Spinning Top might make your eyes dizzy, kid

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY (1994)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I have a special memory in my heart for Bob Clark's "A Christmas Story." It is as memorable and nostalgic a piece of Americana as almost anything else related to Christmas, including Santa Claus. The trick to the success of "A Christmas Story" is that it had wicked humor and poked fun at itself. This rarely discussed sequel, "It Runs in the Family," is decent family fun but it loses a bit of the charm though, to be fair, it has a playful sense of wickedness.

Consider the setup. Kieran Culkin (replacing Peter Billingsley) plays Ralph Barker, the kid who once really wished for a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Now, he seems to wander around the summer time, wallowing in his pride to get the perfect spinning top, the kind that is not too colorful in design but just big enough to make other kids envious. Alas, this spinning top doesn't quite make it as inspired as the Red Ryder BB gun (and who can forget that the latter might shoot your eye out!) but it will do. It's basically a way of getting even with the local bully Lug Ditka (the eternally creepy and creepier eyes of Whit Hertford).

Meanwhile, Dad (Charles Grodin replacing Darren McGavin) bears some hostility to the noisy hillbilly neighbors next door known as the Bumpus clan. Dad fights back by staging an air siren and military instructions with the help of a turntable and some speakers in one of the funniest scenes in the entire movie. Mom (Mary Steenburgen replacing Melinda Dillon) has an affinity for gravy boats that are marked with reproductions of movie stars and gets one every Ladies' Night at the local movie theater, along with an animated short! The problem is she is sick of having so many gravy boats, and who wouldn't be.

Along with the return of director Bob Clark and narrator Jean Shepherd, "It Runs in the Family" (also known as "My Summer Story") replicates some of the same spirit and joy of "A Christmas Story" but little in the way of novelty or true inspiration. The problem may be the casting of key roles. Kieran Culkin is a cute kid but he is no Billingsley, and hardly gives the role the wide-eyed innocence Billingsley gave. Charles Grodin is a bit miscast but he gives it a good try - still, he seems harmful in his attempts to deal with the Bumpus clan (hence, a little more wickedness than expected). The beauty of Darren McGavin is that he only suggested giving anyone hell, not like he really had the intent. Mary Steenburgen, however, is beautifully cast and displays a little more sass than Melinda Dillon gave the original to warrant sufficient praise.

"It Runs in the Family" was shamefully dumped into limited release in September of 1994 without any real advertising by MGM. Again, I may be biased in my nostalgia for the original, but this sequel is nowhere near as memorable or as charming as "A Christmas Story." Still, reliable Jean Shepherd's narration and a few funny scenes (including references to jawbreakers will please the tots and the adults) and some decent acting overall, not to mention an affection for an era that no longer exists, merits a mild recommendation.