.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about bullying in A Christmas Story : What makes people bully others? What makes people befriend people who bully?

Why is it hard for Ralphie to talk to his parents about what he wants for Christmas?

Why is Ralphie so disappointed by the decoder? Do products get advertised during your favorite shows ? Does it sometimes catch you by surprise like it did Ralphie?

How do the characters in A Christmas Story demonstrate self-control ? Why is this an important character strength ?

Did you notice any racial or gender stereotypes in the movie? Why do you think things that were once considered socially acceptable (or funny) can later turn into things that feel awkward or wrong ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 18, 1983
• On DVD or streaming : October 7, 2009
• Cast : Darren McGavin , Melinda Dillon , Peter Billingsley
• Director : Bob Clark
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Holidays
• Character Strengths : Self-control
• Run time : 98 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• Last updated : February 17, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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What Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Are Saying About A Christmas Story Christmas

If you have ever warned another person about playing around with a BB gun, tempted one to put their tongue on a frozen metal pole, or pronounced "fragile" like it is an Italian word, then you are probably familiar with "A Christmas Story." Released in 1983, "A Christmas Story" follows the young Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) as he tells a series of stories involving his family, Christmas, and a coveted item that he wants for the holiday — a Red Ryder BB gun. The movie has ingrained itself deeply in pop culture, and every year, several channels play the movie on repeat for the entire duration of Christmas.

Flash forward to contemporary times, and it looks like fans of the film are getting another helping of the classic in the form of "A Christmas Story Christmas." Bringing back several of the original actors from the 1983 film, this new movie shows off a now-adult Ralphie and his family, and Ralphie is given the task of making this Christmas a special holiday in memory of his late father. The trailer for "A Christmas Story Christmas" promises a fresh look at well-loved characters, and it will be interesting to see if this new film is able to recapture the magic of the first. Now that a popular review site is publishing the opinion of critics, here's a look at what they are saying about "A Christmas Story Christmas."

A Christmas Story Christmas is around 70% on Rotten Tomatoes

So, what is the critical response to "A Christmas Story Christmas" looking like so far? At the time of this writing, the critic score on Rotten Tomatoes is hovering between 60 and 70%, which means that it has delighted some, and aggravated others. The Wrap's  Alonso Duralde said of the film, "[It] won't ever stand up on its own in the holiday pantheon, but unlike 'A Summer Story' or the direct-to-video 'A Christmas Story 2,' it makes for a suitable decoration to hang off the original."

Owen Gleiberman of Variety feels like "A Christmas Story Christmas" is a gentle response to the first film, and explained that this new movie has a soft center that doesn't feel like eggnog spiked with a Long Island Ice Tea. Others also felt pretty good about "A Christmas Story Christmas," with Pop Culture Planet 's Kristen Maldonado saying, "While [it] starts a little slow, it snowballs (pun intended) successfully into the nostalgia and edginess of the original classic. You'll feel the warm fuzzies as they head back to Higbee's and honor 'the Old Man' — plus the original kid cast all return." Fred Topel of United Press International elaborated their thoughts by saying that Ralphie retreads many of the story beats from the original film, but there is a reasonable basis for that because families often have Christmas traditions that are never quite the same each year.

Not all critics were kind to A Christmas Story Christmas

Unfortunately, not all critics were kind to "A Christmas Story Christmas." Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth said of the film, "It's worth watching for fans, and some might even be able to convince themselves it's great, but to do so would be no better than watching (in the first film) the Old Man talk himself into believing the leg-lamp giveaway prize is exciting and valuable." Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave "A Christmas Story Christmas" a C+ in her review, and said that the movie isn't a sequel, but rather a replica, and even though it may bring some comfort and joy this holiday season, they ponder if one would rather just watch the original "A Christmas Story."

TV Guide 's Matthew Jacobs was also apprehensive about this new chapter of the "A Christmas Story" series, and stated, "Sure, it's just a harmless sequel, but 'A Christmas Story Christmas' might leave you feeling like the adult Ralphie did in 1983, peering into the snow globe of your memories to recall a more idealized time." 

Between all of these reviews, both positive and negative, one can glean that "A Christmas Story Christmas" has plenty of nostalgia for long-time fans, but one shouldn't expect this sequel to reinvent the proverbial Christmas wheel. Still, for die-hard "A Christmas Story" aficionados, this movie may prove a suitable addition to their repertoire of holiday-based movies.