In this household, the Christmas season can’t officially begin until we hear those two magic words… “Shitter’s full.”
Once again screenwriter/producer John Hughes delivers the Christmas goods, this time with Christmas Vacation, a masterpiece of a family holiday comedy (and the third of four “Vacation” films) with so many iconic scenes and pieces of quotable dialogue that it would take less time for you to watch the movie than for me to try and list them here. It’s the simplest of stories: Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase), a Chicago family man whose enthusiasm forces him to overdo everything, wants to throw his kith and kin a fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. But from the moment his parents and in-laws arrive all kinds of hell breaks loose including house fires, electrocuted cats, SWAT raids, and sewer gas explosions.
What makes Christmas Vacation a must-see perennial (I’ve already watched it twice this season and the season’s not over) is that Hughes’s script expertly wrings every possible situation out of his concept, and first-time feature director Jeremiah Chechik does a beautiful job wrapping the whole production, even the more slapsticky and cruder moments, into an old-fashioned package that never loses the winning sincerity so crucial to the film’s success. Not only is the look of the film much warmer than most comedies, but most impressively, Chechik controls the overall tone like a seasoned pro.
Chevy Chase is absolutely brilliant as the Griswold patriarch whose selfless, well-intentioned plans never fail to completely unravel into mayhem and worse. Chase’s comedic timing is impeccable but he’s also a marvelous actor able to make us sympathize and take Clark’s side every step of the way. Even while we’re laughing at him and gleefully anticipating his reaction to the chaos, in the end we really do want Clark to pull it off.
Beverly D’Angelo returns as Ellen, Clark’s sexy, supportive put upon wife, and in keeping with the four-film “Vacation” tradition, the kids, Rusty and Audrey, are replaced, this time most ably by Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis. The supporting cast may not have a whole lot to do but with old pros like E.G. Marshall, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, William Hickey, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brian Doyle-Murray and Mae Questel (the original Betty Boop and Olive Oyl), their presence alone elevates every scene they’re in.
The scene stealer, however is Randy Quaid as Ellen’s chronically unemployed, mooching, blissfully un-self aware Cousin Eddie. Granted, Hughes scripted the lines, but Quaid’s performance is one for the ages. Every Cousin Eddie line is made forever quotable, and the way Quaid carries himself physically is just as hilarious. The film’s best scenes are the conversations between Clark and Eddie, and it’s a tribute to Chase’s genius as a comedian that when playing off Quaid he so easily slips into the role of straight man without ever losing a character beat.
My favorite scene, though, doesn’t involves full shitters, wild squirrels or rocket-sledding. Set to Ray Charles’ The Spirit of Christmas is that perfect John Hughes’ moment where the story takes a breath at precisely the right time to reset the film’s theme. Everyone’s gone, Clark’s alone and locked in the freezing attic dressed like his Aunt as he watches a black and white home movie of a Christmas from when he was a boy. The song, the images from the past, the wistful look on Chevy Chase’s face … they all fit together beautifully for that perfect moment when, well, it comes to an end.
A big hit when released, like any true classic, Christmas Vacation now broadcasts every year on television and is in its third or fourth DVD release. It’s also entered the popular culture whereas any overlit holiday house is immediately labelled a “Griswold Home.” If you catch me on the right day, I could rank Clark and family as high as number two on this list.
But not number one. Never number one. No number two could ever come close to my all-time numero uno pick.
Not that I have a log.
Read the full countdown here.