‹ All movies
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation poster

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

year 1989decade 80sdirector Jeremiah Chechikgenre Comedy

97 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Chevy Chase Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo Ellen Griswold
Randy Quaid Eddie
Miriam Flynn Cathrine
William Hickey Uncle Lewis
Mae Questel Aunt Bethany
Diane Ladd Nora Griswold
John Randolph Clark Griswold Sr.
Doris Roberts Francis
Juliette Lewis Audrey Griswold
Johnny Galecki Rusty Griswold

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyhost Van Lathanproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Mount Rushmore for Christmas Movies

Christmas Vacation; Die Hard; Home Alone; Four Christmases

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:05Read transcript
  • A four-film Christmas Mount Rushmore is offered: Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Home Alone and Four Christmases. Die Hard’s classification as a Christmas movie is disputed in the preceding exchange; this is an individual list rather than a settled panel ranking.

What’s Aged the Best?

Brisk absurdity and sincerity; Chase’s physical comedy; yuppies; cast; sap; memes; enduring holiday status; cat gag

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:30Read transcript
  • The brisk, joke-dense film balances absurdity with sincerity. Staying home supplies a coherent Christmas goal rather than the earlier sequels’ episodic travel.
  • Chase’s attic and ladder work recalls Keaton-era physical comedy, now partly displaced by real Jackass stunts; childhood exposure to those films becomes a parenting joke.
  • Chase combines frustration, physical precision, offhand sarcasm and leading-man looks; Martin, Ferrell, Sandler and Vaughn are comparisons, but no current equivalent is found. His long run ended without Murray-like dramatic reinvention.
  • Louis-Dreyfus and the tormented yuppies remain funny; Juliette Lewis’s annoyed but tender Audrey is considered the best version, and Diane Ladd’s mother is praised.
  • D’Angelo’s appeal and straight-woman performance remain strong.
  • The sap gag, Shitter’s full meme, franchise callbacks and the film’s unexpected generational Christmas status endure.
  • Discovering one’s father had a sexual life is a recognizable theme; Van recalls his father encountering an old college acquaintance who taught him science.
  • The electrocuted-cat gag reportedly survived a proposed cut because test audiences liked it.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Hughes/Chechik careers; disputed light-display influence; budget/gross; casting and production anecdotes

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:42Read transcript
  • Hughes’s productive run and Chechik’s divergent later directing career are reviewed. Bill recalls The Bronx Is Burning’s compressed production schedule.
  • A claim that the movie popularized extravagant house lights is relayed but explicitly doubted.
  • Pre-film memories of neighborhood light displays challenge the claim that this movie originated the trend; amplification remains possible but unproved.
  • A 25.5 million budget and 73.3 million gross are cited.
  • Ruby Sue’s performer previously played the child in Fatal Attraction.
  • Scorsese is said not to be related to Martin; a photograph links her with a young Sean Penn, without fuller career findings.
  • Randolph’s blacklist period, refusal to testify and comeback in Frankenheimer’s Seconds are recounted.
  • The opening pickup reportedly also appeared in Overboard and They Live; Chase allegedly broke a finger punching Santa and continued by kicking props.
  • Eddie’s shoes recall the original Vacation gift; Holiday Road is absent, a limited unofficial soundtrack exists, Mavis Staples sings the theme and Badalamenti scored the film.
  • D’Angelo reportedly improvised grabbing Chase during the SWAT raid; the hosts joke that she wanted more adult material.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:20Read transcript
  • Ebert gave two stars, judging the comic setups stronger than their payoffs; the panel strongly disagrees. No denominator is spoken.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bonus meltdown; Eddie’s arrival; shopping; dinner; tree trip; store flirtation

