The Under 700 Club: The Waltons' Homecoming (2021)

Good night, John Boy.

The Under 700 Club: Reviews in under 700 words for movies with less than 700 logs on Letterboxd (log count as of this publication: 133)

Regular readers of this website know that my grandmother passed away around this time last year. I've written about what she meant to me here and here, I suppose as some kind of coping mechanism. 

My favorite thing to do with her growing up was watch The Waltons, which, looking back, is a really great way to grandparent without too much heavy lifting. In every episode, someone (or multiple people) would learn a valuable lesson about respect, dedication, sacrifice, love, or understanding. We would talk about what it meant to be a part of a family or when it's okay to say that you need help, these conversations happening over our grilled cheese and tomato soup. Then we would take our naps, visions of the Walton family playing back in my head. 

As I wrote in that review for The Gentleman Bandit, "I've wanted to revisit Walton's Mountain, but I've been afraid to actually watch the show for fear of an emotional swell." Instead, I've opted for movies with those same actors (or To Kill A Mockingbird's National Tour with Richard Thomas) so I could still see their familiar faces.

A year later, I still don't think that I'm ready to revisit the show. But I thought of a workaround: The Waltons' Homecoming. In 2021, the CW premiered their retelling of the 1971 pilot film that launched the series. Interestingly enough, I was never the biggest fan of that film, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, because many of the adult actors were different and recast for the series.

This time around, that's exactly what I was looking for. The idea of revisiting old places with new faces seemed like the perfect replacement. 

The only exception, of course, is Richard Thomas, the original John-Boy, who returns as the Narrator for this new version. Otherwise, the story is exactly the same. In Depression-era Blue Ridge, The Walton family prepares for Christmas, awaiting the return of their father (he has taken work on the other side of a snowstorm), who might not make it home in time for the holiday. 

Is this CW special nearly as good as just about anything in the franchise to this point? This nostalgia-filled boy can give a resounding no. But I didn't need it to be, for a few reasons:

Above all, it did what I needed it to do. I was able to revisit familiar places, like the Waltons' home or Ike's grocery store. I was able to see great memories again, like the Baldwin sisters serving their Papa's famous recipe or the family's surprise on Christmas. I was able to see old friends who now look just a little different, almost like a new theatre troupe performing one of your favorite classic plays, (Logan Shroyer is a fine John-Boy and Ben Lawson and Bellamy Young are excellent parents, but we're missing a young man to play Ben, who seemingly didn't make the cut.) 

And it was so, so nice to hear that theme song again. 

I'm also excited at the prospect of this new rendering of the Waltons family bringing in new fans of the franchise. It's a tough sell - a story of a poor family in the Depression where every episode teaches a lesson. I can't imagine a ton of kids turning off something much more fun and dynamic to watch this. But I'm sure that there are people who watched The Waltons, whether back in the original '70s run or in syndication (it was on every day at noon when I was a young boy, hence the lunchtime appointment) that might have used this glossy interpretation (the Depression sure does look...clean) as a gateway for the young ones in their life. Maybe this story of family and faith will inspire some to seek out the rest.

Like I will, when I watch the 2022 follow-up A Waltons Thanksgiving next year around Turkey Day. And one day, when I go back and watch the original series...with my grandmother by my side.

Happy Birthday, Grandma. I love you and I miss you every day.