So, this movie is going to be confusing to try and explain in that I don't really understand where it sits in the franchise. It is in the franchise and I believe it's the third film in the national lampoon's vacation storeys I believe don't made five or maybe six in the end but this one doesn't fit in with any of the others. I should get through the usual information in the plot and then I'll probably try and come back to this a little bit later. The usual business is director was Jeremiah S. Chechik. Produced by John Hughes and Tom Jacobson and written by John Hughes. It stars the ever present Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo along with Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki. Produced on the budget of $25m it went on to make a tidy sum of $71.3m at the box office. Like although not loved by the critics with IMDb giving a score of 7.6 out of 10 whilst Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 67%. This was released in 1989 a year that saw just two Christmas movies released at Christmas and surprisingly Johnny Galecki starred both movies, meaning he would be at Christmas number one in the movies charts matter what in December 1989. as I said I will try and explain where this movie sits in the franchise as it did spawn a sequel, which did not fit in the Lampoon's Vacation franchise But this was the last ‘Vacation’ movie to have the title “National Lampoon's” included.
The plot is a simple one, obviously set in December and at Christmas in 1989 the Griswold family is readying themselves for a great family Christmas. Both Sets of parents have been invited and Clark has big plans for his works Christmas bonus. The neighbours hate Clark but undeterred he continues making plans for a huge Christmas celebration. The house is decorated with 25,000 twinkle lights the front lawn is decorated with Christmas decorations everybody has to have a good time it is compulsory. Clark does not do anything by halves and this year’s Christmas is going to be no exception. They are surprised by the arrival of his brother in law Eddie the redneck and his family who arrive in an RV that they park in the front of the house. For those not familiar with the ‘Vacation movies’ everything is going to go wrong. Disaster will follow disaster that will follow disaster. The assumptive conclusion will probably be a pile of rubble, with a tree sticking out of it with the family sat around the rubble singing Christmas carols. If you have seen these movies before you will be expecting that right from the start.
Okay let's try and untangle this nest of Christmas lights! This movie follows the ‘National Lampoon's Vacation’ movie that was followed by the ‘National Lampoon's European Vacation’ movie so was effectively the third film in the franchise. The main two characters being played by Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo have remained in place within each of the three movies but the kids have swapped positions. By that I mean that the son is now younger and the daughter is now older, Where the son was always older in the previous two movies. This was the last movie to be classed as national lampoon's yet there were two following movies that were generally seen as being within the franchise. Yet this Christmas version had its own sequel called ‘Christmas Vacation 2’ and followed a storyline from Eddie, which I have not seen but I believe didn't have Chevy Chase in it. So, where this fits in the franchise, I simply don't know!! It could be seen as a separate entity leaning on its previous Encarnacion's or It could be as I originally thought simply the third film in the franchise with the fourth film being set in Las Vegas. I guess it's down to the individual watching how they decide. This movie has been described as a modern Christmas classic and I for one, can see why, as there is a kind heart, beating in the centre of this chaos. You know they will destroy everything, they will ruin everything, and everything that they try and do will fail. But it fails in spite of them rather than because of them, they don’t go searching for disaster, it just seems to find them each and every time. Meaning that as an audience member you feel for them as a family. You do get to the point where you wish them well, you want them to succeed but you also know that disaster is just around the corner. There are sequences in this movie that are down right hysterical, I remember laughing out loud with the scene when they go sledding and Clark shoots off down the hill. Hysterical. The strange thing about this movie in this house is that I am the one who loves it and that appears to be exclusively. This is not a family movie that we as a family sit and watch. There are plenty of other movies that we do share at Christmas but for some reason this isn't one. This is mine, this is one that I've had from my youth that has stayed with me and I love. It is one that I ensure that I watched every year and to be completely honest I still make sure I do. Even if I have to sit up late at night to watch it and have to laugh out loud quietly whilst everybody else is asleep. There is something about the build up to Christmas in this movie that just sums up the panic in so many different households and sums up the desire for a magnificent huge success of a Christmas that simply isn’t necessary. What is needed is family, friends and fun. The way people act at Christmas is how the whole year should be and I think this movie sums it up. If you haven't seen this movie you have missed a treat in my eyes and you should give it a go this Christmas.
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