National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation *** (1989, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki) – Classic Movie Review 569

Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo welcome in a disaster-strewn Griswold-style Christmas with their two kids (Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis), in their third Vacation movie.

Yule crack up, or yule be sorry you started watching this? Who knows? Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen welcome in a disaster-strewn Griswold-style Christmas with their two kids Russ [Rusty] and Audrey (Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis) in their third Vacation movie. It follows National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985).

It was written and produced by John Hughes (Home Alone) and directed by Jeremiah S Chechik in 1989. They had a very considerable hit on their hands, costing $27 million and grossing $71 million in the US alone.

The family decide to spend the holidays at home and of course Christmas comic catastrophes ensue in a predictable plot with a fast-moving series of pretty obvious gags involving uninvited relations, obnoxious family guests, runaway sleds and a Christmas tree set ablaze. But at least Clark has his Christmas bonus to look forward to.

Hughes’s sitcom material is good natured and pleasant, but the jokes are as limp and tired as Christmas pudding slightly past its sell-by date. Yet the boisterous, amiable 6′ 4″ Chase milks the old gags for all he’s worth, once again showing his talent for deadpan comedy. And both he and the special ensemble of actors work incredibly hard to keep the film full of irreverent seasonal cheer.

Everyone in the cast is a class act – Randy Quaid, Diane Ladd, E G Marshall, Doris Roberts as Francis, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, John Randolph as as Clark Sr, William Hickey, Mae Questel, Miriam Flynn and Nicholas Guest – so it’s worth seeing if only for them. And, somehow, this film has become one of the Yuletide classics that must be watched every year.

Chechik went on to direct Diabolique (1996) and The Avengers (1998). Christmas Vacation is his best movie. He’s now busy on TV. Hughes died of a heart attack on August 6 2009, aged 59. Chase’s most recent Vacation movies are National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation in 1997 and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2 in 2003.

The series was rebooted as Vacation in 2015 with Ed Helms as a grown-up Rusty Griswold and Christina Applegate as his wife Debbie, with Chase and D’Angelo in cameo roles as Clark and Ellen.

Doris Roberts died on April 17 2016, aged 90.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 569

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com