National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Review – The Ultimate Holiday Disaster

🎬 Introduction — "Drumroll, Please..."

If Home Alone is a kid’s fantasy of Christmas, Christmas Vacation is a dad’s reality. Written by John Hughes (who clearly had a lot of holiday trauma to work through in the late 80s), this film is a monument to the pressure of "making memories."

Chevy Chase returns as Clark Griswold, the well-meaning but disaster-prone patriarch. Unlike the previous Vacation movies, they aren't going anywhere. They are hosting. And that setup—trapped in a house with both sets of parents, an aunt, an uncle, and Cousin Eddie—is a pressure cooker of comedy.

For a dad, Clark Griswold is a tragic hero. He wants the big tree. He wants the 25,000 lights. He wants the Christmas bonus to put in a pool. He wants everyone to be happy. His slow descent into madness as everything fails is not just funny; it’s deeply, painfully relatable. We are all Clark Griswold.

Glass Moose Mug

Drink your eggnog in style with the official replica of Clark and Eddie's moose mugs. A holiday essential.

🧠 Story & Themes — Expectations vs. Reality

The plot is a series of escalating disasters. The tree is too big. The lights don't turn on. The turkey is dry. The cat gets electrocuted. The sewer gas explodes. It’s Murphy’s Law in a Santa hat.

But the core theme is expectation. Clark has built up this image of a "fun, old-fashioned family Christmas" in his head that reality can never match. The harder he tries to force it, the worse it gets.

The arrival of Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family in their beat-up RV serves as the ultimate reality check. Eddie is gross, broke, and oblivious, but he’s also weirdly happy. He doesn't have Clark’s stress because he has zero expectations. The contrast between Clark’s uptight perfectionism and Eddie’s chaotic freedom is the engine of the movie.

🎭 Characters & Performances — A Masterclass in Manic Energy

Chevy Chase is doing some of his best work here. His physical comedy—the attic scene, the sledding scene, the light installation—is genius. But it’s his facial expressions, the twitching eye, the forced smile, that really sell the mental breakdown. His rant about his boss ("Hallelujah! Holy sh*t! Where's the Tylenol?") is one of the greatest monologues in comedy history.

Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie is an icon. Every line he delivers is gold. "Shitter was full!" is a quote that will live forever. He manages to be repulsive yet somehow lovable.

The supporting cast is great, too. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a hilarious small role as the yuppie neighbor who gets terrorized by the Griswolds. And the grandparents are perfectly annoying, bickering constantly and complaining about everything.

🎨 Visual Style, Animation & Audio — The 80s Aesthetic

The movie looks like a Christmas card from 1989. The fashion is loud, the hair is big, and the decor is excessive. The house, covered in 25,000 blinding lights, is a visual gag that pays off beautifully.

The soundtrack features the classic title song "Christmas Vacation" by Mavis Staples, which sets the tone perfectly. And, of course, the use of "Mele Kalikimaka" during Clark’s pool fantasy is iconic.

👨‍👧 The Dad Perspective — Rated PG-13 for a Reason

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes.

Suitability: This is not a kids' movie in the same way Elf is. It’s rated PG-13. There is swearing (the F-word is used once, but there’s lots of other language). There are sexual innuendos (Clark flirting with the sales clerk). There is a scene where a cat gets electrocuted (it’s funny, but grim). And Cousin Eddie... well, he empties a chemical toilet into a storm drain.

The Talk: It’s a great movie to watch with teenagers. They will appreciate the cynicism and the "parents are crazy" vibe. For kids under 10, a lot of the jokes will go over their heads, or they might just find the yelling stressful.

Rewatch Value: It gets better the older you get. When you’re a kid, you laugh at the sled. When you’re a dad, you laugh at the bonus check anxiety because it hurts.

✅ Pros & Cons

🗣️ Conclusion

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is the antidote to the Hallmark movie. It acknowledges that Christmas is hard work, that family can be annoying, and that things will go wrong. And it laughs in the face of it all.

It’s a cathartic watch. Seeing Clark lose his mind makes you feel better about your own holiday stress. It’s a reminder that even if the tree burns down and the turkey is dry, as long as nobody goes to jail (or even if they do), it’s still Christmas.

📌 FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions