National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

This is the one Christmas movie that I don't anyone can ever get tired of. Chevy Chase returns in the third installment of the Vacation series as Clarke W. Griswold as he tries desperately to maintain his sanity during the holidays with all of his relatives coming to stay under his roof and enduring all the mishaps along the way.

This is the funniest film in the series plain and simple. Chevy Chase has never been better. Christmas Vacation is filled with countless jokes and gags that it's impossible not to laugh.

10/10

This is probably the best Vacation film to come from the National Lampoon series. There are so many laughs to go around (thanks to writer John Hughes) that it boggles the mind (and it might be the final time Checy Chase brings belly laughs). Here, the Griswalds don't go on a vacation, but instead the family stays in Chicago where there relatives come to town and hell will come too. Randy Quaid makes this film a treat by having just laugh out loud moments on the screen. Great fun for the whole family (I think). A+

I think it's not necessary to write too much about this film.It's simply a masterpiece.In my opinion only Billy Wilder possibly-POSSIBLY-could have made an even better Christmas movie.For me that says a lot.

This is my second review.The first one was about "Rambo II" It's difficult to imagine something more contrasting than these two movies.

Whereas "Rambo II" represents (and shows) the bad,evil and disgusting things on earth,"Christmas Vacation" represents (and shows) the good,pleasant and beautiful ones.

For example the incredibly beautiful woman in the store.Chevy Chase's reaction is so funny!! And quite understandable as well.Who wouldn't have reacted similarly...

All characters-really ALL-in the movie are played excellently. Yes,also Audrey's.Juliette Lewis had to play the same character as,for example,Pamela Tiffin in "one,two three"-more or less a silly goose.

It's quite understandable If you don't like such characters-but-as in the case of "one,two,three"-why blame the actors for playing them convincingly? By the way,Griswold's yuppie neighbors also don't make a very pleasant impression- because (not although) they are played so well.

For me-and obviously for many others too-Christmas without "Christmas Vacation" cannot be a real Christmas.I would like to watch it more often than once a year,but I have the-unjustified,many may say-fear of liking this masterpiece somewhat less if I watch it "too" often.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

*** (out of 4)

The third film in the series has Clark (Chevy Chase) deciding to stay home and instead of going anywhere he invites all the family over for the holidays and sure enough nothing goes right. I must admit that I enjoyed the previous two films more than this one but there's still enough laughs here to make this one well worth seeing. I think the film certainly has some flaws in it but when there are so many laughs you really can't complain too much. I think Chase is in fine form as he goes more over-the-top here than in the previous installments. He's so wild here that at times he seems like he's playing a cartoon character. This certainly isn't a bad thing as Chase can handle this type of comedy but there were a few too many slapstick scenes early on. I think what really makes this film so memorable is the terrific supporting cast. Beverly D'Angelo is just fine as the supporting wife but we get terrific work from Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Juliette Lewis, John Randolph, William Hickey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Mae Questel. The stand out however has to be Randy Quaid returning as Cousin Eddie. The actor really does a terrific job bringing this character to life and the comic timing is just flawless no matter what he's doing. There are so many classic scenes here that it's hard to pick out the best but some of the highlights include the cat sequence, the walk through Wal Mart, the hilarious dog-under-the-table and of course the first appearance of Eddie.

A comedy with laughs is good.

A comedy with feel-good laughs is better.

A comedy like "Christmas Vacation" is great.

When the Griswolds go on vacation, disaster is a certainty. But staying home to celebrate Christmas with some far-flung relatives (who obviously weren't flung far enough) leaves room for not only some top-drawer fun but also time to reflect on family, love, goodwill, belief in one's self....

Who expected so much from Chevy Chase?

After watching "Christmas Vacation", you will.

Nine stars. And when you light up your house this Christmas, make sure there's a nuclear reactor nearby.