National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

I initially planned on having this review up before Christmas but it was delayed a bit by computer problems, family get togethers, and my full time job. In case you were wondering why I'm reviewing a Christmas movie in early January, well...those are the reasons. I hope you enjoy.

It has been a long standing Christmas tradition in my family to sit down and watch the great Christmas movies: It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (1938 version), White Christmas, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34^th Street (the original, obviously), and last, but certainly not least, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  Of course, out of the movies I just listed Christmas Vacation is obviously the odd man out.  First, it is the third entry in the popular Vacation series, while the other movies listed are stand alone films. White Christmas is a semi-remake of Holiday Inn, but the story is significantly different than the earlier movie.  Second, it easily the crudest out of three (it is loaded with gross out and sexual humor). It maybe the only Christmas the features a woman (albeit imaginary) doing a slow striptease while “Mele Kalikimaka” is playing on the soundtrack.  It is also a bit cartoonish at times; especially when the Griswold family is attacked by a manic squirrel.  It is one of the most unusual Christmas movies ever made, yet it isn’t as far removed from your more “traditional” Christmas movie as it first seems. 

If you grew up in the 1980s, then there is a good chance that you were familiar with the Griswold family. They were featured in three movies (Vegas Vacation was released in 1997) with varying degrees of success; European Vacation is often regarded as the worst out of three. Though, I have a soft spot for it as it was the movie that introduced me to the Griswolds.  In each movie, the well meaning but bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold would obsess over planning the perfect vacation for his family and then watch helplessly as it turned disastrous.  Yet, despite the damage that Clark wreaked upon the world, Griswold family always survived the ordeal.  

It is impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of Clark Griswold other than Chevy Chase. It was a part that he was born to play (it’s no wonder that he kept returning to the role).  On his brief stint on Saturday Night Live, Chase was known for his physical comedy (and for being extremely difficult to work with it) and it serves him well in the Vacation series.  However, what makes Clark Griswold such an endearing character is the sincerity that Chase brings to the role. Sure, he is great when it comes to doing comedic pratfalls, but Chase does fairly well when the script veers more to the sentimental.  There is a nice moment in Christmas Vacation when Clark reassures Ruby Sue, the daughter of Eddie and Catherine (Ellen’s cousins), that she will be getting presents for Christmas this year.  He genuinely wants to give this little girl, and her brother, a memorable Christmas and even buys her gifts.  

Clark is a genuinely interesting character in his own right; one moment can be the most compassionate guy on the planet and then in the next he can be extremely rude and vulgar.  When his next door neighbor Todd asks where Clark is going to put his oversized Christmas tree.  Clark responds, “Bend over and I’ll show you.”  While Clark is a genuine family man that doesn’t stop him from flirting with the attractive sales girl, Mary, at the lingerie shop.  In fact, the whole exchange with Mary is so uncomfortable to watch because Clark acts like a total jackass.  He constantly stumbles over his words and makes all sorts of Freudian slips.  At one point he says, “There is a nipple in the air…” and then has to correct himself.  There is also a child like quality to Clark; he gleefully coats his sled with a kitchen lubricant (that his company has been working) to make the surface more slippy and then screams in terror as it flies down the hillside at a supersonic speed.  He is a man of many contradictions, but there’s no denying that he has a big heart. 

Because Chevy Chase dominates the movie with his comedic presence it is easy to overlook Beverly D’Angelo’s performance as Ellen Griswold – Clark’s devoted wife.  Of course, I’m stating the obvious when I say that Chevy Chase and Beverly D’ Angelo have remarkable onscreen chemistry; they are easily one of the most believable onscreen couples in movie history.  Therefore, it’s not surprising that there was a movie series centered on them.  Even though Clark is bumbling buffoon at times, it easy to understand why Ellen is attracted to him. His good natured persona and devotion to his family is an endearing quality.  It also speaks volumes about D’Angelo that she can hold her own against Chevy Chase.  Sure, Chase is given some of the more memorable lines, but D’Angelo is able to breathe life in what could have easily been an underwritten character.  In fact, there are some nice subtle bits of comedy provided by D’Angelo that you probably won’t catch in the first viewing; Ellen trying to hold back her laughter when her mother complains about her hemorrhoids; when the family is eating the Christmas dinner, Ellen lifts a fork of dried up turkey to her mouth, quickly flicks it off her the fork, and mimes like she is chewing on the turkey; when the police tell the family to freeze, Ellen places her hand directly on Clark’s crotch and keeps it there for most of the scene.   
She is also has one of the film’s funniest lines - when Audrey complains about having to share a bed with her brother (to accommodate the grandparents), Ellen replies, “Don’t be so dramatic.  I’m sleeping with your father.” 