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:47Read transcript
  • The opening road confrontation and tree trip stack jokes: driving under a truck, frozen Audrey, Clark’s frozen tongue and forgetting the saw.
  • The parents arrive already arguing and oversharing bodily ailments, prompting family and aging-politician jokes.
  • Clark’s grand 25,000-light presentation repeatedly fails despite his confident dedication and requested drumroll.
  • The lights finally work through the overloaded extension-cord setup, and Eddie’s surprise arrival escalates the scene with Ruby Sue’s crossed-eye story, Rocky’s fungus and Snot’s ailments.
  • Eddie silently loading dog food into the shopping cart while Clark pays is a favorite visual gag.
  • Clark and Eddie’s living-room talk combines the odd sweater/turtleneck outfit, dog-humping advice and Clark’s offer to abandon him; the absurd lubricant sledding sequence remains enjoyable.
  • Eddie’s replaced head plate and live-bait-business talk add to his bizarre character. Quaid’s later public behavior is debated as either harmful knowledge or an uncanny extension.
  • Eddie’s missing money, preacher/hockey-player reference and misunderstanding about buying his children gifts are admired.
  • The dry-turkey Christmas dinner, continued chewing and the gelatin mishap supply favorite food gags.
  • Clark’s lost-bonus rant wins Sean’s vote and is called Chase’s best film moment. Stories of improvisation with cue-word cards are relayed as rumor.
  • The shared nominee list is supplemented by Clark’s fumbling sexual attraction at the lingerie/perfume counter, observed by Rusty.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Uprooted tree; missing sequels; Todd and Margo’s marriage

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:11Read transcript
  • How the family uproots the tree without a saw is left unexplained.
  • More frequent Griswold holiday films seem possible; Chase’s difficult working reputation is offered as the explanation for the series’ gaps.
  • Todd and Margo are predicted to divorce. Whether Todd failed to defend their home or reasonably feared Clark’s chainsaw is disputed.

Picking Nits

Tree scale; leaving Clark; full moons; Illinois mountains; hidden squirrel

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:52Read transcript
  • The tree changes size and initially could not fit in the house, accepted as holiday-comedy license.
  • The family should not leave for breakfast without Clark; repeated full moons and Illinois mountains are questioned, with Colorado filming explaining the landscape.
  • Uprooting a frozen tree and the squirrel staying hidden through its move are implausible; the exaggerated sled ride is acknowledged but largely excused as comedy.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Underused Ellen; recast children aging backwards

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:32Read transcript
  • Beverly D’Angelo is an excellent straight woman but underused; an independent shopping/flirtation scene would give her more agency, as Vegas Vacation later does.
  • The children’s backwards aging and recasting are questioned.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Best third installment; replaced-children theory; Chase’s best dramatic performance

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:25Read transcript
  • Among the late 1980s sequel boom, Christmas Vacation may have the longest cultural life and be a best third installment. Return of the King, Return of the Jedi, Lethal Weapon 3, Godfather III, an unidentified title in the transcript and Avengers: Infinity War compete; whether Avengers counts is disputed. Back to the Future III is rejected.
  • A dark Speak No Evil theory imagines the Griswolds continually replacing and renaming their children.
  • This may be Chase’s best dramatic performance: the bonus disappointment and inability to afford helping Eddie’s children expose a touching family-provider crisis.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Quaid’s later behavior; TV sequel; Wonderful Life’s diminished reach; Clark’s finances

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:34Read transcript
  • Quaid’s later behavior and the 2003 Eddie-centered television sequel are cited; the original Audrey’s return and supporting cast surprise the panel.
  • It’s a Wonderful Life may no longer dominate shared Christmas viewing. Its artistic power is defended while distance from 1946 and abundant private viewing choices explain diminished cultural centrality; Elf may now fill that role.
  • Clark’s financial overextension and dependence on an uncertain bonus are criticized; kidnapping bosses is an unexpectedly recurring franchise device.

Casting What-Ifs

Chris Columbus left; Home Alone followed

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:10Read transcript
  • Chris Columbus left the directing job after a personality clash with Chase and subsequently made Hughes’s Home Alone; Hughes reportedly felt the series had become a Chase vehicle.

Recasting Couch

Ferrell; Chappelle; Reynolds; Hamm; Affleck; Gosling; Evans; Sterling K. Brown

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:36Read transcript
  • Contemporary Clark options include Ferrell, Chappelle, Reynolds, Hamm, Affleck, Gosling, Evans and Sterling K. Brown. Age, goofiness, physique and lack of ordinary-guy quality complicate choices; Brown’s American Fiction comedy is particularly praised.

