Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis, Brian Doyle-Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, Randy Quaid, Miriam Floyd, William Hickey, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has become a holiday favorite. Some may say classic. The movie's overuse of slapstick, pratfalls, and chain reaction sight gags does not work for me. There are wonderful comic actors in the cast and they are forced to take a back seat to the physical comedy. Of the original Chevy Chase-led Vacation films, the first one (1983) is still the best with European Vacation (1985) being a decent sequel. However, Christmas Vacation is the one with enduring popularity. It does have irrepressible Christmas cheer and it tries hard, maybe too hard, for a laugh, but you can't fault the effort.
Chevy Chase returns as Clark Griswold, whose only mission in life is to spend quality time with his family and show them a good time. This is the only Vacation film to date in which Clark and his family stay home, but that doesn't mean Clark is at peace. Just setting up the lights presents a challenge, and the result of all those lights provides a famous moment in the film. Then, both his and wife Ellen's (D'Angelo) parents show up and soon the movie feels like a traffic jam with various characters fighting for screen time. We also see Clark at work, as he endures a cantankerous Scrooge of a boss (Doyle-Murray) who is dangling a Christmas bonus in front of his employees. Clark thinks he will be able to finance a new backyard pool with it. Hint: He won't.
Poor Clark trips, falls, and goes boom more than the would-be thieves in the Home Alone movies. Chase and the cast are game for the pratfalls, but soon enough the movie grows tiresome with the conclusion of Clark snapping and kidnapping his boss feeling like retread of the original Vacation ending. The question isn't whether Clark can handle another setback, it's whether we can.
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