Customer Reviews

My Summer Story

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ralph Parker is the 10-year-old Indiana boy you may remember from a little film called "A Christmas Story". Well, from his following summer comes "My Summer Story", the tale of Ralph's search for the ultimate killer top to defeat the new head bully, Lug Ditka, the Old Man's war with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpuses, Mom's gravy boat incident at the Orpheum Theater, a trip to the World Exposition, and that all-important first summer of fishing with the Old Man and his buddies.

Before I get into assessing "My Summer Story", class, does everyone here realize that Ralph Parker and his family "existed" well before the American holiday favorite, "A Christmas Story"? To date, there have, in fact, been 6 films about Ralphie, Randy, Mom, the Old Man, Flick Schwartz, and company. Three of them even aired before "A Christmas Story" was even released. I say "aired" because, in fact, 4 of the other Ralphie films were made for PBS's American Playhouse, airing in 1976, 1982, 1983 (okay, not truly sure which appeared first in this case, as A Christmas Story was released in '83 as well), a much later one in 1989, and then there was the feature film sequel we are reviewing here in 1994. You may remember seeing these other Ralphie movies throughout the years on Disney Channel replays. These wonderful films were all based on the writings and radio stories of a true king of all media, Jean Shepherd.

One of America's greatest humorists, Shep's semi-autobiographical tales of the Parker family probably appeal to most because of something he actually claimed to be against (yeah, right), nostalgia. Set in the 1940's and high on Norman Rockwell/Walt Disney type Americana, I don't doubt that many of us Jean Shepherd fans are the same folks who have a devoted love for Mama's Family, the Carousel of Progress, apple pie, and Ernest movies. Whether you grew up in such an all-American setting and lifestyle as the Parkers or just wish you had, there's a charm to it all even when presented with Shep's scoffing reality checks. And that realism and our mix of nostalgic feelings for both the good and bad moments of growing up are what make all the Ralphie films must-sees if not must-owns.

So, to break it down for the many folks who consider themselves major "A Christmas Story" fans but don't even know about the other films, here are some descriptions of them, all narrated by Jean Shepherd, though with other cast members frequently changing:

1976 - The Phantom of the Open Hearth - Ralph is attending the prom. Yes, the TV films were all about a teenage Ralphie. This one also gives us the original film versions of the leg lamp story and the Orpheum dish-night fiasco, and the amusing build-it-yourself house story. It's my least favorite of the Ralphie films to watch though, because it's a bit depressing and probably the hardest to acquire a good copy of today, but still very enjoyable. Never released officially on VHS or disc. Ralph is played by David Elliot here, and the Old Man by the wonderful James Broderick. Mom is played by Barbara Bolton.

1982 - The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters - Matt Dillon plays Ralph in this one! It's probably my favorite of the Ralphie movies outside of "A Christmas Story". In it, Ralph goes on a disastrous blind date, marches in the 4th of July parade with his school band, and gets tangled up with Schwartz in a picnic race against their weasely buddy, Flick. Meanwhile, Mom takes up a washrag chain-letter, neighborhood drunk Ludlow Kissel surprises everyone with a firework from hell, and the Old Man puts on a fireworks display to thrill the masses. It's a must-see on every 4th of July for me, along with 1776, The Patriot, and Johnny Tremain. Great fun! James Broderick and Barbara Bolton return in this one. A wonderful, heartwarming holiday film. Sadly, another that's still only available under the table.

1983 - The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski - Another delightful one here. Teenage Ralph finds his first serious love in his new Polish neighbor, Josephine, but at her family's big Thanksgiving celebration he learns how serious a few dates can be with some families, and it's escape now or wind-up like his pal, the former high-school basketball star thrust too soon into adulthood. This one also explores the Old Man's bad habit of buying used cars and Randy's turn at playing a turkey in a school play. Good movie to watch on a Thanksgiving evening or anytime, but, again, not available officially on VHS or DVD. Forget about Blu-Ray. Ralph is well played by Peter Kowanko here, with George Coe as the Old Man and Barbara Bolton returning as Mom. Katherine Kamhi plays Josephine Cosnowski.

1983 - A Christmas Story - I'm sure you know this one. Ralph, 10 years old and played to perfection by a bespectacled Peter Billingsley, is on a holiday quest to insure himself the gift of a Red Ryder BB gun. A perfect movie and a Christmas classic. The Old Man is also played to perfection here by Kolchak himself, Darren McGavin, and likewise Mom played by Melinda Dillon. Easily available in any format I know of, and currently running for 24 full hours annually on one of those cable networks that starts with a T. At some point, inspired by this film, my family gave up the virtual repeats of Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas Day to instead go out to a local Chinese buffet. We never looked back.

