Chroniques et points de vue:From :You know exactly what you're getting in
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: another goofball, slapstick comedy of chaos and catastrophe with Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and family. This time, there's no traveling involved: Clark and Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) prepare for a nice Christmas with the kids (played by none other than Juliette Lewis and
Roseanne star Johnny Galecki), when their home is invaded by backwoods cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his brood, along with assorted other crazy and/or stuffy relatives. Complications, of course, are inevitable. The film is preceded by
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and
National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) and followed by
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation (1997). Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, who went on to do
Benny & Joon and the Sharon Stone remake of
Diabolique.
--Jim Emerson
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Nothing really special about this edition
Don't get me wrong, I love this movie. I watch it every year. I figured it was time to get the DVD. I was under the impression that this was a special edition with a nice casing, and extra features.
Well it's not! I not even a ordinary casing, it's a cheap cardboard case. There are very little extra features on DVD.
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Just your typical Griswold Christmas celebration/disaster
All too often, I have found the words "National Lampoon's" to be synonymous with "not funny," but National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is actually a pretty entertaining film. Christmas at the Griswold's turns out just like you would expect it to, with Clark (Chevy Chase) trying to persevere in the face of one disaster after another. With the whole family coming over, he wants everything to be perfect -- from the Christmas tree he finds and cuts down (er, digs up) himself to the thousands of lights he staples all over the house. He's not completely stupid, though -- he knows his parents and his wife's parents are going to argue throughout the holidays, that his wife and kids aren't all that excited about sharing Christmas with the rest of the family, and that Aunt Bethany couldn't get back in the loop even if she knew where to find it, but he's determined to make this the best Christmas ever.
Of course, there are a few things Clarke wasn't counting on: countless problems getting all the decorations up and working, the unexpected arrival of cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his backwater brood in their junky RV, or the unwelcome visits of the aptly-named Snots the dog and a special Christmas squirrel. Then, of course, there's the cat-related tragedy, the Christmas bonus bugaboo, and that whole police raid.
The filmmakers brought together a really good cast for this film. Beverly D'Angelo is Clarke's perfectly understanding wife, while Johnny Galecki and a young Juliette Lewis play the long-suffering Griswold kids. The in-laws include Doris Roberts and E.G. Marshall, while Randy Quaid is perfectly cast as crude cousin Eddie. You even have Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a neighborly victim of all the Griswold Christmas cheer and yet another SNL alum, Brian Doyle-Murray, as Clarke's boss at work. With John Hughes, who could almost do no wrong back in the 1980s providing the script, it makes for a pretty simple recipe for comedic success.
This movie never managed to make me laugh out loud, but it is consistently amusing and entertaining. It's not like you could pack any secret laughter bombs the audience would never see coming because the audience knows exactly what kind of slapstick humor to expect. Still, it's the simple things, such as Aunt Bethany's blessing of Christmas dinner, that prove to be the funniest. I might also add that the gross-out humor is kept to something of a minimum, thank goodness. I won't be making this film a part of my annual Christmas tradition by any means, but it's certainly worth one viewing.
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The group at national lampoon have a real winner in this one. It is the christmas from hell, and about the greatest christmas comedy there is. It is decided to have an old fashion christmas... all the family on both sides gathering together to celebrate christmas, and the joy of family. Well, it is national lampoon, so you know thats not all together whats going to happen. When you mix in-laws, snooty neighbors, alcohol, and the less desirable part of any family, you get something great! It's 97 minutes of National Lampoons best!
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Phenominal
This has to be one of the best "Vacation" movies made yet. I cannot express this enough. It's definitly on my list of all time Christmas Classics, and you can still watch it throughout the year!
The "Vacation" movies really dig into almost any typical American's search to make the perfect vacation, life, experience for their family. Chevy Chase and Beverly DiAngelo just highlight it and make it all funny. I have had many friends and neighbors we could dub "the Grizwolds" over the years because of the bumbling things they've tried to do and these movies hit home, especially Christmas Vacation.
Buy it, love it!
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It's amazing that Chevy Chase wasn't maimed or killed during the making of this movie. I know, there were plenty of stunt players who fell off the roof, crashed through the attic, were flung about into brick walls, etc.---but still! Chevy, who had a well-publicized stint in the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers (due to extreme back pain caused by, of all things, his numerous falls on "Saturday Night Live" in the 1970's while spoofing then-President Gerald Ford---how ironic is that???), certainly took on a certain level of risk in reprising his role as the perpetually clumsy, but good-intentioned, WASP patriarch Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr. in this, the third installment of the VACATION series by Chase's old comedy troupe, National Lampoon.
Having not seen (as of yet, believe it or not) either VACATION or EUROPEAN VACATION, I was a bit unfamiliar with the main characters; however, CHRISTMAS VACATION got me to know them real fast. I have to admit, I have not been a Chevy Chase fan since the '70's, during and immediately after his SNL days. (Let's face facts, the show made him an instant star, but he was never really one of the funniest members of the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players.) However, I believe that he gives a truly inspired comedic performance in CHRISTMAS VACATION. I'm not even referring to the copious physical comedy he displays. I'm actually talking about his comedic acting! I love the manic energy with which Chase infuses his role, and the crazed look in his eye when his character is pushed over the edge. Beverly D'Angelo, as patient but frequently unamused wife Ellen, provides a good low-key foil for his over-the-top antics. She's well-cast and, I must say, beautiful.
As far as acting talent goes, this film has no shortage in this department. A pre-stardom Juliette Lewis is welcome as Griswold daughter Audrey, and a very young Johnny Galecki is engaging as her kid brother Russell (three years before he was cast as Darlene's lazy boyfriend David on the hit TV show "Roseanne"). We also get memorable performances from E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, an unrecognizable Dianne Ladd, and a hysterically funny William Hickey. Rounding out the mix is Randy Quaid as filthy slob Cousin Eddie (who parks his trailer in the driveway), Nicholas Guest and Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the bland and stuck-up neighbors next door, and Brian Doyle-Murray who serves up good moments as Clark's old crabby boss.
The problem with CHRISTMAS VACATION is that, while it does contain some very funny scenes with lots of great, memorable one-liners, it is marred by inferior direction on the part of first-time director Jeremiah Chechik. He tends to interlace the fast-paced physical scenes with long, slow ones that grind the movie to a dead halt every time. While I didn't expect the level of non-stop, lightning-paced zaniness a la AIRPLANE!, these extended slow breaks (that usually focus on a character staring dreamily into the sky) are awkwardly placed and paced, and thereby create an uneven viewing experience. However, John Hughes' smart and wickedly funny script pretty much saves the day. I wouldn't add this to the list of perennial must-see Christmas films (such as A CHRISTMAS STORY or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE), but CHRISTMAS VACATION does offer a lot of fun for the whole family (except for kids under the age of 10, as the language is well-seasoned with four-letter words). If it does nothing else, this film should make you feel a lot better about your Christmas!
MODERATELY RECOMMENDED
