There were some reports last year about a planned big-screen sequel to the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Then there was a lot of expected outrage, and the project went the way of Mr. Potter’s plans for Bedford Falls. That isn’t always the case, though. Plenty of Yuletide movies have gotten big-budget sequels, including Home Alone, The Santa Clause, and, yes, Die Hard.
Don’t forget that National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a sequel, too. But some other Christmas sequels have sneaked into holiday rotation by going direct-t0-home video. That’s just the first step to ending up getting constantly slotted into cheap slots on cable television.
That’s like Santa sneaking up from the basement instead of coming down the chimney, and then just hanging around after he runs out of presents. On the other hand, these misfit sequels can be pretty amazing to watch when a holiday stupor (or Christmas depression) has you too worn out to change the channel. In that spirit, watch out for these 5 questionably cheerful sequels to classic Christmas movies…
Jingle All the Way 2 (2014)
The original Jingle All the Way (1996) pits Arnold Schwarzenegger against funnyman Sinbad in a slapstick quest to obtain the last Powerman doll before Christmas. The recently released Jingle All the Way 2 showcases Larry the Cable Guy in a similar pickle over a talking Harrison the Bear toy. Pro wrestler Santino Marella co-stars in this (you guessed it!) WWE Studios co-production.
A Christmas Story 2 (2012)
This one has taken over the daytime programming of the Country Music Television network, and that’s a damn shame. A Christmas Story 2 hit Red Box rental stations and video on demand a couple of years back. Ralphie is now sixteen and hopped up to acquire a 1939 Mercury convertible for Christmas. As expected, that doesn’t pack quite the charm of ten-year-old Ralphie’s original campaign for a Red Ryder BB gun.
Home Alone 5: The Holiday Heist (2012)
The first two Home Alone movies, of course, were holiday blockbusters starring Macauley Culkin. A third installment with some other kid dribbled into theaters in 1997. ABC debuted Home Alone 4 in 2002 and, then, a decade later, a non-eager world got Home Alone 5: The Holiday Heist. Of note is that HA5’s criminal cabal is led by Malcolm McDowell, best known for mounting some very different home invasions in A Clockwork Orange.
Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Vacation (2003)
Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn return as redneck relatives Cousin Eddie and Cousin Catherine in this made-for-NBC piffle. Weirdly, Dana Baron, who played young Audrey Griswold in the original Vacation also comes back. Along with Ed Asner as Uncle Nick, that whole gang gets shipped off to a tropical island for Christmas. That’s pretty much it. The end. Well, a monkey might also be involved.
Prancer Returns (2001)
The existence of the 1989 movie Prancer is odd enough. The demand for a sequel adventure for Santa’s runaway reindeer a dozen years later is baffling. Yet here it is. Michael O’Keefe (Danny Noonan in Caddyshack) co-stars as an evil school principal who wants Prancer euthanized. Merry Christmas!
