Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (1988)

"In Northern Indiana, lakes with fish in them are far and few between."

Director

Dick Bartlett

Cast

Jean Shepherd - Adult Ralph Parker/ Scott

Jerry O'Connell - Young Ralph Parker

Dorothy Lyman - Mrs. Parker

James B. Sikking - Mr. Parker

Jason Clarke Adams - Randy Parker

Cameron Johann - Flick

Ross Eldridge - Schwartz

I'm finally covering this rare gem of a flick. I've mentioned it several times before as it's based on the writing of humorist Jean Shepherd.

Also, more than twice, I've discussed the 1983 Christmas staple, A Christmas Story, the movie about Ralphie Parker and his quest for the Red Ryder BB Gun, based on the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Shepherd.

Back in November 2019, I shared my thoughts as to whether A Christmas Story is a stupid movie or not. 

I then reviewed its 1994 sequel It Runs in the Family (aka My Summer Story) which not a lot of audiences know about. 

Sometime after that, I attempted to make a comparison between A Christmas Story and the 2010 movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's a stretch, but I did it anyways.
I then discovered a few made-for-TV films about Ralphie and the Parker family also based on the works of Jean Shepherd. Most of them predate A Christmas Story - The Phantom of the Open Hearth (1976), The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters (1982), and The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (1985). I watched. I reviewed. So, check those out!

I honestly thought that was going to be it for Jean Shepherd content. But... here we are! 

Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss is the second movie to follow A Christmas Story. 

The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski is the first - technically. I say "technically" because it was released the year after A Christmas Story.

But unlike its holiday predecessor, you won't find Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss playing on TNT or TBS in a 24-hour loop.  

Incidentally, I intended to watch and review 2012's A Christmas Story 2 - the most unnecessary of sequels - last January. Other reviews got in the way. So, it'll have to wait until next Christmas.

Hopefully that'll give my readers something to look forward to.
By the way, A Christmas Story 2 claims to be "the" sequel. Balderdash, I say!

Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss is a made-for-TV film, co-produced by The Disney Channel and PBS. It aired in that order and was released onto VHS by Disney Home Video in 1993. Today, finding that VHS copy will run you nearly three digits. 
I watched a copy included in a set of Jean Shepherd films distributed by a company called "Onesmedia."
The quality seems as though it was recorded to disc from a VHS tape.

The movie starts with black and white images of "wage slaves" burdened by the heavy drudgery of work, work, work. The footage was taken from the silent movie Metropolis. 

Shepherd narrates about the sweat and toil of every working human. It's accompanied by a rather high-pitched rendition of Hi Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as people march to perform their manual tasks in unison. 

Ralph (Jerry O' Connell- Stand By Me) and his buddies, Flick (Cameron Johann) and Schwartz (Ross Eldridge) endure the incessantly cruel boredom of waiting at the employment office to finally obtain their working papers which Ralph has been eager to have. 

To them, work leads to wealth.  

They finally get their papers and find an opportunity for gainful employment at Scott's Used Furniture Palace.

They're quickly interviewed by Scott himself (Jean Shepherd), whom Ralph describes as a cross between Rasputin and the Wolfman. All three of them are hired on the spot, fueling each of their fantasies of wealth. 

They all celebrate their victory with a soda and talk about what they'll do with the heaps of money they think they're all in for.

Meanwhile, as Ralph shares the news with his family at the breakfast table that he's joined the working class, the family dog Fuzzhead hasn't returned home from his usual morning stroll to...wherever he wanders each day.

Mrs. Parker (Dorothy Lyman - Mama's Family) starts to worry. She tells Mr. Parker (James B. Sikking - Hill Street Blues) that she won't go on the family trip without Fuzzhead. 

James Sikking, Jerry O'Connell, and Dorothy Lyman in
Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

Meanwhile, clocking into their first day at the Used Furniture Palace, the boys are told to haul a heavy refrigerator up several flights of stairs in an apartment building. It's a scene reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy shoving a piano up a long flight. As they struggle, sweat, and swear, it's clear this isn't what they had in mind when joining the ranks of the working class.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Parker makes several "lost dog" posters with some of Ralph's brother, Randy's (Jason Clarke Adams) crayons, and posts them around town.

