A Christmas Story Christmas.

Review #2326: A Christmas Story Christmas.

Cast: 

Peter Billingsley (Ralph "Ralphie" Parker), Erinn Hayes (Sandy Parker), Julie Hagerty (Mrs. Parker), Scott Schwartz (Flick), R. D. Robb (Schwartz), Zack Ward (Officer Scut Farkus), Ian Petrella (Randy Parker), River Drosche (Mark Parker), and Julianna Layne (Julie Parker) Directed by Clay Kaytis.

Review:

I'm sure you already know this, but A Christmas Story (1983) was a modest success upon its release. It took 12 years to actually get the movie made. Sure, Bob Clark may not have got along all the way around with Jean Shepherd (a peddler-type of showman that deliberately fibbed about his upbringing, he once described his work as "anti-sentimental"), but there was a certain magic to it all in those series of vignettes that everyone and their mother have probably seen at least once around the holiday season. Far from just "“Dickens’s Christmas Carol as retold by Scrooge", there was a curious magic to it all that really could only be done once. Sure, Shepherd and Clark tried it again with My Summer Story (1994), but nobody cared enough to even find time to criticize the movie. But the nudge to talk about A Christmas Story has persisted. Hell, the house that was part of filming is now an actual Municipal Landmark of the good city of Cleveland (perhaps ironically, this film could not get access by the current owners of the building to scan the house and neighborhood for referencing). As late as 2017, people even tried making live versions of the damn movie. It should prove no surprise, then, that one would find themselves stumbling onto this movie. Peter Billingsley wanted to do a movie as both sequel and origin story for the original film, for which he co-wrote the story with Nick Schenk, who in turn co-wrote the screenplay with writer/director Clay Kaytis. You might wonder why I would make an exception to a movie that was released onto streaming on HBO Max by Warner Bros. Pictures. Well, it is easier to make fun of streaming (which I will call the stupidest way to release a movie imaginable) when one notices that this did in fact have a DVD release for all to see.

Admittedly, making a movie sequel nearly 40 years after the fact is a tough prospect. For better or worse, falling into a description of "endearing" is exactly how I would describe the whole experience of watching the movie. Sure, it probably would've made Jean Shepherd seethe in the clearest of ways, but it does manage to have enough energy to carry itself for a few laughs with a game cast to at least justify a look for 98 minutes. You get your little moments spent looking at footage from before, but it isn't peppered in one's face for too many "remember?" smirks. It all rides on Billingsley, who narrates the movie and takes up a good chunk of the general action (one wonders what has more "things that happen" and I would suppose it is this one, which involves a would-be writer and Christmas shopping). He pulls off the best performance because of his commitment to showing the face of a man having to pull ashore to familiar trappings where dreams and disappointments run hand in hand with each other while having his own family to try and deliver a worthy Christmas for this time around. Now he sees the strange perspectives of youth from the side of an adult, which is different when one thinks of a kid in the 1940s compared to, well, 1973. Hayes makes a suitable match on the side of ones with their own quirks and desires for a quality Christmas to seal a year up, (silly or otherwise). One sees things click best when Billingsley, Schwartz and Robb share the screen together in goofy energy that could only come from middle-aged folks engaged in trifling matters (but most of us are always wrapped in trifling matters, so chew on that). Hagerty captures some of the qualities originally played by Melinda Dillon (who passed away in early 2023), albeit on a much smaller scale. Drosche and Layne round it out with fairly ordinary performances (read: kid actors) that accompany a general feeling of people with varying levels of hang-ups; consider, however, the fact that one sees imagined sequences again from the character played by Billingsley and wonder how it looks when you are seeing them from a child as compared to a family man. Beyond the popping in of familiar sights (one might chuckle at a bully reforming so they can be a cop) is at least a sense of commitment in trying to rise above not quite Midwestern-trappings (okay the movie is set in Indiana but really, is one going to tell it apart from say, Hungary?). The sequence at Christmastime is probably the most the film has going for it in the warmth that arises from taking action in the usual drudgery of mundane living. In general, I went with the movie with pretty reasonable expectations (to expect something to suck is not a fun way to live) and the movie pretty much landed right where I thought it would. Call it silly, call it a mild follow-up, but one thing it most certainly is not is a movie lacking in commitment. It aims to fit neatly in the shoes of second glancing after one has already had their fill of a familiar story and rewards those who settle for a few chuckles and a fitting enough ending to make the circle complete in offbeat holiday times.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Review #1592: Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Cast: 

Keanu Reeves (Theodore "Ted" Logan), Alex Winter (William S. "Bill" Preston, Esq.), Kristen Schaal (Kelly), Samara Weaving (Theadora "Thea" Preston), Brigette Lundy-Paine (Wilhelmina "Billie" Logan), William Sadler (The Grim Reaper), Anthony Carrigan (Dennis Caleb McCoy), Erinn Hayes (Princess Elizabeth Logan), Jayma Mays (Princess Joanna Preston), Hal Landon Jr (Captain Jonathan Logan), Beck Bennett (Officer Deacon Logan), with Kid Cudi, Amy Stoch (Missy), Holland Taylor (The Great Leader), and Jillian Bell (Dr. Taylor Wood) Directed by Dean Parisot (#237 - Galaxy Quest)

Review: 

“We wanted to ask, ‘What would happen if the things that you were told your life was going to be about when you were a teenager turned out to be wrong? How would you cope with it if you based your whole life on it? How would you deal with the disappointment? And how can we make that into a movie that is absurd and silly and embodies the buoyant spirit of Bill and Ted?"

