National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Really Surprised!

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.This hilarious 3rd film from the "Vacation" movies series is now its most popular. I love the original "Vacation" however "Christmas Vacation" is just as funny maybe even funnier.In this film the "I want to be the worlds greatest dad" Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is hosting a huge Christmas season at his home. Both his parents and his in-laws come in for the holidays and the party is also crashed by cousin Eddie. As we all know Christmas is never perfect and for Clark he sets himself up to a world of huge appointment.Everything Clark seems to do in this film is BIG. From getting the tree to decorating his him. He wants to do everything to the max and for all us who had to cut down trees and put up Christmas lights we understand his frustration.The film was released in 1989. I have seen this film every Christmas since. I never get tired of it. Its now part of my holiday tradition. I can honestly say the film is now a classic.You do not need to of seen the previous films to know what's going. All you need is a funny bone.

At this stage in the Vacation series, you'd expect a drop in the overall quality, maybe the laughs have dried up and the series is being milked too much..., oh but no, absolutely and very much no, Christmas Vacation is probably the funniest in the series, despite being the third film in the series. It's old school laughs, stuff you probably wouldn't get away with in this overly-saturated politically correct society of today, and that alone has made the film grow even better with age, as society gets worse, the film gets better.The quintessential Christmas film, for me personally Christmas just wouldn't be the same if we didn't break out the old DVD and watch it at least once, on a personal level this actually is my favourite Christmas film, the reason being because of how realistic it is, compared to other Christmas films that rely on magic, Santa Claus and fictional fairy tales to drive the story, Christmas Vacation doesn't, it instead promotes the truth......The pure and simple truth, in a comical way.It shows that Christmas is stressful, it isn't all that great, it shows that the basis of Christmas is built on money, not on magic, that things go wrong e.g. the Christmas lights that blanket the outside of the house, they won't initially work so Clark Griswold throws a tantrum, that's Christmas, that's proper Christmas.Even for unrelated people things can go wrong e.g. the neighbours, the young fashionable couple that Clark torments something chronic with all the mishaps and accidents, e.g. the icicle that smashes straight through their window without warning.We all have family that comes out of the woodwork every Christmas, and despite being somewhat exaggerated in Christmas Vacation, it still hits the nail on the head and gets the point across..., these people will descend on you and you need the patience of a saint to get through it unscathed, but just as in this film, that very rarely happens, there's always an argument, a fuss, a disagreement, a falling out of some description. And alas somewhere out there, we all have a Cousin Eddie..., an embarrassment of a family that everyone's ashamed of, but still they come, unable to see their own flaws. It's realistic, it's a send up, it's satire at its most grotesque, and this is Christmas whether you like it or not.On another note, true to form, as with every Vacation film, there's a new actor playing the son, Rusty Griswold..., the lad portraying Rusty here is none other than Johnny Galecki, most famous for playing Leonard in the hit TV series "The Big Bang Theory"

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989): Dir: Jeremiah Chechik / Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, William Hickey, Brian Doyle-Murray: The third in the hilarious comedy franchise contains an exaggerated yet modern theme, which viewers may relate. Clark W. Griswold desires a holiday Christmas at home with extended family but everything goes wrong. Chevy Chase delivers several great physical jokes including a sled race that goes beyond fast. As Clark he awaits his bonus so to surprise the family with a swimming pool. He goes beyond standard family procedure especially when lighting the house. Beverly D'Angelo returns as his loyal and sensible wife Ellen who tries to make sense of Clark's mishaps. Randy Quaid steals every scene he is in as redneck cousin Eddie who arrives in a beat up R.V, and delivers some of the best lines. One element of concern is too many characters to really advance although William Hickey as Uncle Lewis is a steal when he accidentally burns down the tree. Everyone else is a role call of great talent with a few lines and moments but little development. Not for children due to adult humour including a controversial scene involving an electrocuted cat. This film is filled with great moments and non stop laughs while presenting a sense of normality within its setting. The result is a grand way to spend the holidays. Score: 8 ½ / 10

Admittedly, I haven't seen very many Chevy Chase or even National Lampoon movies for that matter. His particular brand of comedy appeals to a certain generation, and this movie is chock full of it. Relying on mainly slapstick humor and good comedic timing, this movie parodies the textbook family Christmas get-together. In fact, I was not surprised to learn that this movie birthed the term Griswold House--"a house or display that has been decorated with way too many holiday lights, so as to be almost blinding."I will have to watch the other Griswold family movies before having a definite opinion, but from the sound of the other reviewers, this is the best one. I even recognized some familiar faces--Raymond's mother from Everybody Loves Raymond, and one of the nerds from The Big Bang Theory.The movie does have its laugh out loud moments, and has some memorable quotes to boot... but not enough substance to be recommended for anything other than a Christmas Eve family movie option.