National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) by ME!
Directed by Jeremiah Chechik
Written by John Hughes
Starring:
Chevy Chase
Beverly D’Angelo
Randy Quaid
Juliette Lewis
Johnny Galecki
John Randolph
Diane Ladd
E.G. Marshall
Doris Roberts
William Hickey
Mae Questel
Miriam Flynn
Nicholas Guest
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Running time: 97 minutes
Plot Synopsis:
The Griswolds decide to stay home for Christmas. And this “vacation” is the funniest by far.
My Opinion:
I love Christmas movies. When I was younger and had time, I’d watch loads of them through all of December. It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, etc etc… I don’t have the time for that these days but there are TWO Christmas movies I still try to watch every December without fail: Scrooged and, of course, this.
I don’t think I need to go into this one too much – I’d be very surprised if anyone has actually not seen it. By far the best of the “Vacation” films, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation may not be It’s A Wonderful Life but is certainly every bit as much an American Christmas Classic. What I’ve always loved about it is that it SO accurately portrays a fairly typical American Christmas with crazy family (although of course exaggerated for comedic effect). I’m not sure if this one is as successful outside of the US – I WILL admit that it’s very “American”. My British hubby has never been able to relate to this one in the same way that I can and, since living in the UK, I’ve seen that Christmas is quite different here. But that’s probably made me love this movie even more – I can put it on each December and get all warm & fuzzy remembering my Christmases as a kid.
The other thing I’ve always loved about this movie is that it’s actually REALLY EFFING FUNNY!!! Comedy isn’t exactly my favorite movie genre as there are so few that I’ve found funny over the years. But Christmas Vacation is hilarious. The mishaps with the Christmas lights, the crazy old aunt & uncle, the squirrel, the dry turkey, the cat getting fried, Danny Fucking Kaye, “it is a bit nipply out”, the snobby neighbors, the Star-Spangled Banner, Hallelujah! Holy shit! And, of course…. Cousin Eddie. How awesome is Randy Quaid in this movie? “Shitter was full!”. That’s right, James Stewart – I love you and Zuzu’s petals & your “Attaboy, Clarence” and all that but nothing beats “Shitter was full” when it comes to the all-time best Christmas movie quotes.
Summary:
This movie never fails to cheer me up. I can’t imagine a Christmas going by without me watching it. It’s very American which makes me feel all nostalgic, it’s funny as hell, and it actually has a lot of heart without being annoyingly saccharine like most Christmas movies are. These are the reasons why National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a CPD Classic.
My Rating: 9/10
**I could only track down the above poster art to Pinterest HERE. And I looooove this piece of artwork from artist Jude Buffum (site HERE).
great review Ms. Mutant!
Haven’t seen this in years, so I should probably rewatch it one of these days.
Let me know what you plan to do with my 4 posts. Will you have time to post them before Tuesday or do you want me to post them myself. whatever you prefer is fine by me.
This was lots of fun, sorry for being too over-zeolous 😦
Sorry – REALLY hectic week – I’m almost a week behind replying to blog comments. : ( Promise to email you tonight! Really. : )
np. I’ll be incommunicado from abt 2pm (your time) today until abt 4pm (your time) tomorrow, so I wont have email access. You can email me at your leisure and also post or not post whenever you want
just responded! Thanks. regards to Shoes, Cruise and Spews!
You definitely need to re-watch Christmas Vacation. It’s a classic. : )
Great review of one of my favourite movies! I’m from the UK and we watch this every year. It really does represent UK Christmases very well too – the obsession with Christmas lights, the oldies falling asleep after dinner and the overdone turkey! Although we’ve never really understood why the American family are so afraid of squirrels! Haha… Can’t wait to watch it again this year 🙂
Thanks! Glad to hear someone from outside the US loves this too! : ) It really is up there with It’s A Wonderful Life for me. Lol. I just love it! : )
One of my favourite Christmas movies! Great write-up! 🙂
Thanks. : ) It truly is a Christmas Classic. Love it!
Sorry I’m so late getting to this… good stuff!!!
#love
Lol. No problem. I’m currently replying to blog comments from a week & a half ago.
#LifeIsTooBusy : (
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