Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
mike48128
Of course it can't hold a candle to the magic of the original movie, but it's far better than the endless dribble of bad Santa movies and predictable Hallmark Channel holiday eye-candy. Ralphie is 16 and has discovered girls and cars and Randy is into "Buck Rogers". The old man is as stubborn, cheap, and obstinate as ever. (Played by a chubby Daniel Stern.) Many good ideas are revisited: "Flick" gets his tongue stuck in the pneumatic delivery tube. "Higbee's Dept. Store", the elves and a surly Santa. The worst coal-belching furnace in Indiana. (Actually shot entirely in Canada) Oh yes, this time poor Randy gets the embarrassing Christmas outfit from the eccentric aunt. He looks like the "Cracker Jack" Sailor Boy! A good reproduction of everything from the house to the street to even the fishnet leg lamp! It tries very hard and is mildly entertaining but, as noted in other reviews, many of the young viewers probably haven't seen the far superior Bob Clark Classic. Ralphie has a crush on a young actress-fashion model playing the high school heart-throb. I miss the Bumpus Hounds! Worth-a-look on cable but sure not a keeper. It went straight-to-video, of course.
Eddie Cantillo
A Christmas Story 2(2012) Starring:Daniel Stern, Braeden Lemasters, Stacey Travis, Valin Shinyei, Gerard Plunkett, and David Michael Paul Directed By:Brian Levant Review Why the hell have we been trying to kill A Christmas Story the past ten years? Remember when it use to be that tiny little film that not too many people knew about but then you kind of shared it in the hopes it would get more attention, and then it somehow ridiculously backfired to the point where it gets too much freaking attention on the holiday season. I suppose in many respcts this expected but my God they market it in the most obnoxious way. Their's never a sense that the advertisers are doing this because they like the movie, its obvious their doing it because its popular and they'll make a quick buck. And Now comes A Christmas Story 2 where our main character Ralphie, is on a quest to get 85 dollars to pay for an automobile he wrecked. An automobile he desires to get for Christmas to impress a girl he has the hots for. The film is quite unnecessary, I mean their are so many things in this that just make anyone who's seen the first film think "Oh look they did/had that in the first movie remember aw man it's hitting the nostalgia factor this movie is good." But guess what it isn't. They may be some of you who enjoy the first movie I however didn't. But if you did for the love of God don't see this sequel it will screw with your brain why/how because it's stupid. If their is any credit I can give this film it's the actor Daniel Stern who plays Ralphie. He's the only good thing about this movie and the only reason you or I would keep watching. He captures the spirit of the original performer while still making it his own. It's usually hard for me to review a pile shitstain like this but I feel like I've left you with the basics of what you need to know so I'm giving A Christmas Story 2 a one out of five.
Pete Wagner
Jean Shepherd has got to be spinning in his grave. I haven't read his books, but we've watched the original "A Christmas Story" 20 - 30 times. To say it is only a movie or forget about comparisons and just take it as something new and just 4 fun is a symptom of a society that has lost its soul. The richness of the writing of the 1982 original (somebody mentioned there are parts of #2 that are taken from Shepherd's stories, and I think I can guess which--I would bet the visit to the dentist, one of the few funny moments) is not just a hard act to follow, but a national treasure. The original transports us back to another time when the world and especially this country were qualitatively different than it is now. Every detail, the cast, every nuance, the whole aesthetic, gels to remove us from the cynicism and political correctness and every other aspect of Today to a world that some of us can remember, almost remember, or at least, imagine we remember. The would-be sequel fails completely to understand, much less appreciate, the beauty or depth of this magic. The cast is all wrong. Crudeness was a part of that era, but it was configured in a totally different way from the 1-dimensional postmodern context which this one is locked into. The demon White Male stereotype this buys into is devoid of any comprehension whatsoever of the character Darren McGavin so perfectly portrayed. The costumes are still from 5 years earlier, not counting Ralphie's 1980s giant eyeglasses, which didn't yet exist in the years this story is supposedly set in. This one was cranked out by commercial crapsters incapable of escaping a temporal tunnel vision that has no business attempting to recapture any era that has gone by before their own time. The acting is mostly godawful. Seems like the only times it improves a bit are scenes where it appears that they finally got a bit tired of yelling their lines. The meanness of some of the acting or characters in the original was purposeful--it showed a child's perception of them, not actual cruelty. In this one, it's all just crude and stupid. The only reason to see version 2 is as a kind of cultural monitor, to compare and contrast, hopefully to learn the differences between great art and a total failure to grasp what art is.
brimcq5477
What can i say.. a sequel that should never have been.. The acting was horrible. Look, when i know i could do a better job acting you need to find better actors. Daniel Stern...what happened to you? The house was totally different..maybe they moved..into a house with a "clinker" of a furnace? I remember the classic Ralphie had those piercing blue eyes.. Hell even when you see Peter Billingsley, grown up in his cameo in Elf, you are like "I know that guy". Just a horrible movie.. so many bad parts..the worst has to be where it looks like Ralphie is having a orgasm as he plays the cymbals as he thinks about some chicks hair.. pass on this crap-fest at all cost.. a local Christmas play will be more enjoyable..
