Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

My Summer Story Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 22, 2017

Bob Clark's "My Summer Story" a.k.a. "It Runs in the Family" (1994) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The friendly neighbors

Bob Clark’s My Summer Story was once intended to be a sequel to his comedy A Christmas Story, but it was delayed multiple times and did not get released theatrically until the early 1990s. So because the original plan had collapsed eventually someone at MGM came up with the brilliant idea to retitle it from My Summer Story to It Runs in the Family, but by the time the film hit the video stores another brilliant marketing guru concluded that the studio should have never altered the original title. It is how It Runs in the Family once again became My Summer Story. Director Clark must have been delighted to see how the studio just could not figure out how to market his film.

This is very unfortunate because the film is quite good. It is about a middle-class family from a small town somewhere in Indiana that plans to have an entire summer of wonderful activities but ends up dealing with a seemingly endless streak of bizarre conflicts and nasty surprises that drive its members on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown -- well, at least Mr. Parker (Charles Grodin) and Mrs. Parker (Mary Steenburgen); for a long time Ralphie Parker (Kieran Culkin) only gets seriously annoyed because he can’t seem to find a proper top that can finally take down another ‘legendary’ top owned by one of the cockiest boys in town.

The troubles begin shortly after Mr. Parker threatens to destroy the primitive toilet his hillbilly neighbors have built in their backyard and they promptly respond that retreat is not an option. The unexpected resistance quickly transforms the old man into an angry animal and the two sides engage in a war of words. Then Mr. Parker misery is further exacerbated when he decides to prove to his fishing buddies that this season he is going to be a few steps ahead of them but fails to deliver and actually repeatedly humiliates himself. Around the same time Mrs. Parker begins collecting the many pieces of an exotic dinnerware set, incorrectly assuming that success will also strengthen her image amongst her local friends and enemies, but the task proves a lot more challenging than initially anticipated. Ralphie also vows to find a proper top that will finally beat the monster top that a loud-mouthed bully has owned for years, but despite his enthusiasm repeatedly loses before his best pals.

The bulk of the material is rather silly but in a sincere way that makes quite a difference. After the local school closes doors the film basically gradually begins transforming the adults into children while the children become more independent and begin understanding how the real world actually works. So there are plenty of scenes where the film essentially sides with the children but it does not pretend to be impartial and it all works.

Jean Shepherd’s novels apparently inspired the film, but most viewers will probably agree that it is the good chemistry between the stars, not the actual story, that makes it enjoyable. Without Grodin’s angry character, for instance, the film would not have been half as good as it is. (See the scene where he decides to surprise the hillbillies with a solid dose of Wagner’s most intimidating music but his plan backfires on him).

The only truly odd bit about this film is that it is set in Indiana and yet no one can be seen shooting hoops.

My Summer Story Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bob Clark's My Summer Story arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release is sourced from an older master that is a bit uneven, but it is actually quite nice. Indeed, virtually all daylight close-ups boast very pleasing clarity and delineation; only during some of the indoor footage there are a few areas where shadow definition could be improved. Depth is also good, though a new master will introduce improvements that will expose additional fine detail. Regardless, a lot of the wider panoramic shots look lovely. Some of the highlights could be rebalanced, but there are no horrible anomalies that will affect negatively your viewing experience. There are no traces of recent degraining or sharpening adjustments, but a few minor optimizations I would say that grain could have been exposed even better. With a new master density will also be improved. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

My Summer Story Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable, but my gut feeling is that if the audio is fully remastered there will be some noticeable dynamic improvements. Indeed, there are a couple of segments where I felt that the middle range is slightly subdued, though the overall dynamic activity is hardly impressive. There are no audio dropouts, pops, distracting background hiss, or digital distortions to report.

My Summer Story Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

My Summer Story Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you enjoy Bob Clark's A Christmas Story and you approach My Summer Story expecting a conventional sequel I can tell you right now that you are not going to be hugely impressed with what you see -- and rightfully so because it is an entirely different type of film. It is a flawed but sincere little comedy that does not aim to reinvent the wheel, which is why it ultimately becomes quite charming. Olive Films' technical presentation of the film is good, but I would have loved to see at least one bonus feature that focuses on its production history. Regardless, consider adding the release to your collections. RECOMMENDED.