| rdfs:comment | - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) is the third installment in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series. Clark Griswold has decided to host nearly his entire extended family at his house for the holiday season, including his parents, his in-laws, his senile old Aunt Bethany and, eventually, possibly-inbred cousin-in-law Eddie. As can be expected, everything goes horribly wrong in the most hilarious way possible. A perennial Christmas classic, and notably the only one of the Vacation series to take place at the Griswold home. Had a Made for TV Movie sequel made in 2003.
- The movie debuted at #2 at the box-office while grossing $11,750,203 during the opening weekend, behind Back to the Future Part II. The movie eventually topped the box-office charts in its third week of release and remained #1 the following weekend. It went on to gross a total of $71,319,546 in the United States while showing in movie theaters. Considered the most popular movie in the series, it was the last movie in the National Lampoon's Vacation series until Vegas Vacation came out in 1997.
- Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Children's Christmas Slapstick Car Chase Keystone Kops Comedy Film directed by Stanley Kramer and Norman Jewison.
- With Christmas only a few weeks away, Chicago resident Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) decides it is time to get a Christmas tree. He gathers his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), daughter Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and son Rusty (Johnny Galecki) and drives out to the country where he picks out a huge tree. Realizing too late that they didn't bring any tools to cut the tree down, they are forced to uproot it instead, before driving home with the tree strapped to the roof of their car. Soon after, both Clark's and Ellen's parents arrive to spend Christmas, but their bickering quickly begins to annoy the family. Clark, however, maintains a positive attitude, determined to have a "good old-fashioned family Christmas." He covers the house's entire exterior with 25,000 twinkle lights, which fail to work
- (We see Chester sitting in a comfy chair in some room as the tune "We Wish You A Merry Christmas plays.) Chester: (speaking calmly) Greetings, my friends, and welcome to a "Bummy Christmas Review." (Cut to title card with "Bummy Christmas Reviews", then back to Chester) It's time we take a look at "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." (Cut to title card of it, back to Chester) Say, remember when John Hughes was funny? So does this movie. This film centers around a family man played by Chevy Chase. Hey, remember when Chevy Chase was funny? So does this movie. I had a vacation at my home once.
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| abstract | - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) is the third installment in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series. Clark Griswold has decided to host nearly his entire extended family at his house for the holiday season, including his parents, his in-laws, his senile old Aunt Bethany and, eventually, possibly-inbred cousin-in-law Eddie. As can be expected, everything goes horribly wrong in the most hilarious way possible. A perennial Christmas classic, and notably the only one of the Vacation series to take place at the Griswold home. Had a Made for TV Movie sequel made in 2003.
- The movie debuted at #2 at the box-office while grossing $11,750,203 during the opening weekend, behind Back to the Future Part II. The movie eventually topped the box-office charts in its third week of release and remained #1 the following weekend. It went on to gross a total of $71,319,546 in the United States while showing in movie theaters. Considered the most popular movie in the series, it was the last movie in the National Lampoon's Vacation series until Vegas Vacation came out in 1997.
