National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Out of all the National Lampoon Vacation films, Christmas Vacation is considered the strongest out of the four. While that opinion is highly subjective as everybody is going to view each of these movies differently, this 1989 follow-up was rated much higher than the previous outing, European Vacation, and is still the highest grossing entry out of the entire franchise (excluding the awful 2015 remake starring Ed Helms which grossed more than each consecutive film astonishingly). While not receiving the most flattering reviews upon release, it has evolved over the years to become a staple of the holidays and eventually became a Christmas classic for its delightful showcase of seasonal mayhem. The Griswold family are planning to have a perfect Christmas with their entire family. While his wife Ellen (played again by Beverly D’Angelo) and his children, Audrey, and Rust (played by Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki) are a little more apprehensive, Clark Griswold (played again by Chevy Chase) is determined to bring the Christmas cheer to his family, while delightfully waiting for his Christmas bonus from his cold-hearted boss, Frank (played by Brian Doyle-Murray) which he can use to buy a pool. After both his parents (played by Diane Ladd and John Randolph) and Ellen’s parents (played by Doris Roberts and E. G. Marshall) arrive, things start to become more chaotic than expected, including trying to fit an over sized tree into their living room, the Christmas lights refusing to turn on, and Ellen’s cousin, Catherine (played by Miriam Flynn) and her husband, Eddie (played by Randy Quaid) arriving on their doorstep for Christmas along with their children (played by Cody Burger and Ellen Hamilton Latzen) and their hyperactive dog, forcing more people to live under the same roof before the day arrives. With more and more things going wrong and still with no sign of the bonus on the way, Clark tries to remain in the festive mood, even though literally everything is testing him to go over the deep end. While not the most groundbreaking comedy , Christmas Vacation has enough entertaining character actors, memorable moments, and a nice balance of wholesome Christmas cheer and entertaining cynicism to results in a very solid film, whether its watched at Christmas or even any other time.

Once again based on a short story written by John Hughes (who also wrote and produced the film) for the magazine, National Lampoon (this one titled ‘’Christmas ‘’59’’ ‘’), the set-up seems a little bare and maybe not the most original, but what matters is how its executed and delivered, and this film manages to portray this idea in as perfect a way as it could. Watching a (mostly) wholesome family and father try desperately to have a pleasant friendly Christmas surrounded with the usual essentials like presents, merriment and family, but the worst aspect of those components come out and result in a chaotic experience that only builds with each passing day, has the makings for a lot of great comedy, and while the film isn’t laugh-out-loud humorous in any regard or even that intelligent from a scripting level, the tone of the story, the energy from the actors and the frenzied nature of the situations results in an overall mood that is insane while still retaining its sweet centre. While this isn’t along the lines of something like It’s a Wonderful Life or Home Alone where the mixture between wholesome and mayhem was pretty spot on, this still does provide a noticeable and effective balance as the spirit of the holidays and the hard work that goes into such a stressful period is highly focused on and appreciated all the more even when it falls right back down in your face. It’s wholesome to see Clark clearly put everything into making this day as perfect as it can be, and it feels bad when everything just keeps getting worse and worse in spite of how much effort was put in, only to feel all that more joyful and fulfilled when it pays off in the end, its a small emotional journey, but does work in this kind of film. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a nice package overall and the direction by Jeremiah S. Chechik presents all these tones in a reasonably cohesive whole, even though there is a hint of crassness that feels totally out of place and only seems to be included because its of the era and not because it matches the mood of the story (either that or a bleed over from the original tone of the franchise).

