It Runs in the Family (1994)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Bob Clark

Writers (WGA):

Jean Shepherd (novels)
Jean Shepherd (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives...

Plot Keywords:

Fishing | Hillbilly | Top | Neighbor | Dog

Cast

Charles Grodin	...	Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Kieran Culkin	...	Ralph 'Ralphie' Parker
Mary Steenburgen	...	Mrs. Parker (Mother)
Christian Culkin	...	Randy Parker
Al Mancini	...	Zudoc, The Old Man's fishing buddy
Troy Evans	...	The Old Man's fishing buddy
Roy Brocksmith	...	Mr. Winchell the Assessor
Glenn Shadix	...	Leopold Doppler, Manager of Orpheum Theater
Dick O'Neill	...	Pulaski, Shopkeeper
Wayne Grace	...	Emil Bumpus
Tedde Moore	...	Miss Shields, Ralphie's Teacher
Whit Hertford	...	Lug Ditka (as Whitby Hertford)
Geoffrey Wigdor	...	Flick
David Zahorsky	...	Schwartz
Darwyn Swalve	...	Big Dickie Bumpus

Also Known As:

My Summer Story

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:T | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Carolco Studios - 1223 North 23rd Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Tedde Moore, who plays Miss Shields, is the only person from A Christmas Story (1983) to reprise her role for the sequel (that is, outside of Jean Shepherd narrating as an adult Ralphie).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Big Dickie is ripping the wood porch off the house, in one shot the stairs are attached to the deck, and then in the next shot they are already on the ground.

Quotes:

Ralph as an Adult: The Old Man was having the time of his life being miserable. It was what he did best.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1976) (TV)

Very unsuccessful sequel.

Jean Shepherd, Bob Clark, and the entire cast and crew seem to be trying really hard with this latecomer sequel to "A Christmas Story" but it just doesn't work.

Now granted, it would be tough for anyone to follow in the footsteps of the beloved characters portrayed so memorably by Darren McGavin (as The Old Man) and Peter Billingsley (as Ralphie) in the original, but the efforts here by Charles Grodin and Kieran Culkin, respectively, are disappointingly feeble. Culkin can be dismissed as merely bland; he's just not much of an actor. Grodin, however, is more problematic. Never the warmest of actors, his skill at playing low-key supporting characters who specialize in dryly delivered asides is unparalleled. But here he's simultaneously trying to pay a tribute to McGavin and convincingly portray a bigger-than-life 'man's man'; in both cases he's not only unconvincing, but actually looks uncomfortable.

Despite the ploddingly episodic script and casting weaknesses, praise should go, once again, to the production design and costuming, nostalgically evoking a bygone era. For some people that may be enough. But overall this a depressing example of filmmakers going to the well once too often.