Despite the fact that a great number of comedies set at Christmas time get produced, remarkably few are actually funny.  The reason for this is debatable, but I think what it boils down to is that people either romanticize the holiday out of all proportion until it is simply beyond humor, or people are so stressed and wearied by it that they are unable to laugh at it.  Therefore, when some schlock poking mild fun at the season is released, such as Deck the Halls, Surviving Christmas, or that horrid Jim Carrey Grinch movie, even the filmmakers can barely muster up enough jokes to assault the institution properly.

Much rarer are films that are capable of pulling off the delicate act of being genuinely funny, and also warm enough to not turn off fans of the yuletide.  Perhaps the best of this group is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the third film in the Vacation series starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo.  Like A Christmas Story, Elf, and The Muppet Christmas Carol, Christmas Vacation stands as a movie able to appeal as both a comedy and touching representation of the holiday.

Perhaps even rarer is a third film in a series being the best, but that is also the case here.  Now, Christmas Vacation is a considerably different picture from the first two movies, so it might not be entirely fair to judge them together.  Both Vacation and European Vacation are very good in their own rights, but they are mostly the same film in different locales.  This time, instead of sending the Griswold clan trekking off in search of amusement parks or monuments, they are trapped home in Chicago entertaining for the holidays.  The pressure cooker atmosphere of having the relatives over brings out a different manner of comedy in the family (even with the rotating actors playing the children), even while the parents, Clark and Ellen, stay true to their already established selves.

It's not just the relatives, though.  It's the chaos of pets, uninvited guests, holiday decorations, snobby neighbors, uncaring bosses, shopping, sledding, cooking, and waiting for the Christmas bonus to arrive.  It's a long form nightmare scenario that plays out perfectly in its disaster.  It's a popular plot idea, that everything that can go wrong will, but often it seems forced and contrived.  Here, as wacky as it gets, it all feels very natural, springing from the patriarch's ineptitude and the uncontrollable, unforeseen forces.

Sure, it gets carried away with itself at times, but the outlandish bits are still effective and amusing.  Equal parts credit are due to the fantastic script, from the great John Hughes himself, and the stellar cast.  Chevy Chase was just reaching what would be the tail end of his great run of 80s comedies with perhaps his best work.  It's a shame the way things have gone since, with all the Cops and Robbersons and such.  Here his increasing mania to have the perfect Christmas only to watch it slide away further and further until he meltdowns in one of the greatest blowup speeches in history, directed at his absent boss, is hysterical.  Despite all the lunacy, much of it brought about by Clark's bungling, Chase manages to make it believable and engaging.  You root for them to power through the destruction, all the while reveling in the misery yourself.

Beverly D'Angelo makes for the perfect companion to Chase's Clark, supportive and unwavering, even as he continues to make poor decisions and catastrophic missteps.  By this third film she's got the routine down, and plays it well.  Randy Quaid returned to the series here as Cousin Eddie, and is terrific in his hillbilly, white trash boob routine.  The grandparents all turn up in fine form from an excellent group of actors (Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, and John Randolph), along with more aged relatives Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany (the incomparable William Hickey and Mae Questel), and the yuppie neighbors (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest).  Along with the current incarnation of the children, Russ and Audrey (Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis), this cast is nothing short of extraordinary.

More than anything, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has become a film of classic moments strung together into an enormously popular and entertaining whole.  From the supremely dried out turkey to Clark getting stuck in the attic to the over-large Christmas tree to the greased up snow saucer to Clark's epic rant to Aunt Bethany wrapping up her cat to the fun animated opening credits to the year's subscription to a jelly of the month club to the most Christmas lights ever strung on a house, this movie is terrific.

The Goatius Grade = 4.5

My personal journey through Christmas films continues, and here is where I've been so far: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol (1938), It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD