National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (DVD) Review

Hands down, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is the best Christmas-themed comedy ever filmed. Personally, I make it habit to watch this movie about ten million times between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Even after seeing the film so many times that I can recite it word-for-word, Christmas Vacation remains as hilarious and entertaining as the previous holiday season. More than just a seasonal film, it's one of those rare comedies that it near perfect from beginning to end.

Christmas Vacation follows the ongoing exploits of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and the Griswold family, but this particular rendition of the classic Vacation movies is arguably the best. As in the previous films, Clark's goal is to create the perfect vacation for his family. Only this time, instead of hitting the road for Wally World or flying to Europe, the Griswolds stay at home in suburban Chicago.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (mere months away from signing on for the role of Elaine on Seinfeld) makes several appearances as Clark's annoying, yuppie neighbor Margot, a character accompanied by her equally elitist yuppie partner, Todd (Nicholas Guest). Randy Quaid makes a return appearance as Cousin Eddie, playing the same role from the original Vacation film. As Clark's unsophisticated and backward relative, Eddie is a man whose "heart is bigger than his brain". Beverly D'Angelo also returns in her previous role as Clark's wife, Ellen.

When Clark vows to create "the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever," things naturally go awry. With the Griswold family and their in-laws living under one roof, the relatives constantly get on each others' nerves. Clark sets out to decorate the house for Christmas, and his quest culminates in a 25,000 light extravaganza that covers every square inch of the house. In the process, he nearly breaks his neck several times and knocks out Todd and Margot's window with a flying lance of roof gutter ice.

The laughs multiply several times over when Cousin Eddie arrives uninvited and parks his RV in the Griswold driveway. In tow are his wife Catherine, their two kids Ruby Sue and Rocky, and their lovely dog "Snots". The crescendo of disaster steadily increases as Christmas Day approaches with Clark's agony compounded the absence of his annual Christmas bonus. Clark's big Christmas surprise for the family is that he's putting in a pool, but in order to start work as soon as the ground thawed out, he had to put down a hefty deposit which his check won't cover without the Christmas bonus.

After a Christmas Eve in which the turkey explodes, Aunt Bethany's cat electrocutes itself, Uncle Lewis burns down the tree, and a squirrel gets loose in the house, a late night knock on the door provides Clark with hope. A deliveryman hands him an envelope which fell between the seats, the fabled Christmas bonus. But when the bonus isn't quite what Clark expected, Cousin Eddie surprises Clark with an unexpected last minute gift...

Originally released in 1989, Christmas Vacation has surprisingly little content that makes it seem "dated". As such, it's certain to be a holiday viewing tradition for generations to come. With some of the best one-liners in all of comedy, you'll find yourself reciting its dialogue for many Christmases to come. But what makes Christmas Vacation such an enduring film is that everyone who watches it can relate to the events within. Almost everyone has a strange relative like Eddie or a pair of snotty elitist neighbors, and of course, who hasn't had a squirrel ransack their house on Christmas Eve? Overall, this movie is a barrel of laughs. If you don't like it, you probably aren't breathing...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/national-lampoons-christmas-vacation.html].

National Lampoon's European Vacation (DVD) Review

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation, sequel to the original Vacation movie and precursor to the holiday classic Christmas Vacation. Like the other films, this edition contains different cast members to play the roles of Griswold children Audrey (Dana Hill) and Rusty (Jason Lively). The only Vacation movie that doesn't feature Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), European Vacation is nevertheless one hilarious movie. Directed by Amy Heckerling, the comic genius behind such films as Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982), Johnny Dangerously (1984), and Clueless (1995), European Vacation remains a fun and entertaining movie even twenty years after its release...

Like its predecessor, European Vacation follows the lives of the Chicago-based Griswold family. When they appear on the hit TV game show, Pig-In-A-Poke, they inadvertently beat an intellectually superior family and win an all-expenses paid trip to Europe. As usual, Clark is giddy with the prospect of hosting the perfect family bonding experience. But Audrey is mortified at the prospect of leaving her boyfriend. Nevertheless, the Griswolds leave for Europe.

Immediately, Clark's dream vacation starts to unravel. The first hotel the family stays in is a half-star dump with a community bathroom, and Clark gets stuck on a circular roadway where he endlessly passes Big Ben and Parliament. A couple of brilliant guest appearances are turned in by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame who plays the role of a zealously friendly biker. In one of the funniest scenes in the film, Clark smashes his car into the biker, who then apologizes for being hit while springing a bloody leak he passes off as a "mere flesh wound". When Clark hits another motorist, he and the family are given the man's bumper as a souvenir.

As the Griswold clan makes their way across mainland Europe, especially in France and Germany, they encounter various pitfalls and cultural misunderstandings. Rusty causes a dog to plummet to its death from the heights of the Eiffel Tower, and Clark sparks a riot in a small Bavarian township. The best one-liner from the film is when Audrey tells Clark that in Germany "sex" means "six," so while searching for some Griswold relatives who live in apartment six, he greets some surprised residents by announcing, "Hello, my family and I are looking for sex!"

In due time, the stress of their disastrous vacation becomes unbearable, and each family member is inevitably driven in a different direction. But the family is unified once again when one of them is kidnapped by a pair of petty criminals hoping to get their hands on the family vacation fund. Can Clark save the day? Can he keep the family together? More importantly, can the Griswolds finally live out the perfect vacation?

Written by Robert Klane, former writer for the MASH TV series and creator of Weekend At Bernie's (1989), the European Vacation screenplay is fully indicative of the author's comedic talents. It's well deserving of being mentioned in the same breath with the other films from the Vacation franchise, but overall, it probably ranks near the bottom (along with Vegas Vacation). Nevertheless, that's more of a testament to the collective strength of the four movies. This is an utterly hilarious film in its own right, and well worth the time of those who have enjoyed the more recent exploits of the Griswolds in Christmas and Vegas Vacation...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the National Lampoon's European Vacation (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/national-lampoons-european-vacation.html].