National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Review

Merry Christmahanakwanzaa again!

It’s getting closer & closer to Christmas, ladies & gentlemen. We’re just inching closer to our stocking, presents, and plenty of holiday merriment. I’m really looking forward to seeing what I got this year, but I’m holding in my excitement...I think. Anyways, it’s been quite some time since I reviewed a movie on this blog, and considering it’s Christmastime, I found it to be appropriate to review another Christmas flick. Last year I reviewed the terrifying Star Wars Holiday Special (Click on “***” to read it...if you dare), so I figured that a good holiday flick was the right thing to look at. With that said, grab a cup of cocoa, sit in front of a decorated tree with a laptop, and take a look at my review for the odd yet charming National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Story/Setup
It’s a few weeks before Christmas, and the Griswold family (Headed by Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, and his wife Ellen, played by Beverly D'Angelo) is getting ready for the Hoildays at their house. At first is seems that all is going well, until the shit begins to hit the fan. For starters, a good chuck of his family shows up at the house, and most of them aren’t necessarily the nicest or the most polite (With the exception of his Father, who seems to be the most decent out of his relatives). Not only that, but his annual bonus from his job hasn’t showed up yet, and he’s been planning on building a pool in his backyard with his bonus money. To complicate things even further, as he’s trying to recreate a “Good Old Fashioned Family Christmas” (His words), things keep screwing in some manner or another (Christmas tree bursts into flame, turkey ends up incredibly dry, etc). It’s all hilarity, hijinks, and tragedy (Off the silly kind), until things somehow get fixed, and everything is back to normal. As normal as things get for the Griswolds, however.

For the most part, the story is good. You’re given the setup, context, and everything else needed for a normal/goofy Christmas movie. My only complaint is that there seems to be too much going on. It seems like there is a lot more to the story, despite how simplistic it all appears. There seems to be too many things happening, both on screen & off screen. By the end of the movie most of what’s happened has been resolved, but it seems like something either went missing, or wasn’t touched on at all.

Setting
Christmas Vacation mainly takes place in the city of Chicago, as well as the surrounding suburbs. Although there are plenty of other places the movies goes to (Like a tree farm, corporate office, and a convenience store), the focus of the movie is mainly on the Griswold’s house, which looks about as standard as any other suburban house. In all honesty, I wish that the time in each locale was a little more even, and not so lopsided. With that said, each place has it’s own look & feel, so at least there’s a variety of locales.

Characters
The characters in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are it’s biggest strength, but also it’s biggest weakness. I’ll start off with the weakness aspect, and let me just say that I didn’t like most of them. In fact, I hated just about everybody, mainly Clark’s extended family. This hate ranges from the mildly annoying (Clark’s Grandmother), to the infuriatingly unlikable (Clark’s Uncle, who accidentally burns down the Christmas Tree towards the end of the movie). The rest of Clark’s family is really more mediocre that anything to loathe, but I’ll give the movie the benefit of the doubt, since it seems like it was meant to be that way. The only other character that’s not really likable is Clark’s boss from his job, but he eventually turns a new leaf (I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, it’s cheesy & goofy).

Now, despite my dislike/hate for many of the characters, there are some that are likable. Clark is a little bit of a jerk, but deep down he cares for his family, and really loves them also. His wife Ellen definitely cares a lot of the holiday burden on her shoulders, as she looks incredibly stressed out (And acts a little stressed out also). With that said, you want her to be happy, and succeed with her holiday planning. Clark & Ellen’s kids, Audrey & Russ, are insufferable at times, but in the end they’re likable to the point where you really don’t want them to suffer.

Despite me saying that I hate Clark’s extended family, there are two of them that I actually do like. The first is Clark’s father, and he seems to be the only relative that has a brain. He’s understands the trouble that Clark & his family are going through during the holidays, and while he doesn’t do anything to physically help, he’s quick to lend out some fatherly wisdom to Clark & anyone else who’ll listen. The other family member I like is Clark’s brother, Eddie. On the surface, you’d expect that Eddie is an unlikable person. He constant wears a cheap blue leisure suit, and acts a bit on the sleazy side, but deep down he has a big heart. It’s clear that he loves his own immediate family, and loves Clark & his family, it’s just that he’s a little lazy sometimes. Not only that, but when he does put in effort for something, he’s either over the top (Especially near the end), or doesn’t do it enough.

Length
National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation runs at a little over an hour and a half long. 1 Hour & 37 minutes long, to be exact. It’s a good amount of time for this movie, as the story fits perfectly within the allotted length of time.

Availability & Pricing
This is one of the most plentiful Christmas movies you can find. While you’ll probably find it in various stores like Best Buy, FYE, and the like, you’re best bet is to go to Amazon. As I’m typing this, there are 30 new copies available, with the prices starting at $7.60. There are even more used copies available, as there are 83 DVDs, and the prices start at almost 4 dollars. This one is really more of a judgement call, so pick which one you think is best.  

Extras/Other
The DVD comes with deleted/bonus scenes, trailers, etc.

General Impression & Rating
Among the pantheon of goofy Christmas movies, National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation deserves it’s place in said group. It’s not the king of funny holiday films (For me, that crown is shared between Scrooged & A Christmas Story), as there are a couple problems here and there. With that said, I still laugh everytime I watch this, and I highly recommend this movie to people who don’t like your standard, sappy Christmas film.

National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation gets a 8 out of 10.

See you all later this week, when I’ll give you my final thoughts on this year. Until then, stay Otaku!




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Sorry for posting this later than normal. I was too tired to finish it last night, so I finished up what was left this morning/afternoon/evening (This all depends on when you’re reading this). Hope you don’t mind.