HBO Max’s “A Christmas Story Christmas” hands down a winner

By Matt Pascarella

Rated: PG
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes

The bunny suit. The leg lamp. The bar of soap. That mean Santa. And of course, the famous BB gun. It’s the 1940s and “A Christmas Story” is a tradition every holiday season.

Now, it’s the 1970s and Ralphie Parker is now grown up with a wife and family of his own. When his dad unexpectedly passes away right before Christmas, Ralphie returns home to make sure his mom and family have the kind of Christmas his dad used to give Ralphie and his brother when they were little, but there are a few hiccups along the way.

This nostalgic movie was fun and put me in the spirit of the holidays. It features many from the original cast and several callbacks to the original movie.

“A Christmas Story Christmas” stars Peter Billingsley, Erinn Hayes, River Drosche, Julianna Layne, Julie Hagerty, Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, and Zack Ward.

Life moves fast – one minute you’re playing kick the can with kids named Flick and Schwartz and the next minute you’re paying taxes and pulling out gray hairs. Ralphie Parker (Billingsley) is writing the great American novel and has until the end of the year to find a publisher or he’s returning to the rat race and giving up on writing.

He’s excited to start celebrating Christmas as his parents are coming in two days.

When he gets a call that his dad has died, Ralphie and his family return to his old home in Indiana on Cleveland Street; his mother wants him to make a great Christmas, just like “The Old Man” used to do every year. Ralphie has to pull it off to honor his dad.

Ralphie’s children Julie (Layne) and Mark (Drosche) run into some bullies who are very similar to the ones who used to pick on Ralphie.

He meets his old friends Flick (Schwartz) and Schwartz (Robb) at a bar. They help him brainstorm ideas for the perfect family Christmas – kind of.

On top of all this, his mom wants him to write his dad’s obituary.

On a trip to the department store Higbee’s, Ralphie and his wife, Sandy (Hayes) manages to get everything they need to give the family a perfect Christmas.

After a snowball fight lands Julie in the hospital, with an eye injury of all things, the gifts are stolen from Ralphie’s car.

He must now use the most delicate of parental maneuvers: the lowering of expectations. However, Ralphie won’t give up on a perfect Christmas.

I’m not the biggest fan of “A Christmas Story,” but after seeing this third installment I gave the original another try – it’s not bad, but I found this version more fun.

“A Christmas Story Christmas” is an excellent movie. It’s full of Christmas cheer, is family oriented and will put you in the mood for the holiday. It has a nice message reminding us of what the season is really about, and that it can be filled with a few surprises, when you least expect it.

One Flexible Flyer F-23 Yankee Clipper and one Red Ryder 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle up!

Available on HBO Max. <