National Lampoonâs Christmas Vacation
In 1989, when it came time to come up with the third installment in the Vacation series, the producers must have obviously looked at the troubled final product of what was European Vacation, and managed to discern a few of its flaws, which included a disjointed, uneven tone (no doubt caused by having The Griswolds literally jumping from country to country) and what was certainly a weaker than usual supporting cast of side characters. So naturally, by basing this film around a family Christmas, problem number one was solved by centering Clark and the others in one main primary location that being their own home, and a point was also made to load up the supporting cast with some seriously high octane talent who are actually given something to do in order to help keep the energy level high. Ironically, this caused a major change in not only the casting (as usual) but also in the screentime of the Griswold kids. Since Europeanâs Audrey, Dana Hill, was forced to retire early from onscreen acting due to health issues (and would later die young at age 32), here the parts are recast with Juliette Lewis (a future major star and Oscar nominee) as Audrey and Johnny Galecki (who went on to have a healthy television career) as (a much younger than before) Rusty, but once the other major cast members start showing up, the kids start seeing their screentime and bits of business here dwindle down to almost nothing (especially Audrey) which really only gives them the first 30 minutes of the film to make any kind of a real impression, which both of them certainly do, and then itâs time for them to just stand there in the background and become glorified extras, but at least Lewis scores her points for playing a particularly bitchy and snotty version of Audrey while getting some solid laughs in the process. The always capable John Hughes returned to the fold to write the screenplay (with newcomer Jeremiah Chechik handling the directing chores), and after the dark tone of Vacation and the mean spirited nature of European, Hughes smartly realized that the key here to doing a proper Griswold Christmas film was to turn the cynicism level all the way up, perhaps taking a page from that of Christmas Story, only making it much, much edgier and more in the tradition of the series itself, but still retaining its heart in the right place and even coming to a revelation that manages to break through to the casual viewer: That Chevy Chaseâs Clark W. Griswold, with the way that he obsesses over having the perfect vacations, Christmases, or special occasions, is really and truly a selfish, self centered son of a bitch, overplanning all these things not necessarily to make his family happy (when usually theyâd wish that he just tone it down a bit) but rather for his own ego and glory which he can then hold over the heads of lesser fathers and (less fortunate) families so that he can believe at least in his own mind that he is better than them (notice how his co worker tells Clark that he considers him to be the last true family man with just the slightest bit of irony which Clark is of course oblivious to and basks in it like it was a huge compliment). A grown man fatally obsessed with maintaining old fashioned family values in changing times, all played with wicked delight by Chevy who does some of his career best acting here, but Beverly DâAngelo returning as well as wife Ellen, not only looks extremely good here in her Christmas sweaters and modest attitude, but also shows that she not only loves and supports her husband without question, but indeed fully knows just how he is the way that he is and understands exactly why in the purest sense of being a best friend. And thatâs when all the relatives start showing up, starting with the in laws played by Diane Ladd, John Randolph, Doris Roberts, and E.G. Marshall, all of whom are formidable acting talent for sure, as Ladd as Clarkâs mother still dotes on her grown son, while Randolph as Clarkâs dad always pledges his support while still being essentially useless, and Roberts and Marshall as Ellenâs parents get plenty of comic mileage out of their open contempt for their son in law. But then we get the arrival of (the very old) Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany played by William Hickey and Mae Questel (the original voice of Betty Boop (!) in her very last role) who bring to the table a sinister, almost gothic feel to the film, with Hickey playing the ill tempered, mean nasty old man to the hilt, and Questel going completely over the top with her senile old Aunt, using it as the basis for some hilarious and (obviously) totally out of left field questions and observations (âIs Rusty still in the Navy?â), which is ironic since Questel herself would eventually pass away from Alzheimerâs. And then of course there is the one and only Randy Quaid returning from the first Vacation after a one film hiatus as Cousin Eddie (along with Miriam Flynn returning as his wife, Cousin Catherine, as well as a son and adorable little girl in tow). The fascinating thing about Quaidâs Eddie here is that unlike the first film where he was more of a toned down stereotype (i.e. realistic), here the character is taken into more of a hysterical cartoon character type presentation, as the expected âdegenerate redneckâ jokes are launched into serious overdrive, with everything from Eddie talking about how proud he is of his older son for making a career for himself working in the carnival to happily draining his RVâs toilet into the storm sewer right outside (âShitterâs full!â), and Quaidâs congenial charisma allows him to keep pouring it on the whole movie without ever wearing out his welcome, and that in itself is no mean feat. But even then thereâs some more major talent at hand, such as Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Griswoldsâ disgustingly nouveau, yuppie neighbors Todd and Margo (with Toddâs big talking but less than masculine way of handling things readily being brought out), and Brian Doyle-Murray as Clarkâs pernicious boss at the food additives company who tries to have as little to do as possible with âthe little peopleâ. The story naturally follows Clark as he leads his loved ones through what he considers the mantras of the âtraditional family Christmasâ, including marching them out into the middle of nowhere out in the wild to obtain their very own family Christmas tree, putting up thousands of lights onto his house so that naturally itâs the brightest one in the neighborhood, having the family sit down for dinner so that they can eat an (overcooked) turkey, and even spending some time with Eddieâs sweet little girl so that when he learns that her hick father always comes up with excuses to not get her anything for Christmas (even as he piles bag after bag of dog food for his mutt into Clarkâs shopping cart when theyâre at WalMart), he and Ellen decide that this year even Eddieâs sad little kids are finally going to get a visit from Santa Claus. Obviously, the filmâs heart is definitely in the right place, as is the acerbic humor that the series is known for, but naturally some bits donât work out as well as planned, like the scene featuring a cat playing around with the Christmas lights which brings disastrous results that is not even really funny in a dark way and adds nothing to the film. But through it all is the escalation of events until Clark himself seems to have a complete mental breakdown and upon learning that he has gotten screwed on his Christmas bonus, goes on a classic, hilarious monologue / rant about his boss that Chevy delivers with such insane emotion that it literally got a standing ovation from the theatre audience I saw it with in 1989. Which of course leads to the big climax involving a SWAT team descending upon the Griswold home (with serious shades of the ending of the first film) and Clarkâs boss doing a slightly too quick turnaround to realize the error of his ways. But regardless, at the end of the day, this still easily makes the cut as being a holiday classic more than an actual sequel (even if the first Vacation is still superior), and despite all the usual bells and whistles of the big finale here, it still gives the audience and Clark something that they never really had before in this franchise: A true happy ending. (âI did it.â)âŚ
9/10