1988 - Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss - The Parker family returned to TV in this one, as we see a barely teenage Ralph, played well by a young Jerry O'Connell of "Sliders" fame, getting his working papers and his miserable first job. In addition, the family dog, little Fuzzhead, runs away. The bulk of the story, however, is the family's maniacal road-trip to their favorite fishing haven, Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss. Another great cast brings another great Ralphie tale to life with the delightful Dorothy Lyman of "Mama's Family" as Mom and James Sikking nicely portraying the Old Man and feeling quite a bit like McGavin's version without it seeming intentional or forced. Available only on VHS so far. I believe Disney holds this one, so I wish they'd quit sitting on it.

1994 - My Summer Story - Well, you already got a synopsis for this one, I'll get more into it below. The Old Man is played here by Charles Grodin. Some folks say he seems to be trying to be Darren McGavin. Personally, I only got that feeling a wee bit when he sounded like he was trying to talk like him in a couple parts. Mostly, he seemed to be playing it on his own and he's enjoyable in the role most of the time. Mary Steenburgen was well cast as Mom, and Kieran Culkin plays Ralph well enough, but Peter Billingsley is a tough act to follow. The only returning cast member, aside from Jean Shepherd narrating as Adult Ralph, is Tedde Moore as Ralph's teacher, Miss Shields. This one was made for the big screen, originally titled "It Runs in the Family". I don't recall it ever actually going to theaters, at least not in my area. Probably had a limited release. The title was wisely changed to "My Summer Story", and the fact that another MGM release is titled "It Runs in the Family" likely causes some confusion at times for folks looking for this film. "My Summer Story" has been released on both VHS and DVD. I prefer the VHS cover to the "house wrapped in a straitjacket" DVD cover, but whatever. Neither is great nor reminiscent of the "A Christmas Story" poster artwork. The Ollie Hopnoodle's VHS cover is much better.

And that's the breakdown. If you find any one of them to be excellent outside of "A Christmas Story", then you'll probably love all of them. However, I realize a lot of folks will only love "A Christmas Story". It's a little different from all the others. It's got a charming, hazy quality and a bit more fantasy to it. It more perfectly portrays a child's viewpoint than any of the other Ralphie flicks, though most of the others show him as a teenager, so that's natural. And, of course, it's a Christmas film, and this is what most folks love about it. It shows an American Christmas the way many of us remember it, flaws and all. The other Ralphie films do the same for growing up, but that doesn't have as wide an appeal without the Christmas subject.

To get more specifically into "My Summer Story", here's what I have to say about it. If you love nostalgic and/or family stuff, you'll love this. However, I know nearly everyone is going to compare it to "A Christmas Story", and that's too bad. When you bring Christmas into the mix, forget it. Christmas beats everything. Christmas rocks, I won't argue it, and what better setting for a film about the good and bad times of childhood? Nevertheless, all the Ralphie films are good films, including "My Summer Story". Granted, "My Summer Story", being the only big screen sequel to "A Christmas Story", is the Ralphie movie that tries the most to copy the style of "A Christmas Story", and this is both good and bad. It's good when they pull it off, and with the same filmmakers behind it (like A Christmas Story, this one was directed by the late Bob Clark), you'd think they'd pull it off totally. The problem is when the attempt to be like "A Christmas Story" is obviously forced. Lacking that lovely haze of an early '80's film, "My Summer Story" tries to recapture the more lighthearted elements of "A Christmas Story" with a few moments of silliness most noticeable in the Old Man's feud with the Bumpuses. For me, these are the weakest parts of the film, because the Bumpuses are just a bit too cartoonlike and some of the feuding moments that are supposed to be hilarious don't quite work for me. And this brings up the other little problem that hurts "My Summer Story". This time around, Jean himself does seem to go a little overboard with his boisterousness during the narration in a few moments, seeming to be trying to make events sound more tremendous than they really are, like Ralph's book report troubles in the beginning. However, boisterous narration and the Bumpus sections aside, which aren't totally without humor and entertainment value (loved the use of Barkley the dog), most of the film is full of Jean Shepherd material with the same spirit and perfect narration as the others. The quest for the perfect top and the ensuing battles, the classic gravy boat incident, the taxman's visit, the World Expo, fishing with dad and the serenity of a perfect summer's night, it's truly wonderful family entertainment. Unlike many sequels, you don't get the same old events from the previous film. That's not a problem with any of the Ralphie films, unless you count the fact that the gravy boat and leg lamp incidents took place in two of the PBS specials before they made it to the theatrical releases.

