The Griswolds have Christmas with the whole family
at their house, leaving room for imminent disaster. COMEDY
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Christmas Vacation (1989)Directed by Jeremiah Chechik
Written by John Hughes Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, E.G. Marshall, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, Doris Roberts, Brian Doyle-Murray Sequel to 1985's European Vacation |
Ah, Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. Bing Crosby and Danny fucking Kaye singing about a white Christmas while your cousin-in-law's dog humps a bag of trash as your glorious, picture perfect tree goes up in flames because your senile uncle wanted to light up his stogie. What? That's just my family? Oh...well then.
My holidays aren't complete unless I watch this at least 42 times. I will never tire of Clark Griswold and his slow descent into madness all in the quest to have the perfect family Christmas. The Griswold family has always been my cinematic representative. Their dysfunction and durability always resonated with me. Clark's never-ending quest for the perfect family vacation never ceases to amuse me. From the hazardous trek to Walley World, exploring all the sights of Europe, and this holiday catastrophe always make me laugh until I cry. Chevy Chase is definitely the star of the show, no doubt, but Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie steals the scenes he is in. While Clark tries to be the quintessential family man, Eddie is the exact opposite. Their interactions are some of my favorite scenes in the film and it rings real close to home because I have some redneck family members who'd kidnap someone if I asked. The comedy is firing on all cylinders in the highlight of the Griswold saga. Vacation was my introduction but Christmas Vacation is my comfort food. I watch this any time of the year but it gets heavier rotation around the holidays. I don't put up a tree the day after Thanksgiving but I will kick off the festive season by watching Clark punch Santa and his reindeer. What's that? You want to know where I'm going to put my tree? Bend over and I'll show you. |
Out of all the Vacation films, this one is my favorite. I watch it every year and it makes me laugh harder every time. There are so many iconic and quotable moments in this film that to list them all would take too long so I'll just mention some of my favorites.
I love Clark's freak-out scene in this one. There's one in every film and his explosion in Christmas Vacation is by far the best. I miss when Chevy Chase cared about his performances and he steals the show in what I consider to be the last good Vacation film. |