A Christmas Story Christmas

2022 film by Clay KaytisTemplate:SHORTDESC:2022 film by Clay Kaytis

***A Christmas Story Christmas*** is a 2022 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis with a script he co-wrote with Nick Schenk, from an original story co-written by Schenk and Peter Billingsley. It is a legacy sequel to *A Christmas Story* (1983) and is the eighth installment in the *Parker Family Saga* franchise, while ignoring the events of *My Summer Story* (1994) and *A Christmas Story 2* (2012). The film was produced by Billingsley and Vince Vaughn along with Cale Boyter, Jay Ashenfelter, Marc Toberoff and Irwin Zwilling. Billingsley reprises his role as Ralphie Parker alongside Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, R. D. Robb, Zack Ward, and Yano Anaya returning as Randy, Flick, Schwartz, Scut Farkus, and Grover Dill respectively. Erinn Hayes, River Drosche, and Julianna Layne play Ralphie's wife and kids, with Julie Hagerty (replacing Melinda Dillon from the original film) as Mrs. Parker. In the film, after the Old Man dies, Ralphie takes his family to his childhood home, reuniting with his mother and old friends, while being tasked to deliver a memorable Christmas.

*A Christmas Story Christmas* was released in the United States on November 17, 2022, on HBO Max.

## Plot

In December 1973, 33 years after the events of *A Christmas Story*, 42-year-old Ralph "Ralphie" Parker lives in Chicago with his wife, Sandy, and two children, Mark and Julie. Ralph has been taking the year off from his job to write his first novel, but its excessive length leads multiple publishers to reject it. Mrs. Parker calls to tell Ralph that his father, "the Old Man", has died, and the grief-stricken family makes its way to Hohman, Indiana to be with her. She gives Ralph two tasks: write his father's obituary, and take up his mantle of making Christmas special for the family.

Ralph's children befriend one of the Bumpus kids next door, and have their snowman smashed by two bullies on a snowmobile. Ralph reunites with Flick, who now owns his father's old tavern, and Schwartz, who still lives with his mother and has run up a large tab at Flick's. While leaving the house to go ice skating, Sandy slips and sprains her ankle.

As Christmas Eve approaches, the family goes to Higbee's, where Ralph miraculously buys everything Mark and Julie asked for while the children speak to the store's Santa. On the way back, Ralph's car overheats, and Ralph accidentally hits Julie in the eye during an impromptu snowball fight. After Julie receives a temporary eyepatch at the hospital, the family discovers their car was robbed in the hospital parking lot; the presents are gone, and there is little money left to replace them.

Back at Flick's, Flick offers to forgive Schwartz's tab if he sleds off a giant ramp; Schwartz manages to complete the stunt, but Mark breaks his arm sledding down the nearby hill afterwards. After Ralph is rejected by his final prospective publisher, he laments his difficulties, but is encouraged by his mother and Sandy. Remembering his favorite Christmas with his father inspires Ralph to write a long article instead of a standard obituary; however, he leaves it on the desk, needing to prepare for Christmas Day. Mark and Julie manage to get back at their bullies by building a snowman over a tree stump so that the snowmobile crashes.

On Christmas Eve night, the star falls off the Parker's tree and breaks, upsetting Julie. Frustrated, Ralph ignores objections from his wife and his mother and goes out to find a new star. All the local businesses are already closed, so Ralph breaks into Flick's tavern to "borrow" the star from the tree. On his way out, he is apprehended by Scut Farkus, now a Hohman police officer. Ralph is terrified of what Scut might do to him, but Scut brings him home, saying he owes Ralph because their childhood fight set him on a better path in life.

Mrs. Parker goes into the basement to change a fuse and finds several thoughtfully-picked, pre-wrapped gifts, which the Old Man had bought shortly before his death. On Christmas morning, the family is delighted to open them, and all their other presents as well. Ralph is confused by compliments he receives about his piece in the newspaper, and Sandy reveals she found the obituary manuscript and took it to the local paper because of its high quality. The phone rings, and Ralph is offered a new job as a syndicated columnist, fulfilling his dream of becoming a full-time writer. Much of the town comes to the Parker house for Christmas dinner; after dinner concludes, the core family asks Ralph to read them his story about the Old Man. Ralph takes a seat in his father's armchair and begins reading, and his narration slowly transitions into Jean Shepherd's opening narration from the first film.

## Cast

* Peter Billingsley as Ralph "Ralphie" Parker
* Erinn Hayes as Sandy Parker, Ralph's wife
* Julie Hagerty as Mrs. Parker, Ralph's mother (Mrs. Parker was previously portrayed by Melinda Dillon in *A Christmas Story*)
* Ian Petrella as Randy Parker, Ralph's younger brother
* Scott Schwartz as Flick, one of Ralph's childhood friends
* R. D. Robb as Schwartz, one of Ralph's childhood friends
* Zack Ward as Officer Scut Farkus, Ralph's former childhood bully
* River Drosche as Mark Parker, Ralph's son
	+ Billy Brayshaw as Older Mark Parker (in Ralph's imagination)
* Julianna Layne as Julie Parker, Ralph's daughter
	+ Tegan Grace Muggeridge as Older Julie Parker (in Ralph's imagination)
* Cailean and Alistair Galloway as the Snowmobile Bullies, Scut Farkus' sons
* Yano Anaya as Grover Dill, Ralph's childhood bully (in Ralph's imagination)
* David Gillespie as Santa Claus
* Darren McGavin as "The Old Man" (in Ralph's memory; archival recordings from *A Christmas Story* were used)

## Release

TBA

The film made its linear television debut during the 2023 holiday season with airings on Warner Bros.-owned networks TNT and TBS.

### Home media

The film was released on DVD by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on October 31, 2023.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 48 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "It isn't as much fun as an official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time, but *A Christmas Story Christmas* remains a sequel worth celebrating." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

## References

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1. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 24, 2022). [TBA HBO Max Dates Four Holiday Movies Including Sequel 'A Christmas Story Christmas'].
2. ↑ Jacobs, Meredith (2023-10-26). [TBA TBS & TNT Holiday Schedule 2023: 'A Christmas Story', 'Elf', 'Friends' Episodes & More] (en-US).
3. ↑ [TBA A Christmas Story Christmas].

## External links

* Template:IMDb

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