Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

Continuing adventures of Ralphie and family from "A Christmas Story" and "A Summer Story"...aka "It Runs in the Family." Jean Shepard is back as narrator and writer but as in all films, an original cast (they do such a good job capturing the spirit of the actors in "A Christmas Story" that you won't notice the cast change). Great nostalgic fun from the Walt Disney Channel. Note: Though this film was made second, it actually falls third according to the period of the film.

OK, if you loved "A Christmas Story"....then there's no way you won't LOVE this movie!!! It's Ralphie as a teenager! The family takes a summer vacation and it is HILARIOUS!!!!!! We even get to see Flick and Schwartz again! Will Flick stick his tongue to the flag pole again?? HMMM...could be!!! You'll have to watch it to find out! I think what makes this movie SO funny is how realistic it is...exaggerated a tad, of course. The trip they take is exactly how all my family vacations went as a kid. If you watch "A Christmas Story" every Christmas, then you need to start watching "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" every 4th of July!

Believe it or not, I actually saw this movie before I saw "A Christmas Story"! This was the movie that made me fall in love with Jean Sheperd, Ralphie and all of his lovable family and friends ...including, "Fuzzhead, Fuzzhead, Fuzzhead!" The cast has changed, but it doesn't seem to matter, as I always think of it as being the same. The characters are captured beautifully as established in the original film by Darrin McGavin, etal. The film is wonderfully nostalgic as it follows Ralphie's family on their annual family vacation. Lots of good, clean, family fun and humor. It is unfortunate that it has never been released on video as this is a family favorite and an absolute must see!

My family and I have been watching this movie at least once every summer since 1988 (we taped it). It's one of those movies you can watch a thousand times, have every line memorized, and still laugh at all the same jokes. One thing I noticed about this one is that they switched the characters of Schwartz and Flick. In "A Christmas Story", Schwartz is the cool, cocky one and Flick is the pathetic loser. In this installment, Flick is the cool one and Schwartz is the loser. Is this intended? Oh well, no matter what it's a great movie. The people who play the parents are excellent. Especially James Sikking, he is absolutely hilarious. I want to see this on DVD sometime soon. Everyone should see this movie. Family Channel should run it again.

I kind of like the beginning, but after 20 minutes or so, I could barely tolerate it. It is so normal, every day. It is like watching your next door neighbor's life. There is no adventure, no excitement and little humor, however, for the sake of originality, I must say that it is a couple points above average.