The Great American 4th of July reigns supreme as the best of the Jean Shepherd films, including A Christmas Story. It is a very rarely seen creation of Shep from the American Playhouse series of films with PBS, never ommercially released, but blessedly is now on you tube in sequential parts. This is a MUST SEE by any fan of A Christmas Story, Jean Shepherd, or Matt Dillon for that matter. Dillon can't be a day over 16 in this when he played Ralphie, older here than in the Christmas Story setting, but better than Dillon, the great James Broderick plays "The Old Man" to such a fine degree that lovers of Darren McGavin's performance might change their loyalty.
The film loosely revolves around the 4th of July and more of Shep's stories, but its joy is the simple, classic Shepherd narrative story telling and characterization. That Dillon and Broderick starred in this glorious piece firmly places it in the ranks all time no-budget glory. They are perfect. The film is perfect. Plot matters not at all as does the sheer urgency of seeing it. It's another amalgam of Shep's stories which are welded together in film. It's all brilliant, touching, hilarious, and so wonderful. You may find yourself repeating "Hi Ralph!" after watching, for the rest of your days, and that would be a good thing.