To borrow a phrase liberally, perhaps it would be most excellent to start at the beginning. The genesis of what became Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) came from a routine done by writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson in 1987. The routine involved (what else?) but two teenagers who need to pass a history test that resort to collecting historical figures. The development of going from a potential sketch in a film to a feature-length film only resulted in one real change: having them also be recruited by figures from the future to stay together as a band to unite mankind. There were plenty of moments that involved them saying "bogus" or "excellent!" to go around, although it is weird to try and look back upon its place among teenage hijinks films of its time (it proves superior to offbeat films like Weird Science and Heathers, that much is for sure). It is a silly, charming little movie, with no illusion of being anything other than just good ol' entertainment (I mean, this is a film where they go back to the 1400s and end up with girlfriends). Any movie that has a group of friends just having fun without needing to verge into philosophy beyond having an excellent adventure is probably going to turn out fine. With Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), Matheson and Solomon had them meet Death alongside evil robots of themselves. So basically, it was a fine sequel, continuing the tradition of hyper-real sincerity from Reeves and Winter, although the odds of either retaining their 8/10 ratings is 50-50 at best. Perhaps it is the fact that these are such light enjoyable movies that proves an interesting paradox: who saw a third film coming if two seemed enough? I saw the original two films in 2010, and the strangest thing is by that point the wheels were turning to make a script for a new film. It seems only fitting to see an 80s product find new life again, but it actually took several years to even find producers willing to do it...and then of course 2020 meant that the film received a simultaneous release in select theaters and video-on-demand.

So here we are, a film with the same two writers in Solomon and Matheson (in their fifth collaboration together), with the same main stars in Reeves and Winter together again. Each have had their own place in film in the decades that followed those films, whether that means an action presence (past and present) for Reeves or filmmaking (and technology advocate) with Winter. In a long, strange year, sometimes one really can't go wrong with a little bit of comfort filmmaking. It doesn't come off as a complete re-hash of what has been done before because it presents the ultimate contrast to the happy go-lucky folks from before in one way: hitting the reality of middle age, which it does fine without seeming hollow. It is probably just as goofy as the other films, even if it may not perhaps be all that it is cracked itself up to be with its attempts at staying excellent when it comes to nailing humor all the way through and through. It proves endearing for those who desire one last ride with some enjoyable presences or perhaps from those who like to see something with a bit of syrupy appeal for music "to unite the world". It all depends on how much luster still shines with Reeves and Winter at the helm. For the most part, they seem just fine in fitting right back into these roles, mainly because time hasn't seemed to wither them in cynicism. Reeves is calm but just as well-placed as usual with a breezy role that while not his best performance (since one can be spoiled by his run with John Wick) is at least on the target. Winter proves just as on balance when it comes to zippy charm within silly situation and the occasional effects shot (since both of them spend a bit of time together traveling forward in time...to themselves). It's obvious to see their engaging chemistry with each other that has made for a most interesting wholesome kind of trilogy, really. The action doesn't stop with them, since Weaving and Lundy-Paine make up their time count as the well-cast descendants to mirror Winter and Reeves without seeming like stale copies, having a decent chemistry with each other in rallying their own story with other figures. Schaal (taking the place set by the late great George Carlin in the previous films) does alright here, having a quiet usage in exposition and the occasional quip. Sadler, showing up only in the latter half (of a 91 minute film) arises to useful returns, in that it is nice to see him and his attempt at a light Death once again. Carrigan does what one can do with an insecure role, which is to say not too much. Others come here and there with mostly fair presence, in that no one is entirely distracting from what goes on (even if it is a cameo, as is the case with one appearance), which result in a movie that moves from point to point with at least some cohesion for a gag without pleading for it (although its effects can distract from that at times). Inevitably, it all rests on how much of the journey to find "that perfect song to unite everybody" really means to the person who ends up watching it. It's like an old sock that has come back from the wash ready to be done again after a long wait, with a hole looking to come out somewhere that nevertheless still gets worn for enjoyment anyway. The future is yet to be written, but if one needs a movie about two cheery friends staying together once again to get involved in time travel antics and music, you can't really go wrong here. In a year like this, that may surely prove more than enough.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.