She offers a reward, though isn't certain what that reward will be.

Soon, people from all over Hohman, Indiana stop by their front porch with all kinds of dogs. Sadly, Fuzzhead isn't among them. 

Elsewhere, sore in parts he didn't know could actually become sore, Ralph has a nightmare about a looming refrigerator haunting him in his bedroom.

The next day, he and his two coworkers have to lift the same kind of fridge up another set of apartment stairs. Being a "galley slave" is hell after all, despite the paycheck.

For two weeks, Ralph works under the thumb of Scott in his palace of used furniture only to meet with the fate of being fired - $2 deducted from his paycheck for the work gloves. 

Later, while out driving, Mr. Parker spots Fuzzhead in the back seat of a luxurious Rolls Royce driving in front of them.

He chases the car down to a huge estate where a wealthy woman gets out with Fuzzhead.

At first, she's reluctant to give up her newly found poopsy-woopsie, but realizes it's best the dog goes back with its rightful family.

And Fuzzhead is left with his memories of the decadent life of prepared steaks and soft pillows as he returns to cheap canned dogfood and sleeping on the floor.

As the family is ready to take a trip, but worried how they'll manage to do so with Ralph's job, he tells them at dinner that he quit. 

When they ask why, he says he wanted to spend more time with his family.

So, they pack up the Chevy Sedan and head to a cabin at Clear Lake near Lake Michigan. 

Mr. Parker is anxious to catch some fish. And Mrs. Parker is anxious to just get away.

Their road trip includes the common setbacks such as the persistent whining from the kids, Randy's car sickness, Mr. Parker running out of gas because he'll only fuel up with Texas Royal Supreme Blue gasoline, and Mrs. Parker stopping at roadside shops and stands for useless kitsch décor. On top of all that, Ralph admits he forgot to pack the fishing tackle. 

When they finally make it to Ollie's Haven of Bliss cabins and campsite, they stay at the cabin named "Maria" as they're accustomed to. But Mr. Parker learns the fish have stopped biting.

Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss is a wistful movie than utilizes some of the same style as A Christmas Story. 

In one scene Ralph breaks the fourth wall for a brief moment as Shepherd narrates what he's thinking, just as he did in the Christmas movie. 

In another scene that might be the only nod to A Christmas Story, the Old Man gets a flat tire. Ralph sticks his head out of the car window and asks "Can I help?" 

Mr. Parker responds with, "Are you kidding me?" 

I also caught another scene scored with music from Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, just as A Christmas Story did.   

The actual vacation half of the movie felt a little like a diluted National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), though much of the content is based on stories by Shepherd that were first published in Playboy magazine back in the 1960s. They were later published in his collection of short stories called Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories in 1971, 

The movie is a bit corny at times. I still find it entertaining enough with several relatable scenarios and anecdotes.
I can imagine fans of A Christmas Story finding the most joy out of this film. 

The cast is well assembled, making the story of the all too familiar family road trip synonymous with comedy. It's a decent enough follow-up to the holiday classic regardless if it intends to be a follow-up or not.

Sikking plays Ralph's Old Man in a style that closely resembles Darren McGavin's performance in A Christmas Story.

To most audiences, McGavin is "the Old Man." 

Sikking fills the role well, with an ever-present look of confusion mixed with stern intent on his face. 

I also liked the relationship depicted between Ralph and his father. There seems to be a little more closeness between the two. 

Considering that Ralph's dad bought him his coveted Red Ryder BB gun in the previous film (the one person he didn't directly ask) it's a nice, subtle touch for the two to have a little closer relationship.   
Shepherd knows how to capture the world through the eyes of a kid facing the hard truth, with no soft way of putting it, that despite all of our plans and goals and fantasies, life is way too heavy for us to force and push it in the direction we want it to go. Only by luck or by chance will it cooperate with our demands.

It's the daily grind that makes vacation glamorous. The more we work, the more we yearn for and appreciate vacation. You can't have rest and relaxation without putting in your 40-hours a week. 

For many, the trek to our vacation spot is half of the burden.