1989Ā Ā ā¢Ā Ā Warner Bros. PicturesĀ
Rated:Ā PG-13Ā
Length:Ā 1 hrĀ 37minĀ
Christmas ~ Comedy
Director:Ā Jeremiah S. ChechikĀ
Writer:Ā John Hughes
Actors:Ā Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, E. G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, Cody Burger, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, William Hickey, Mae Questel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Guest, and Brian Doyle-Murray.
YULE CRACK UP!
Official Trailer
Based on the 1980 short storyĀ Christmas ’59Ā by John Hughes, Published in National Lampoon Magazine December 1980.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) – Review
Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without a trip to Chicago, hanging with The Griswold’s. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was the third installment in the Vacation franchise. When it was first released, it did marginally well but didn’t reach mass critical success until long after it hit reruns on TV and was released to the growing DVD market. And, as we all know, is now one of the most searched for and watched Christmas Movies of all time.
Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) sets out to create the perfect Christmas at home in Chicago with his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and their kids, Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki). Eager for Christmas tradition, Clark drives the family to the countryside to chop down the biggest tree they can find, but without tools, they uproot it, damaging their station wagon and irritating yuppie neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo Chester (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when they return home. The next day Clark obsessively strings thousands of Christmas lights across the house, causing a neighborhood blackout when they finally illuminate.ā
As relatives arrive unannounced, chaos multiplies in the cramped Griswold home. Ellen’s cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her husband Eddie (Randy Quaid), a boisterous, financially strapped redneck, pull up in their RV with kids Rocky (Cody Burger) and Ruby Sue (Ellen Hamilton Latzen), with their slobbery dog Snots. Clark’s parents, Clark Sr. (John Randolph) and Nora (Diane Ladd), join Ellen’s folks Art (E. G. Marshall) and Frances (Doris Roberts), sparking bickering, while eccentric Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel) brings a frozen jello mold topped with cat food and Uncle Lewis (William Hickey) adds his cigar-smoking grumpiness to the mix.
Holiday mishaps escalate: a loose squirrel terrorizes the house, the overcooked turkey ruins dinner, Bethany’s cat gets electrocuted in the tree lights, and Lewis’s cigar torches the tree. Amidst the Christmas chaos Clark has been anxiously awaiting his Christmas bonus from his boss Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray) to fund a backyard swimming pool he’s already ordered and can’t afford without it. After opening the last minute Christmas Bonus envelope from the late mailman, Clark snaps in a profane tirade. Instead of the huge check he always gets, he has received a subscription to a “Jelly Of The Month Club”.
“Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I’d like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. And I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here…with a big ribbon on his head! And I want to look him straight in the eye, and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed, sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where’s the Tylenol?”
It truly is a timeless Christmas Classic full of Slapstick Holiday Humor and endless one-liners. I have been watching this movie for decades, every year at Christmas time. It just wouldn’t be the season without a trip to the Griswold’s for some Humorous Holiday antics! National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!
Start The Season Right!
Turn off the lights and devices,
(Except for the Tree!),
Make some popcornĀ 
Grab a beverage
andĀ Stream This Movie!
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) – Review by Bobby @ Streaming Movie Night.
Movie Stills
Movie Stills of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) are a closely guarded commodity, and so far, haven’t been able to procure any!
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) – ReviewĀ Ā© 2025 Streaming Movie Night.
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