When all is said and done, is "My Summer Story" a great movie? Yes. Is it better than "A Christmas Story", no, but it's still great and well worth owning if you like nostalgic family films, Jean Shepherd, or any of the cast. I'd rank it about third in the Ralphie films, right after "Great American 4th of July", "Ollie Hopnoodle's" dragging close behind. Though most oldschool Shep fans probably will tell you the three first films (from PBS) are the best, even better than "A Christmas Story", because they are far less sentimental and sweet. Not me though, I'm a Disney guy even more than I'm a Shep fan. "A Christmas Story" is one of my very favorite films, period. Anyway, I was thrilled when "My Summer Story" came to DVD. There are no extras, but at least we get a beautiful widescreen transfer. It's a shame Shep didn't get to make a Halloween related movie. We need more Halloween flicks, and it probably would have been a big hit. Think of it: "A Halloween Story". However, I'd just be happy if the other Ralphie flicks would make it to DVD. They're long overdue.

. . .well, you know, A CHRISTMAS STORY. And that, my friends, is where we all go wrong when we see a flick that's closely related to what's now a family classic. This movie is not nearly as sophisticated as it's predecessor and we can pick it apart for all it's worth just because it's so different. Personally, I'd like to have seen Darren McGavin play the Dad again but hey, Grodin holds up well and if seen as a separate movie on it's own, it has lots of funny vignettes that are all in Shepherd's stories. I thought the funniest scene was when the Bumpus's come dancing over to their horrified neighbor's house. This is a very funny FAMILY picture that can be watched with no qualms about language, subject matter and yet, it's an adult's view of growing up in the 40's. Don't let cynical naysayers keep you from trying this SMALL CLASSIC.

Jean Shepherd was a sadly under rated talent. Although this may not be his best material -- his book, "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories" contains his finest stories -- so much of his work was live ephemeral radio broadcasts that any of it fixed into a more durable form is worth having. In that sense, this video is a "must-have" for Shepherd fans, even if the acting and production aren't up to the standards of his earlier film, "A Christmas Story." It's still a good film, full of humor that can be appreciated at almost any level by almost anyone. If it's not his best, so what? Few writers or comedians today could equal even a mediocre Shepherd effort.

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this movie from all the bad reviews, but was very pleasantly suprised. I can't understand why so many have panned this movie! Its great! In some ways its better than Xmas story, I think the actors were wonderful in this one. If you've never heard of Jean Shepherd or Xmas story maybe you wont get much out of this movie, but for Shep fans like me, you WILL love it!

My kids and I loved the prequel to this, A Christmas Story, and My Summer Story is certainly different, but all in all, it's a wonderful, funny, quirky, film. The reviews quoted here don't do it justice. This is one of the few movies I can watch with the kids almost as often as they watch it, mostly to see Mary Steenburgen throwing the gravy boats, and seeing the little brother catching and eating his goldfish..."a man gets to eat what he catches!" says Dad, played by Charles Grodin. It's a great movie moment. I think I'm going to have to buy this one.

This movie was better than a Christmas Story! It was funnier and more focused! It is such a shame that it is so underrated by everyone! Seriously buy or watch this movie! BTW, when are we going to see a DVD of My Summer Story?! I would pay bucks for that!!

Charles Grodin isn't Darren McGavin, but Mary Steenbergen is great as the mother. The movie does a great job of picking up Indiana in the 1940s -- the visit by the tax assessor itself is worth the price. I'm from the southern part of the state and Jean Shepherd was from the north ('da region,' as Hoosiers would have it) and he was a little older than me -- but he has the language, situations, etc., nailed again, just as he did in "Christmas Story."

This film is as funny and entertaining as "A Christmas Story." There is a third one that is actually my personal favorite called "Ollie Hoopnoodles Haven of Bliss." All three films remind us of when life was fun and simple with time to play. It gives us a fun perspective of life. I highly recommend all three. There is a web site for Jean Sheperd(author)fans.

This movie tells the story of the summer after the events in "Christmas Story". I didn't expect it to be as good as the first movie, and it isn't, but this film has a lot of good moments of its own. No, Ralphie doesn't get his eye shot out, but he does get shot somewhere else in a moment of real hilarity.
Then there are the hillbilly neighbors (remember the dogs? they're ba-ack!). I,m still not sure why their back porch concealed a huge pool of mud, but we get some funny moments out of that. Charles Grodin as the Dad gives a different version than Darren McGavin, but funny in its own right, especially when gleefully shouting "son of a bitch" at the neighborhood cop.
Mary Steenburgen gives a really wild performance as the mother, especially in the tale of the gravy boats.
Kieran Kulkin is very good as Ralphie, but Christian Kulkin gives a good performance as the kid brother, especially in the scene where he shoots Ralphie in the somewhere else. for a part that is mostly mute, he still manages to steal a few scenes with just a handful of facial expressions.
If you loved "Christmas Story" you'll like this movie

Not as funny as A Christmas Story, but if you're a J. Shepherd fan, it's worth watching.