It Runs in the Family (1994)

I was eleven years old when "My Summer Story" (originally released as "It Runs In The Family") came out, and I remember reading about it in a kids magazine but never seeing it get released in my local theater. When I looked up on BoxOfficeMojo.com that the film only grossed $71,000 at the time of its release, it didn't surprise me. It turns out a lot of other kids my age didn't see this film released at their local theaters either."My Summer Story" was advertised at the time as a sequel to "A Christmas Story". I'm not sure if "sequel" is the right word for such a movie, even though the same characters from the previous movie were reprized here. The fact is, people tend to forget that both movies were based on the memoirs of Jean Shepherd, who provided narration for both movies. Without most of the cast of the original movie (save Shepherd himself and Tedde Moore as Ralphie's teacher, Mrs. Shields), a lot of the charm that made "A Christmas Story" both a perennial favorite and a cult classic was lost in this movie. Although director Bob Clark, who directed both movies, is now deceased, he probably became aware 15 years ago that this movie could not even come close to the long-term success of "A Christmas Story".Kieran Culkin is a very good child actor who grew up to do some really good movies ("Igby Goes Down", "The Cider House Rules"). As a child, he displayed a lot of charm in understated movie roles (both "Home Alone" movies, both "Father of the Bride" movies). Here, he has to fill Peter Billingsley's shoes, and he seems unaware of the previous movie. He doesn't look like a child from the 1940's, nor does he really act like one. He just kind of seems to go through the motions here. For instance, there's no excitement in his eyes when he goes searching for a top, and his level of embarrassment is not evident in the scene where the Chinese top with flowers is mocked by his peers. As good an actor as the younger Culkin became, his acting did not match with Jean Shepherd's enthusiastic narration.My guess is that both Kieran and Christian Culkin (who plays younger brother Randy) got cast in this movie the same way their older brother Macaulay got cast in "The Good Son": their father pulled strings and went against the studios wishes through threatening and bribery. "The Good Son" was not a good role for Macaulay, and these roles in this movie weren't the right fit for these Culkin boys.Charles Grodin probably got typecast as Mr. Parker based on his previously successful performances in the "Beethoven" movies as the grumpy Dad. In this movie, he plays grumpy well, but that's really all he plays. It's a one-dimensional performance that doesn't contain the warmth of Darren McGavin's more developed character from the original movie. Mary Steenbergen doesn't give a lot to her performance as Mrs. Parker either, and the subplot of her gravy boat surplus may have been funny on paper, but is awkward on film. The part near the end where she throws a gravy boat at movie theater owner Leopold Doppler (a miscast Glenn Shadix of "Beetlejuice" fame) made me wonder how that didn't occur to her in the middle of the film.The gravy boat fiasco is just one of many subplots that, unlike in "A Christmas Story", coexist, but don't interlope and connect to form one great story. They all just seem very sitcom-like and unoriginal. There's a subplot about a tax collector that goes nowhere, some hillbilly neighbors who aren't as aggravating as Grodin desperately wants the audience to think they are, a fishing story which accounts (surprise!) no fish being caught over a majority of the summer, and a brief mention of the famous BB gun from "A Christmas Story" involving Ralphie being shot somewhere else other than the eye. When he gets shot in this place, it feels like a cheap laugh that insults the intelligence of the film's intended audience.On top of all those inconsistencies, the movie never gives a time and place. By that I mean that the movie takes place sometime in the 1940's before television, but you never know exactly when because the film never tells you in subtitles. It's clear that the people who made this movie made too many assumptions of whom would see this film. This movie is no "Christmas Story", that's for sure. However, if it weren't for Jean Shepherd's narration, this film would be completely forgettable. Shepherd is a great storyteller, both on paper and on film. His voice has a grandfather-like charm to it, and his sense of humor goes without saying. He lived these tales he tells, and no one can tell them better than him. Without his voice in the movie, the film would have been completely lost. So yes, "My Summer Story" was deeply flawed in many areas, but I marginally recommend this film because of Shepherd's great storytelling skills.

My family and I loved a Christmas story and we loved it runs in the family aka. my summer story. Its all about being young and your child hood,people seem to forget that. I've tried to get the movie on DVD and looked everywhere no one has it. If it does come out on DVD my family and i know other's that would love to bye it. My favorites are the hillbilly neighbor's and Charles Grodin. The Culkin boys are great to.This movie is a sure pleaser and it will bring back memories of your childhood.Every neighborhood has neighbor's like the Bumpesses and a child that's trying to live the summer to the fullest.Watch with your family and enjoy Iam sure you and your children will love the movie to.................

I saw it as "It Runs in the Family".I found it very funny. Midwest Gothic humor I guess and I enjoy that and if you like Jean Shepard you'll like this. But also maybe because I didn't try to compare it with "A Christmas Story". It involves one kid's summer in Indiana, trying to outfox the local bully and dealing with the unspoken world of adults. Shepard's crystal clear descriptions of growing up with stand offs and quirky battles. The sets and settings are done perfectly, with all the humid reality of a Midwest summer. I thought Grodin and Steenbergen were great, along with one of the Caulkin kids. I missed the first part, but still enjoyed it.

This may as well have been a book on tape. I think Kieran Culkin has maybe 4 lines in the whole movie, and Charles Grodin about 10. Other than that, it's all narration. Don't look for the same magic of "A Christmas Story" in this one.