The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters (1982)

"Americans measure their lives by holidays. Christmas. Easter. Birthdays. Thanksgiving. The Fourth of July. Like mile posts in the picket fence of the years that stretch on and on and on through our lives. But those holidays, when you're young, are the sweetest of all. You remember them forever."

Director

Richard Bartlett

Cast

Matt Dillon - Ralph Parker

James Broderick - The Old Man

Barbara Bolton - Mrs. Parker

Jay Ine - Randy

Babe Sargent - Ludlow Kissel

Jeff Yonis - Schwartz

William Lampley - Flick

Lisa Jacobsen - Pamela

With the pre-Christmas season upon us, my look into the "other" films of A Christmas Story's Ralphie Parker and the Parker family continues from my last posted review of The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1976). 

The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters aired on the PBS anthology series "American Playhouse" one year before the famed A Christmas Story was released in theaters and was initially labeled as a "sleeper film." By the way, movie critic Roger Ebert gave A Christmas Story four out of four stars and placed it on his list of "Great Movies." 

While watching this PBS film, I found myself falling into the same temptation I had while I sat and watched The Phantom of the Open Hearth.

Listening to Jean Shepherd narrate once again (his writing and wit I admire greatly), I wanted to scribble down all his words on paper. Of course, I didn't do that. Nevertheless, within the first three minutes of the movie I still managed to have a full notebook page of thoughts and things I wanted to say for this blog entry. My pen couldn't keep up with my mind's pace. 

Barbara Bolton and James Broderick return from The Phantom of the Open Hearth, which originally aired on another PBS anthology series called "Visions" as Mrs. Parker and the Old Man. 

A young Matt Dillon stars as Ralph Parker this time. He was last played by David Elliott. 

The movie starts with Jean Shepherd as an adult Ralph cruising along I-95 on his way to a fireworks warehouse called "South of the Border", the likes of which can still be found along the highways in, out of, and through the American Midwest. Large industrial cathedrals of American pyro-patriotism at "low prices that'll make your head explode." A Costco-esque extravaganza of crackers, garlands, and Black Cats, glowing like votive candles in the American ritual of independence. 

"You know, this joint makes Disneyland look as prosaic as Plainfield, New Jersey," he tells us as we sit in the passenger seat while he's barreling in his Rolls. 

Jean Shepherd

Shepherd wanders through the aisles with a small shopping cart full of large fireworks protruding out as he tells the audience how these are nothing compared to the big ones the Old Man used to shoot off on the 4th. 

"What is it about a solid molar-rattling explosion that sets the blood a'tingle and brings roses to cheeks?" 

We find a teenage Ralph working at the steel mill of Hohman, Indiana (a fictionalized town based on Shepherd's hometown of Hammond, Indiana near Chicago) in the middle of summer. 

He fancies himself a handsome catch despite his lack of interest in his friend Schwartz's persuading him to go on a blind date with his cousin, Pamela (Lisa Jacobsen). 

Ralph anticipates Pamela to be a more rotund figure with braces and thick glasses. Certainly not his type. 

Meanwhile, his Old Man buys an entire arsenal of fireworks for the July 4th spectacular. And Ralph has to practice for the local Independence Day parade as he's playing a sousaphone in the Hohman High School Marching Band.  

As Ralph agrees to go on this blind date, Pamela turns out to be a stunning blond gal. Along with Scwartz and his girlfriend, they all go to the movies for the evening. Ralph makes a klutz of himself by spilling his box of Good 'n Plenty on the floor when he's introduced to Pamela. His charming self-image comes out as awkward. During the show, Ralph doesn't help his awkward situation when he tries to pull the ol' arm around the shoulder bit. 

But Pamela puts the kibosh on that suave move when she tells him "don't be a child." Skunked!

Meanwhile, Mrs. Parker enters some sort of chain letter situation where she sends her washrags to someone else for reasons I couldn't quite figure out. This is much to the chagrin on Mr. Parker who can't find a single one to wash his face. But she suddenly inherits 17,900 washrags as a result of this chain.

And during the parade, the marching band's baton twirler accidentally launches one of his batons on to some power lines, causing a blackout across Hohman. 

