There’s a sequel to “A Christmas Story” hitting HBO Max tomorrow, with Peter Billingsley again playing Ralphie, but now as a grown man in a timeline updated from the 1940s to the 1970s.
From the clips I’ve seen, it’s going be nothing more than a rehash of some of the same story lines from the 1983 classic: Schwartz’ inability to back down from a double-dog dare (upgraded to a triple-dog); someone getting part of their anatomy stuck on frozen metal; and kids going to the big department store to meet Santa. Yawn! Been there, done that.
The biggest problem this version will have is the absence of the man who created and narrated the original, Jean Shepherd, whose unique voice and delivery added to its iconic status. Instead of watching the sequel, I’d rather go back and re-read Shep’s books, “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” or “Wanda Hickey’s Night Of Golden Memories and Other Disasters,” which sit side-by-side on one of my bookshelves.