Jean Shepherd - History is All Around You

 

The Jean Shepherd Show - The Great Ice Cream War

 I've been listening to lots of the Jean Shepherd Show lately and I find it difficult to find clips to share. Not that it's bad, but it's all good and you either share all of it or none of it.

But I figured "The Great Ice Cream War" would be a good stand-out episode. The downside being that he shared the story on Letterman, but you probably don't remember that.

So... Why a Leg Lamp?

 

The Leg Lamp from "A Christmas Story" is one of the great gags of the movie and in recent years has become iconic. The movie explains that it's an award but never explains why anyone would award a leg lamp to anyone.

A few weeks ago I accidentally stumbled upon the explanation and feverishly began researching a full article. I looked up primary sources and began to buy reference books, but in my searches I found tons of trivia sites which already had the answer. My full scholarly article is cancelled.

Still, not everyone knows so here is the short version.

The company running the contest/sweepstakes was supposed to be the Nehi soda company. At one point, their logo was a single woman's leg (Nehi = Knee High) so the prize for their contest was a lamp of the company's logo.

"A Christmas Story" is based on the radio show/writings of Jean Shepherd. Shepherd reveals the Leg Lamp-Nehi connection in the TV movie "Phantom of the Open Hearth" which was made 7 years earlier, in 1976. Shepherd also talked about it in interviews.

Introduced in 1924, Nehi was bought by Royal Crown, which was bought by Dr. Pepper and is actually still made today. You can actually buy it.

"A Christmas Story" will be re-released to theaters December 10th and 13th for its 40th anniversary.

I quite like that the origin of the lamp is left unexplained. It reinforces the theme of childhood - the world is a strange place and rarely makes sense.

It Runs in the Family / My Summer Story

It Runs in the Family / My Summer Story (1994)

 

There are a few things requiring explanation before this last installment of exploring "A Christmas Story" sequels. The first confusing thing about this movie is the title. No one can agree what the title is; it switched, different sources label it differently. I'll use "My Summer Story" since that's what Netflix uses. The second confusing thing is the continuity. This movie takes place only a short time after "A Christmas Story" which means that although it's technically "A Christmas Story 3" it takes place before #2. This is because, though made in 1994, it was originally supposed to be the direct sequel to "A Christmas Story" with all the original cast reprising their roles. But that didn't happen and by the time it was made a decade later, only Ralphie's teacher, Miss Shields reprises her role.

I mentioned that a large part of the success of the previous sequel (a huge part) was Jean Shepherd's involvement. This movie not only gets Jean Shepherd but employed the director of "A Christmas Story" Bob Clark as well. And so, to my shock, this movie turns out to be the best, most faithful "A Christmas Story" sequel and quite good. I couldn't believe it.

It's still true that no sequel compares to the original - there's no way to recapture the magic - but, with lowered expectations, this movie is good enough. I think it was hurt partly by the casting of Charles Grodin as the dad. This is the era where, when Charles Grodin is involved in a family movie, you're expecting "Beethoven" levels of quality. The poster and subject matter also don't help - it looks like it's going to be another "Dennis the Menace" or "Problem Child" and nobody wants that.

But the mother is played by Mary Steenburgen, who's excellent, and Ralphie and his brother are  played by Kieran and Christian Culkin, who are very good. The star of the movie is clearly Jean Shepherd both in terms of his writing and narration (which seemed a little excessive in this installment). The wacky psychosis of his family and the "tall tales" of his youth are so enjoyable.

Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (1988)

Strange name but "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" is actually the sequel to "A Christmas Story" it's the actual #2, you might say, even though that name is taken.

Whereas "A Christmas Story 2" was clearly just a cheap cash grab, this does actually feel like a real movie - it feels like a real sequel even though the first is a classic and this is not.

First off, Jean Shepherd was actually involved in this one, reprising his role as the Narrator and as writer. That's 90% of it. Secondly, there are actual actors here doing believable work. You can think of these characters as real people. You got Jerry O'Connell as Ralphie (remember Jerry O'Connell?), the dad is played by Doogie Howser's dad and the mom is the girl from "Mama's Family". Oh man, "Mama's Family". That's a post in itself.

The impact of these actor is a really big factor and a stark contrast with "ACS2". The Jean Shepherd/slice of life style means the entire movie hinges on believing that this is a real family. On the one side of the spectrum, you have "ACS2" with cartoon cut out characters and on the other side is "ACS1" where I refuse to believe that those people were not a real family. This one works because it's closer to the latter. There is a point in the movie where the mother is yelling upstairs to get everyone out of bed and as she yells her voice goes up into annoying screeching territory and it perfectly captures that feeling. Likewise the annoying younger brother is actually annoying and, similarly, reminds you of growing up and knowing kids like that.

The plot is simple: the first half of the movie is the family anticipating their upcoming Summer vacation, the second half of the movie is them driving to Michigan for their Summer vacation. That's it. I was surprised as I was watching it that there wasn't really a central plot, exactly, just a series of episodes but Shepherd's style is to write about life and that's life. The road trip where there is no central plot but consists of simply a series of things go wrong is pretty much the same idea as "National Lampoon's Vacation".

It's funny that this movie and "A Christmas Story 2" both start with Ralphie being years older and both have plots that revolve around him getting his first job. The fact that ACS2 flirts with the Teen Comedy genre and this movie keeps him respectable - focusing just on how tortuous the job is - is a telling contrast.

This was a made-for-tv movie, made by Disney (and PBS) and there are parts where it shows. I mentioned the good story and actors but some of the direction is pretty rough. It also drags on a bit towards the end. Let's face it, it can't compare with an absolute classic and even if it could, Summer vacation as a concept can't compete with the magic of Christmas.

Late Night - Jean Shepherd

You'll (hopefully) know Jean Shepherd as the writer and narrator of "A Christmas Story".



For those of you interested in bad/rip-off films, there is a "sequel" to "A Christmas Story" titled "A Christmas Story 2" made in 2012. I haven't seen that movie, but will and just assume from what I've seen that it's terrible. But there is a more authentic "sequel", "My Summer Story" aka "It Runs in the Family" from 1994. Like "A Christmas Story" it's directed by Bob Clark and based on the Shepherd's novels with Shepherd doing narration. I believe I've seen that movie and found it a disappointment but I'm going to watch it again to confirm.