The movie showcases the typical Americana happenings around the July 4th holiday with the same charm and reverence A Christmas Story does with the holiday season, and Ralphie's attempt to acquire the best Christmas gift he ever received, or would ever receive. 

There's a few quick familiar references fans of A Christmas Story will pick up on. For instance Ralph's little brother, Randy, asks his mom if he could buy a cherry bomb, only to be handed that famous line A Christmas Story managed to permanently fix into the cornucopia of movie catchphrases. In this case, it's the classic mother cherry bomb block - "You'll shoot your eye out." 

In the previous film, we saw the Old Man win his major award. This time, Mrs. Parker has her moment of success with her washcloth inheritance. She even gets her picture in the paper. A sulky dad stares at his wife, glowing with success, as Shepherd tells us, "The old man was really bugged. She won! She was famous for God's sake. The only thing he ever won was a stupid lamp, and nobody cared." 

And perhaps my favorite line in the movie was in reference to how much Randy could pull off whining, especially when it came to unwanted meals. 

His incessant mewling and whimpering is referred to as an "artform." 

"You wanted to kill him," Shepherd says. 

This, obviously, is referred to again in A Christmas Story when Randy (played by Ian Petrella) is enticed by his mother to imitate a little piggy so that he'll eat a plate of meatloaf he's otherwise disgusted by.

We're also treated to the story of Ludlow Kissel, the town drunk, and the incident of the bomb that "struck back." 

Matt Dillon as Ralph Parker

A perfect companion film to Phantom of the Open Hearth as it, too, turns the words of Shepherd into imagery of simplistic, glorious, American life and the freedom that comes with it. 

It's a view from the outside looking in, and Shepherd tells us in the audience to look at what we have here. How terrific it all is!

One scene shows the high school marching band practicing out on the football field as the steel mill sits monumentally just on the other side of the fence. Strong winds blow in from Lake Michigan with such intrusion and gusto, catching the sousaphones just right so that they start playing the students. 

Dillon's portrayal is certainly a stretch from Peter Billingsley's Ralphie, who's now an established image in American pop culture. Or, maybe it's the other way around as Billingsley's Ralphie didn't happen until the following year. That's certainly not a criticism. Of course, Ralphie in A Christmas Story is still in elementary school, and has his childhood innocence and blue-eyed look about him. It's the same role, but a different period of his life. The Ralph in The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters is much more present for the sake of Shepherd's narration. The stories are more memorable than Dillon playing Ralph. That's not to say he's a terrible Ralph Parker. Shepherd does more of the acting for him.

This is also James Broderick's last performance as he passed away the same year.

I was excited watching this movie. I was getting a whole new look at something I'm familiar with, and have loved for a few decades. Now, there's more to the story. There's more experiences with these familiar characters to appreciate and learn from. There's more to relate to. 

The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters, though it clearly has that early made-for-TV feel to it, still has the same style and nostalgic charm that A Christmas Story has. All the same feels are there, only it's surrounding our nation's birthday rather than Jesus'. 

Like I said in my previous review, fans of A Christmas Story should check this one out. It's too bad this film is as obscure as it is. These are the movies that ought to be packaged with A Christmas Story!

Editors Note:
The next movie in the Ralph Parker saga (as I'm calling it) is another American Playhouse production called The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski. Originally airing on PBS Feb. 11, 1985, it's technically the first continuation to A Christmas Story. 

After that, I'll be looking at the made-for-TV movie Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss which aired in 1988, and has been shown on the Disney Channel several times as well as on PBS. Following Ralphie and his family as they travel on their annual vacation, it too was directed by Richard Bartlett. I already wrote a review for the 1994 sequel to A Christmas Story called It Runs in the Family (aka My Summer Story) starring Kieran Culkin as Ralphie and Charles Grodin as the Old Man.

I'll end this exciting escapade by holding my nose and diving into the sludgy cash-grab of a flick that is A Christmas Story II. I'll have to do it fast so it won't hurt as bad...like tearing off a band-aid. So, that's the plan. Merry Christmas!