The actors in this film (whether new or returning faces) feel like they thrive in this kind of spontaneous environment and are great at injecting little touches into their performances to make even a smaller role feel a little bit more memorable because of it. There are a ton of character actors present, and each one, whether given a big or a small role, is able to make the most of their screen time and leave a memorable impression. Chevy Chase is definitely an actor of the time and his mannerisms, facial expressions and overall demeanor give off the attitude of someone who was on SNL or a stage skit show, but unlike other actors within that space that dive so heavily into that mindset to the point that it becomes distracting and irritating (a lot like what Will Ferrell does), Chase seems to be able to hold it back just enough to not come across as totally insufferable, despite also having wild weird faces, over-the-top reactions, and bouts of frantic shouting. He does sell the image of a family man who’s obsessed with Christmas and becomes bummed out when it doesn’t go his way, but his most entertaining acting moments are when he does lose faith and portrays his rage in a psychotically cheerful manner as opposed to sullen and depressed (it’s a lot more fun and memorable that way). The rest of the cast is also very memorable. Beverly D’Angelo does great as a supportive wife and mother who tries to keep it together underneath all the pressure from other family members, Randy Quaid is pretty spot on as a redneck distant relative who means well yet is an intrusion in almost every fashion, Diane Ladd and John Randolph are so likeable as Clark’s parents that despite barely saying anything, each of their lines is packed with such heart and warmth that it’ll heart any sourness in your body, and Doris Roberts and E.G Marshall are fun counterbalances to that joy, William Hickey and Mae Questel as other relatives provide brief but memorable performances, Brian Doyle-Murray as Clark’s boss is enjoyably grouchy, Julia-Louis Dreyfuss and Nicholas Guest as yuppie next door neighbors whose lives constantly get destroyed by the Griswold’s commotion result in a few fun moments, and  even some of the kids feel decently genuine for what they’re given and manage to not come across as sappy or fake (although Juliette Lewis does come across as pretty flat and lifeless).

This is a film that definitely screams Christmas whenever you watch it, as it just feels enveloped in the season down to its production value,  the choice of clothing on every character or even just the overall atmosphere. Its nice that even though this film has a sense of typical American zaniness to its humor that can at times be a little inappropriate and obnoxiously loud, it still retains a decently wholesome centre that really makes it work as a Christmas classic that anybody can understand and even relate with (even within its exaggerated delivery). The opening honestly gives a perfect example of what kind of movie this is going to be, with an animated sequence of Santa trying to deliver presents to the Griswold house yet things constantly result in him getting hurt along the way. It brings a meaner side to something that should be pure and features a lot of wacky slapstick and situations, but it doesn’t erase the core of the intent and still results in something pleasant and definitely fueled by Christmas. The slapstick is nothing overly wild or that dramatic, yet its not painfully forced either, its handled well enough and there are occasional fun visuals like literally driving underneath a gigantic truck or something along those lines. The best comedy is the stuff you barely notice, whether through a distinct reaction, an under-the-breath line or even a double meaning behind either previous example to result in something a lot more humorous than what was actual said, it thankfully results in an entertaining experience. The production value for the film is perfectly nice, but nothing really stands out as extremely memorable (outside of the image of Chevy Chase in a Christmas sweater wielding a chainsaw and Jason Voorhees mask, that’s a pretty good image). The music for the film is also fairly decent but nothing truly memorable, which is bizarre considering that the composer for the film, Angelo Badalamenti, has mostly produced scores for his frequent collaborator, David Lynch, so something that bizarre in the soundtrack would’ve been interesting. Despite that, it still sounds decent, it matches the Christmas spirit, and even the opening pop song by Monique Coleman (of High School Musical fame) isn’t that bad.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (despite not really being a vacation) does do enough to make it worthy of the one in the franchise which has arguably connected with the most people. Everybody is bound to have their favourite, and many may still see the original as the quintessential entry in this franchise, but this film is the one that even people who aren’t familiar with the series, know about and know that it is a highly beloved film. The actors are all great, there’s a lot of memorable scenes, it has a nice sense of chaotic humor yet still manages to be wholesome, and while its nothing that spectacular from a writing standpoint, the performances, atmosphere, and little touches make the experience truly engaging and make you want to rewatch it over and over again. It may not look like it, but it makes sense why this is a Christmas classic.