Movie Review - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Christmas Movie a Day #5
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Doris Roberts, and Randy Quaid
Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik

While it certainly has its flaws and it's not the best in the Vacation franchise (that honor goes to the original Vacation with its trip to Wally World), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is still a Christmas classic. I hadn't seen it in several years and it still holds up.

Clark Griswold (Chase) just wants to have a nice Christmas holiday with the family. Unfortunately, when both sets of in-laws arrive, havoc ensues. A simple premise with lots of nice gags. Let's be honest -- the scene where Clark goes to the lingerie counter and gets incredibly flustered by the buxom employee ("It's nipply out there...could it be any hooter in here?") is a classic comedy bit. I laugh every time I watch that scene...nothing wrong with some cleverly placed sexual innuendo.

The real problem with the movie is that it can't quite sustain itself over the 100 minute running time in terms of humor. It's not that it really lulls at any point, but there are just some bits that don't quite work as well as others...in particular the whole Julia Louis-Dreyfuss yuppie next-door neighbor scenes (they nearly all fall flat).

Still, there's something really "nice" about this movie...the focus on spending time with the family (however chaotic or dysfunctional it may be) is what resonates the most and it's not a bad thing to bring to the forefront during the hectic season.

The RyMickey Rating: B
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 9/10
The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)