Review: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase), Ellen Griswold (Beverly D’Angelo), and their entirely unenthused kids Rusty (Johnny Galecki) and Audrey (Juliette Lewis) are back. Despite the title, this is more of a ‘Stay-cation’ as the Griswold clan have the entire family around to spend Christmas. This includes Clark and Ellen’s respective parents (John Randolph and Diane Ladd & E.G. Marshall & Doris Roberts), as well as eccentric Uncle Lewis (William Hickey) and Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel). Ne’er do well Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and wife Catherine (Miriam Flynn) also turn up uninvited in their mobile home, along with their youngest kids, and it looks like times have been tough on them recently. Meanwhile, Clark is still going through a bit of a midlife crisis, whilst also waiting for his annual Christmas bonus to help pay for a new pool he’s hoping to install. Brian Doyle-Murray plays Clark’s boss, whilst Sam McMurray turns up briefly as a co-worker. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Pryor play the Griswold’s odious, yuppie next door neighbours.

 

I couldn’t tell you how many people I know my age or younger who have this 1989 flick from debut director Jeremiah S. Chechik (a mostly TV veteran, but he did direct the sweet and quirky “Benny & Joon”) as their go-to Christmas movie. Hell, I know at least two people for whom this is their favourite movie of all-time. Scripted by John Hughes (director of “The Breakfast Club”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”, and “Home Alone”), it’s not my #1 Yuletide choice personally, as “Muppet Christmas Carol” and Rankin/Bass’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” fill that need for me (with a side order of the craptastic “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” if I can get a chance and on occasion, “It’s a Wonderful Life”). I also think the original “National Lampoon’s Vacation” is a vastly superior film to this second sequel. However, it’s still a very good Christmas movie, no doubt about it, and there’s not too many of those is there? It’s also one of the most quotable movies of the very quotable 1980s.

 

Chevy Chase, allegedly a nightmare of a prick to work with (though on this film he did apparently help Galecki out with his line readings/comic timing, which is cool), is as much of a loveable tool as Clark W. Griswold as he was in the previous two films. Whether it’s yelling out ‘Hey, kids! Look! A deer!’ while driving so he can flip the bird at a motorist, or mangling the terms ‘Eat my Dust’ and ‘Burn rubber’, Chase is on fire from the first scene here. The first appearance of his boss, played by Brian Doyle-Murray leads to some of Chase’s funniest lines in the film (which I won’t spoil), and the subsequent shopping scene with Rusty (played by an impossibly young Johnny Galecki) and the staggeringly hot Nicolette Scorsese has been a favourite of mine since I was an apparently very aware pre-teen. Like the Christie Brinkley scenes in the original “Vacation”, Clark’s flirting with the busty shopping assistant is made alright (and hilarious) by his sheer idiocy and ineptitude.

 

The more slapstick jokes in the film are among the more hit and miss in the film, but Clark getting hit in the head with the attic ladder has great comic timing, and the ‘sledding’ scene is funny, too. Also, if you think the turkey was a bit dry for Christmas last year, just be glad you didn’t have to sample Cousin Catherine’s bird. That thing looks positively otherworldly! The great comic creation from the first film, Randy Quaid’s redneck Cousin Eddie is by far the highlight of the film here as well. Whether it’s his infamous line ‘Merry Christmas. Shitter was full!’ (You really know a line is funny when you’re laughing in anticipation of hearing it again, and it’s been put on a t-shirt!), or the passing reference to getting the metal plate in his head taken out (which is a scream), he’s a goofball delight.

 

There’s a really interesting cast from top to bottom in this one. You’ve got a pre-“Raymond” Doris Roberts, and veteran character actors Diane Ladd, John Randolph, and E.G. Marshall as the grandparents, which on their own are great to see. However, you’ve also got a pre “Roseanne” and “Big Bang Theory” Johnny Galecki, the always wonderful Beverly D’Angelo, and the truly (truly!) bizarre William Hickey and Mae Questel as relatives so eccentric they make Cousin Eddie almost seem normal. I mean, Hickey was one-of-a-kind, but Questel is an 80 year-old Betty Boop. Literally, that is. She really did voice the famous cartoon character way back when. Oh, and Juliette Lewis is here too. So there’s that. By the way, if you’re wondering why Rusty and Audrey look younger here than the kids from “European Vacation” (hell, Galecki seems younger than Anthony Michael Hall in the first film), the DVD audio commentary might just offer up a decent theory. All I’ll say is that Hughes’ screenplay is based on an article he wrote for National Lampoon magazine when he was a writer there.

 

One odd thing that happened to me here is that even though I’ve seen this film about 10 times since 1989, I only just picked up on the Marty Moose clear eggnog glasses and the passing reference to Cousin Eddie’s two eldest kids. I love how a film will do that to you, finding new things to pick up on each time. For you perhaps it’ll be something else. The film is also capped off by the funniest and weirdest rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ I think I’ve ever heard. However, if I’m being completely honest, the film isn’t without spotty moments. As much as I loved her on “Seinfeld”, the snooty neighbours played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest aren’t remotely funny. In fact, the only laugh to be had in their scenes comes from Clark, and his ‘Bend over and I’ll show you’ insult. Also, the infamous bit with the cat, and the subsequent dog vs. squirrel chase aren’t particularly to my comedic taste, either. And yet, for some they will probably be the highlight of the film (I loved the former when I was a kid, oddly enough). That’s the thing, there’s something for everyone in this. Perhaps that’s why it’s such a favourite of many. I doubt, however, that the music score by David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti will be a favourite of many. It’s bizarre in the first place to have the “Twin Peaks” guy doing the music for this, but it’s a cheesy 80s pop deal that dates the film, which is otherwise pretty timeless.

 

Although I’m partial to the original “Vacation”, this sequel is quite clearly an improvement over “European Vacation” (underrated as that film is). In addition to often being very funny, it also just works really well as a Christmas movie, and will offer something for everyone to find amusement in. And let’s face it, we all know someone who has gone all Clark Griswold with the Christmas lights, right?

 

Rating: B