My Summer Story

My Summer Story
by Bob Clark

List Price: ~~$19.98~~
Category: DVD
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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Al Mancini, Charles Grodin, Christian Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Mary Steenburgen
Director: Bob Clark
Brand: Unknown
Cinematographer: Stephen M. Katz
Writer: Bob Clark
Producer: Gary Goch
Producer: Jean Shepherd
Writer: Jean Shepherd
Producer: Ren? Dupont
Writer: Leigh Brown
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-01
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Movie Reviews of My Summer Story

Movie Review: Best viewed as a stand-alone film
Summary: 3 Stars

As others have mentioned, it's best not to see this as a sequel to "A Christmas Story". The casting isn't as good in most cases and the story isn't as compelling. If you hold this film to its predecessor's high standard, it will pale in comparison. When viewed in its own right, it makes for decent family entertainment.

This isn't quite as family-friendly as "A Christmas Story" due to its language. Both Mr. Parker and Ralphie use "son of a bitch" a few times in the film, so it's not quite appropriate for smaller children. Ah, but didn't Ralphie use the same word in "A Christmas Story"? Yes, but because it was used once in an otherwise sanitary film (unless one thinks of "Oh fuuuuudge" or his garbled pseudo-profanities blurted out as he beat up Scut Farkas as dirty words), Ralphie's sigh of disappointment "Son of a bitch!" was powerful and funny. When used repeatedly by Mr. Parker it was just trite profanity.

Mary Steenburgen makes an excellent Mrs. Parker with a fine balance of sweetness and intimidation. Usually it's the former, but as she returns to the theater for the eighth time to exchange her Deluxe Pearleen gravy boat for a matching platter her threat to Ralphie ("If you mention fishing to Randy again I will kill you") carries weight. Charles Grodin is the weakest major character in the film. Darren McGavin played a curmudgeonly father with occasional streaks of good humor, but Grodin plays a humorous father trying hard to act curmudgeonly. This is an enormous difference. If you haven't seen "A Christmas Story" it probably won't bother you. Kieran Culkin plays a passable Ralphie.

Others have criticized some of the other characters as "too cartoonish", but it's good to keep in mind the film is a reminiscence of an adult about his childhood. Memories become exaggerated after time, and this can easily account for the ultra-hillbilly nature of the Bumpass family next door. Over the top? Yes. Does it work in this film? Also, yes.

History fans will also have to suspend their objections at anachronisms. The story is ostensibly set in the late 1930s (judging by the cars and other props used), but one act in the film shows the family going to the World's Fair in Chicago (the 1933 Century of Progress Expo). This also can be attributed to a faulty childhood memory as this is not a documentary.

My 9-year old laughed at a number of the slapstick scenes and generally enjoyed the film, so I will give it 3 out of 5 stars. It's worth a rental or maybe a purchase if on blow-out sale (I picked up my copy for $3), but it probably won't take its place next to "A Christmas Story" in your DVD/Blu-ray collection of perennial favorites.

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Summary of My Summer Story

This sequel to the wildly successful "A Christmas Story" traces Ralphie's summer transition from boyhood to young adulthood, aided by his eccentric family. Based on the novels of Jean Shepherd, the novelist and famous radio personality of the 1950's 60's and 70's. The film is narrated by Jean Shepherd, in the same familial voice that made him such a beloved radio star.

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