Ollie Hopnoodles’s Haven of Bliss 1988

     This film is a sequel to the film A Christmas Story and the time period is the 1950’s.  It’s summertime in Hohman Indiana and 14-year-old Ralph Parker can't wait to get his first job!!  His friends Schwartz and Flick are less enthusiastic and the job turns into a nightmare!!  This movie is presided over by the story's author, Jean Shepherd in hilariously unconvincing movie makeup.  Ralph's dad can hardly wait for the family's upcoming fishing vacation in Michigan at Ollie Hopnoodles’s Haven of Bliss resort!!  They will need to drive their old car through a sea of troubles to get there.  Fuzzhead, the dog runs away and joins a wealthy family to the consternation of Mom!!  She patiently handles ultra whiner little-brother Randy and buys a whirligig as a consolation.

     I actually know families that take everything but the kitchen sink when they went on road trips!!  This is before the days of campers and motorhomes with everything including the kitchen sink!!  This movie actually contains three plot lines, one about Ralph taking a summer job, one about the family losing their dog and the final story about the family car trip to Michigan for some fishing.  This is familiar territory for a lot families in this time period.  They are born, live, vacation and also work in the same area their entire lives!!

     The job subplot isn't bad but the dog story comes from a little out of left field.  The vacation story is the over-arching story and the road trip part of the movie will be very familiar to any good red-blooded, red-meat eating, red-car driving Midwesterner!!  Also, with two children, there is usually a responsible older child and there is the cranky whiny younger child!!  5* (I really liked this movie)

89 min, Comedy directed by Dick Bartlett and written by Jean Shepherd with James Sikking, Dorothy Lyman, Jean Shepherd, Jerry O’Connell, Jason Clarke Adams, Cameron Johann, Ross Eldridge, Bill MacDonald, Majorie O’Neill-Butler, Edward Logan, W. Clapham Murray, Frank T. Wells, Peter Gerety, Robert J. Colonna, Arnie Cox.

Note:  Goodreads gives the book 4.33* out of 5* with 3 ratings, Imdb 7.1* out of 10* with 435 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 96% with 895 audience scores, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 29 ratings, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  The dog Fuzzhead was portrayed by Jean Shepherd’s real-life dog Daphne.  The same fridge that Ralphie and his friends carry up flight after flight of stairs is seen again later in the movie. This time it is abandoned by the side of a road in the woods??  The Parkers' car is a 1946-1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster.  Jean Shepherd is also the writer on A Christmas Story 1983.

Mistakes:  Modern cars can be seen throughout the film?  Items in the film (cans and bags) have barcode symbols and they didn't exist in the 1950s.  Near the end, when the family is stopped at a railroad crossing, the caboose on the train is Burlington Northern, this wasn't operating until 1971.  At the beginning of the movie when the mother is making breakfast, a Crock Pot can be seen on a shelf.  Crock Pots were not invented until 1971.  The Reward poster for Fuzzhead shows an all-digit phone number.  In the 1950s, all phone numbers had a two-letter exchange name followed by 5 numbers.  The story takes place in Indiana but Texas license plates can be seen on many of the cars!!  (I am surprised at the large number of mistakes!!)