If you are familiar with the Vacation series, then you know the Griswold children, Audrey and Rusty, are played by different actors in each individual movie.  For my money Vacation (the first movie in the series) has the best Audrey and Rusty (played by Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall). They are far more naturalistic than their successors and often behave like siblings.  There’s a scene in Vacation where Audrey and Rusty, while sitting in the backseat of the car, keep trying to wind each other up – there are simultaneous amused and disgusted by what the other sibling is doing.  It’s a very believable moment anyone who has been trapped in the back of the car with their sibling for a long period of time.  European Vacation easily has the worst Audrey and Rusty in the series; Dana Hill and Jason Lively are more annoying than they are funny.  Vegas Vacation has probably the second best Audrey and Rusty in the series.  Marisol Nichols and Ethan Embry are decent actors, and are given a few funny moments to shine. In Christmas Vacation Audrey and Rusty are played by Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki.  Both actors went on to have pretty significant careers and decent in the roles. The problem is that Audrey and Rusty are fairly insignificant to the actual plot.  Christmas Vacation has the biggest cast out of all the Vacation movies, which means Audrey and Rusty are pretty much pushed to sideline to make for the more eccentric characters.    

This leads me to my least favorite aspect of the Vacation series….

RANDY QUAID AS UNCLE EDDIE! I am not at all a fan of Uncle Eddie, as I find Randy Quaid’s performance to be extremely one note.  In the first movie, Uncle Eddie’s screen time is limited to a couple of minutes and, hence, he is much more tolerable.  Unfortunately, in Christmas Vacation his role is significantly increased and within ten minutes he already wears out his welcome (though, it does make Clark’s frustration even more relatable).  It’s not only Quaid’s performance that annoys me, it’s the fact that once Eddie arrives on the scene, the movie begins to resort to gross out humor; the most obvious example is when Eddie is draining the raw sewage from his RV into a storm drain. The only part I find Eddie amusing is when he’s wearing a black dickey underneath his white sweater.  

Thankfully, once Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis arrive on the scene, Uncle Eddy gets sideline for a little bit. Aunt Bethany is Clark’s old, senile aunt and Lewis is his crotchety old Uncle.  Granted, Mae Questel (as Aunt Bethany) and William Hickey (as Uncle Lewis) also give fairly one note performances but the filmmakers know when to use them; it isn’t until the start of the third act that they make their first appearance (though Uncle Lewis is briefly scene in Clark’s home movies).   Whether it’s Bethany reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the dinner table (after Clark asks her to say grace), or Uncle Lewis accidentally burning down Clark’s Christmas tree, they are genuinely hilarious addition to the Griswold family.   I first saw Christmas Vacation in theatres when I was ten years old (winter of 1989) and I vividly recall my cousin Tom turning towards me every few minutes and trying to predict what would happen next.  He was wrong most of the time, but accurate predicted that Uncle Lewis would burn down the tree. What the moment did happen, we busted out laughing and I complimented him on his clairvoyance.  

Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis – Dreyfus also offer a couple laughs as Clark’s yuppie next door neighbors, Todd and Margo.  It’s interesting how these two characters work on two different levels;  on one hand it is extremely fun to see these two pretentious snobs get knocked down a few pegs (especially when Clark silences the condescending Todd with crude, sexual remark), while on the other hand it’s easy to sympathize with utter contempt they have towards Clark.  The biggest crime they commit in the movie is that they’re a bit snobbish; otherwise they are essentially minding their own business.  They want to enjoy a nice intimate dinner together; instead they become collateral damage in Clark’s obsession to have the perfect Christmas.  By the movie’s end their house has sustained significant damage, Margo is in tatters (after having being attacked by a demented squirrel and Eddie’s dog), and their marriage is in ruins (the extremely frustrated Margo punches the passive Todd square in the jaw). This is very much in the tradition of the Slobs vs. Snobs comedies that began with Animal House.  The snobs always dealt a pretty harsh punishment, even though the slobs (the underdogs) are really no better and are, in many ways, worse.  I recently watched Animal House and it occurred to me that Dean Wormer is one hundred percent correct about Delta House.  They are far more interested in partying than in academics and deserve to be expelled from the campus.  The only reason we despise Dean Wormer is because he is a crusty, middle aged man. Imagine how different the movie would be if he were more compassionate; we would despise the Deltas for taking advantage of kind man. Wormer is given a fairly harsh judgment that he doesn’t deserve.   The same applies to Todd and Margo; they don’t deserve the punishment that is meted out to them even if they are “snobs.”  