- With Christmas only a few weeks away, Chicago resident Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) decides it is time to get a Christmas tree. He gathers his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), daughter Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and son Rusty (Johnny Galecki) and drives out to the country where he picks out a huge tree. Realizing too late that they didn't bring any tools to cut the tree down, they are forced to uproot it instead, before driving home with the tree strapped to the roof of their car. Soon after, both Clark's and Ellen's parents arrive to spend Christmas, but their bickering quickly begins to annoy the family. Clark, however, maintains a positive attitude, determined to have a "good old-fashioned family Christmas." He covers the house's entire exterior with 25,000 twinkle lights, which fail to work at first, as he has accidentally wired them through his garage's light switch. When they finally come on, they temporarily cause a city-wide power shortage (forcing the power company to resort to nuclear generators for backup power) and create chaos for Clark's yuppie neighbors, Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). While standing on the front lawn admiring the lights, Clark is shocked to see Ellen's cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her dense but bighearted husband Eddie (Randy Quaid), as they arrive unannounced with their children, Rocky and Ruby Sue. Eddie later admits that they are living in the RV they drove to reach Chicago, as he is broke and has been forced to sell his home. Clark offers to buy gifts for Eddie's kids, so they can still enjoy a wonderful Christmas. With Christmas approaching quicker than ever, Clark begins to wonder why his boss, Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray), has not given him his yearly bonus, which he desperately needs to replace an advance payment he has made to install a swimming pool. After a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner, he finally receives an envelope from a company messenger, who had overlooked it the day before. Instead of the presumed bonus, the envelope contains a free year's membership for the Jelly of the Month Club. This prompts Clark to snap and go into a tirade about Frank, and out of anger, requests that he be delivered to the house so Clark can insult him to his face. Eddie takes the request literally, drives to Frank's mansion, and forcibly brings him back to the house, to Clark's obvious surprise. This doesn't stop him from confronting Frank about the cancellation of the employees' Christmas bonuses. Meanwhile, Frank's wife, Helen, calls the police, and a SWAT team storms the Griswold house and holds everyone at gunpoint. Frank decides not to press charges and explains the situation to his wife and the authorities, who both scold him for his decision to scrap the bonuses, and decides to reinstate them (with Clark getting 20% more than the bonus from the previous year). This causes Clark to faint out of shock. Afterwards, the family head outside, with Rocky and Ruby Sue believing they see Santa Claus in the distance. Clark tells them it's actually the Christmas Star and that he finally realizes what the holiday means to him. But Uncle Lewis (William Hickey) says the light is coming from the sewage treatment plant; reminding Clark of an earlier incident where Eddie had been dumping his sewage into a storm drain. But before he can stop him, Uncle Lewis tosses a match he had used to light his cigar aside, triggering an explosion sending him flying into the family. Lewis' wife Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel), who is incredibly senile, proceeds to sing the "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the whole family and the SWAT officers join in, gazing at Clark's Santa Claus and reindeer set (which was also destroyed in the blast), still burning and flying into the distance. The entire Griswold family, the Shirleys and the SWAT team members then celebrate inside the house, while Clark and Ellen happily share a Christmas kiss. After Ellen goes inside, Clark looks at the sky, happily smiling toward the stars and saying: "I did it."
- (We see Chester sitting in a comfy chair in some room as the tune "We Wish You A Merry Christmas plays.) Chester: (speaking calmly) Greetings, my friends, and welcome to a "Bummy Christmas Review." (Cut to title card with "Bummy Christmas Reviews", then back to Chester) It's time we take a look at "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." (Cut to title card of it, back to Chester) Say, remember when John Hughes was funny? So does this movie. This film centers around a family man played by Chevy Chase. Hey, remember when Chevy Chase was funny? So does this movie. Who has a charming family of a wife who's only known for these films, that Juliette Lewis chick who we never see anymore, and that "Big Bang Theory" tool. It appears that after having years of bad vacations they have finally decided to have one vacation there at home. I had a vacation at my home once. It's not easy renovating a can of coffee. So they invite over all the people who auditioned for "Everybody Loves Raymond," even one who actually got on, and they try to have a merry Christmas with absolutely no comedic possibilities. Which for many critics at the time is exactly what happened. But the glue of the movie seems to be Chevy Chase. He plays your everyday likable man who's constantly trying to cheat on his wife. And Beverly D'Angelo plays the everyday wife who hasn't divorced him for some reason. We also have Randy Quaid whose smell actually penetrates the movie screen. And of course his family: The mother from "Tazmania," the stand-by for Pugsley Addams, and Newt's sister. (pauses) No, seriously, that's Newt's sister. Go IMDB it. (loud whisper) They're like identical! I keep forgetting which one's waiting for Santa Claus and which one's waiting for the belly-busting monsters. Through hijinks, hilarity, and all sorts of funniness, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" shows where the real value in a family Christmas vacation lies. In a terrible man who's mean to his family and always wishes to get away from them even though he constantly brings them closer. I know that doesn't make any sense, but in a way doesn't Christmas make no sense either? ...No. This is Chester A. Bum saying... Don't go away, Christmas! I wanna stay in this room!
- Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Children's Christmas Slapstick Car Chase Keystone Kops Comedy Film directed by Stanley Kramer and Norman Jewison.
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