Apex Mountain

Jelly-of-the-month club; Christmas lights; street septic dumping; Christmas films, personally

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:14Read transcript
  • The cast is collectively rejected. Being trapped in an attic and the jelly-of-the-month club are proposed as unsurpassed, Christmas lights explicitly affirmed, and Christmas in suburban Chicago considered before the city’s 1985–86 peak is favored. Emptying septic tanks into the street receives a definite yes.
  • Christmas movies remains a personal yes despite growing competition from A Christmas Story and other titles.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Wayne Jenkins

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:01Read transcript
  • Wayne Jenkins leads the SWAT arrival, threatening Clark over the kidnapping and mocking the elderly family.

Just One Oscar

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:03Read transcript
  • Chevy is chosen; Quaid gets a supporting nomination case but beating Washington’s Glory performance would be absurd. The 1989 Oscar field and Pfeiffer’s loss prompt a broader tangent.

More from the conversation

Julia Roberts’s interview, Charles’s move to Los Angeles and Van’s growing friend group lead into a Draymond/European Vacation joke.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:42Read transcript
Competing Christmas favorites include this film, Die Hard, Home Alone, Four Christmases, It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf. Die Hard’s holiday status is disputed; Surviving Christmas and 12 Dates of Christmas are defended, and holiday advertising marks the season.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:05Read transcript
Clark’s childhood nostalgia and desire for family togetherness humanize his holiday fixation. Repeated disappointments, stalled middle-management work and a withheld bonus supply darker Hughes themes, compared with Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:54Read transcript
Bill recalls calling his uncle’s traveling family the Griswolds.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:24Read transcript
The hosts joke about forgetting which films they have already covered, including Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Terminator 2.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:55Read transcript
Chevy’s nine-film 1980 srun is reviewed; Funny Farm is defended as subtler than its marketing, while Fletch Lives is rejected. Christmas Vacation marks the run’s endpoint.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:45Read transcript
Different household roles in decorating lead to fake-versus-real-tree debate; a father’s conversion to low-maintenance artificial trees feels like betrayal before winning sympathy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:04Read transcript
Second Christmas in January and a Super Bowl holiday are proposed. Families keep trees too long from inertia or attachment; decorations symbolize joy, life and loss.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:44Read transcript
Children renew holiday wonder, with giant presents, Elf on the Shelf and gift obligations recalled. Van’s every-other-year gifts and growing friend group become jokes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:27Read transcript
The modern holiday-film boom contrasts with older classics. Black Christmas and its remakes are discussed; Almost Christmas is preferred to This Christmas, while The Best Man Holiday is especially praised.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:15Read transcript
The franchise ranking is disputed: Christmas Vacation ranges from first to third, with the original, European and Vegas competing. European’s Rusty is criticized, while its sexual impact and Heckerling’s style help explain affection.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:56Read transcript
Byron Mayo’s growing popularity leads to an Officer and a Gentleman/Loggia tangent.
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:40Read transcript
Nothing but Trouble is loved despite its oddness, Another 48 Hrs divides the group, and a generational comedy shift from Chase/Murray/Martin/Murphy to Carrey and others is traced.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:08Read transcript
The four 1980 scomic leads are compared through persona and film libraries. Murphy is Van’s favorite, Murray’s films compete with Chase’s consistency, and Seems Like Old Times is praised as an unrealized leading-man path.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:24Read transcript
Goldie Hawn admiration leads to possible future coverage of Wildcats, Shampoo and Overboard. Private Benjamin’s popularity versus Full Metal Jacket reopens the distinction between contemporary Apex and later artistic standing. No currentGoldieHawntheme.
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:04Read transcript
Audreys rank Juliette Lewis first, Dana Barron second and European’s performer third. Rusties start with Anthony Michael Hall, then Galecki, with Jason Lively last and Ethan Embry proposed third.
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:40Read transcript
Stewart’s Tonight Show dog poem is recommended, Cast Away’s Christmas status renews the Die Hard dispute, and Elf is proposed for future coverage.
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:08Read transcript
The uncertain last-minute corporate Christmas bonus seems unlike modern contractual compensation.
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:55Read transcript
Pacific Heights and Flight are suggested for future coverage.
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:47Read transcript
A proposed Tyler Perry adaptation exercise turns into Basic Instinct/Madea casting jokes and praise for the existing Basic Instinct podcast.
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:18Read transcript
A Blake Lively photograph inspires a callback to The Town’s Boston dialogue.
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:17Read transcript
Craig is absent, so no review is supplied or inferred; a full-name funeral-title joke follows before holiday farewells.
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:19Read transcript