There are two themes that Christmas Vacation shares with most Christmas movies: family and redemption.  The Griswold’s are a tad bit dysfunctional at times and often get on each nerve, but are a strong enough unit that they can overcome what ever disaster is thrown their way.  Clark may go overboard at times, but Ellen, and his children, knows it is done with the best intentions. Even though the Christmas starts off disastrous, it ends on a positive note – everyone is together and enjoying themselves.  Clark has achieved his goal of creating a memorable Christmas.  Christmas Vacation knows when to sprinkle in the sentiment - not surprising, given that it was written by John Hughes.  After the night has been a complete disaster (ending when Uncle Eddie's dogs chasing a demented squirrel through the house) Clark lashes out at the family for wanting to leave and then storms into another room to brood for a little bit. He is then confronted by his father, who gives Clark a heart to heart chat; rather than berating his son for ruining Christmas, he encourages Clark to make things right by reading "The Night Before Christmas" to the family. It is an nice moment that is played to perfect by Chevy Chase and John Randolph, who has an extremely warm vibe about him.

The theme redemption comes in the form of Clark's miserly boss, Mr. Shirley. Clark has spent most of the movie waiting for his Christmas bonus to arrive in the mail;  he wants to put a swimming pool in the front yard and had to put on down payment on it even though there wasn't enough in his checking account to cover the amount.  His Christmas bonus will be able to cover the amount. After the Christmas dinner has been a complete disaster, Clark's luck seems to change for the better when a carrier arrives with his long awaited Christmas bonus. Clark shares his plans with the rest of the family and then opens the enveloped.....only to find that there is no Christmas bonus, instead he has been enrolled in "The Jelly of the Month Club." Clark naturally blows his caskets and goes on a profanity laden rant - Clark basically says that he could have his boss standing in front of him right, so he could give Mr. Shirley a piece of his mind.  Cousin Eddie takes this literally and abducts Mr. Shirley from his mansion and brings him back to Clark's house.  Clark tries to apologize, but Mr. Shirley fires him any and wants to call the police. However, Clark makes Mr. Shirley see the error of ways when he points out this wouldn't have happened Mr. Shirley not cut the Christmas bonuses. It's fine that Mr. Shirley doesn't want to give out bonuses, but he could have at least given his employee's a heads up and instead of blind siding them with an enrollment in a "Jelly of the Month Club." Mr. Shirley, after witnessing the consequences of his actions first hand, has a change of heart and reinstates the Christmas bonus.   

It can be argued that this scene is pretty contrived (and unrealistic) but it works extremely well in this narrative. It also gets a huge boast from Brian Doyle Murray who is able to convey so much emotions with just a simple glance.  The real point of this scene, however, is to show unity in the Griswold family - this is the first time in the entire movie that everyone in complete solidarity with Clark, including his abrasive father-in-law, Art. In fact, the movie specifically cuts to a shot of Art standing up to show his support for his son-in-law. We find similar endings in other Christmas classics:  the community rallying around George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life; General Waverly's old Division showing up at the holiday inn to show their support, in White Christmas; and most famously, Tiny Tim wishing, "God Bless us, everyone" at the end of A Christmas Carol.  I'm sure there are many people out there they find this stuff "corny." I could just picture younger audiences rolling their eyes at Mr. Shirley's "little people" speech. That's they're opinion and they're entitle, but as for me -  I'll take a fun "corny: movie over a "bad ass" one any day of the week. 

Credits

Cast:  Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold), Beverly D’Angelo (Ellen Griswold), Juliette Lewis (Audrey Griswold), Johnny Galecki (Rusty Griswold), John Randolph (Clark, Sr.), Dianne Ladd (Nora), E.G. Marshall (Art), Doris Roberts (Francis), Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie), Miriam Flynn (Cousin Catherine), Ellen Hamilton Latzen (Ruby Sue), Cody Burger (Rocky), William Hickey (Lewis), Mae Questel (Bethany), Brian Doyle Murray (Frank Shirley), Julia Louis – Dreyfus (Margo), Nicholas Guest (Todd), Sam McMurray (Bill), Nicolette Scorsese (Mary), Natajlia Nogulich (Mrs. Shirley).

Director:  Jeremiah S. Chechik
Writer: John Hughes
Running Time: 97 min.