No contest: Darren McGavin's performance was clearly superior. Grodin is so obviously acting (if you can call it that), whereas McGavin's performance was effortless. When McGavin wanted to be arch like with the "Frah Gee Lee" scene (I still chuckle at it), it was in character; Grodin just flatly is badly overacting.
shareGrodin was just charmless and completely unlikable. McGavin was great.
shareCharles Grodin was doing an exaggerated version of Darren McGavin's performance in "A Christmas Story."
shareI thought it was bad as well, I wondered why he was talking so strangley, we all know that's not his normal voice, or even his normal acting voice. That's what his, "i'm going to try to sound like the original actor" voice. And it was terrible.
shareExactly! McGavin was so convincing that you'd aware that was how he really was off screen. He did every screen perfectly when serious or overly happy like when he won that iconic lamp. I'm sorry but he's the ONLY 'old man' IMHO.
shareAt least Grodin was better than Daniel Stern in Christmas Story 2.
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