Christmas movies: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

Beverly D'Angelo ant Chevy Chase in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" in 1989.

Source: https://hollywoodtheatre.org/show/national-lampoons-christmas-vacation/

(May be subject to copyright)

Christmas would not be complete every year without celebrating the season with Clark Griswold.

My better half rents “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” every year to watch it, and did so again yesterday. It not only took us back in time, but reminded us how long ago the movie came out.

Meeting Clark Griswold
Chevy Chase debuted as the beleaguered Clark Griswold in “National Lampoon’s Vacation” in 1983. It detailed the exploits of the Griswold family as Clark took them on a cross-country vacation. Beverly D’Angelo played his wife Ellen, Anthony Michael Hall played his son Rusty, Dana Barron played his daughter Audrey, and Imogene Coca played an aunt who meets a tragic end.

“National Lampoon’s European Vacation” followed in 1985, then “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, the third installment in the series, came out in 1989.

The movie
From his daredevil driving in pursuit of the perfect Christmas tree; to taking in some down and out relatives; fretting over a Christmas bonus he will or won’t get; creating the perfect Christmas lighting; and doing battle with his parents, in-laws and snotty neighbours, there is never a dull moment at the Griswold house.

Familiar faces
It has been a long time since 1989, and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” had some actors who have gone on to some notable careers.

Taking over from Anthony Michael Hall as Rusty, was Johnny Galecki. He is so young he is almost unrecognizable, but that is the same actor who went on to play Darlene’s boyfriend David in “Roseanne”, then etch his name in TV stardom as Leonard Hofstadter in “The Big Bang Theory”.

Taking over from Dana Burrows as Audrey was Juliette Lewis, who went on to a pretty solid movie career. She was in “My Stepmother is an Alien”; “Cape Fear”, where she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture; “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”; “Natural Born Killers”; “Strange Days”; “The Basketball Diaries”; “From Dusk Till Dawn”; and much more.

She also appeared in a lot of TV shows, garnered two Primetime Emmy nominations, and a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Other notables in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” include E.G. Marshall, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, and Randy Quaid.

Parting thoughts
I never saw “Christmas Vacation” when it came out in 1989, but since I have been in this relationship, I have seen it every year since 2015.

Chevy Chase has that unique brand of clumsy, clueless comedy where he can go through the most harrowing situation and remain completely unflappable and unfazed. That deadpan persona just adds to the comedy.

To be honest, when I saw “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, and it was back in the 1980s, I didn’t really find it that funny. But, over time, Chevy Chase kind of grew on me.

The thing about “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is it has a good heart, and so does Clark Griswold. It doesn’t take that long, after setback after setback pile up, to find yourself cheering for Clark.

Now, I can’t imagine the season kicking off without watching “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.