I’ll be honest, I never really liked the original National Lampoon’s Vacation movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad movie, but I just could never get into the movie’s dark sense of humor and the story didn’t have that weight that made other movies written by John Hughes so engaging. The sequel that would follow called National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, I think is one of the greatest comedies that has heart, humor, and a good amount of relatability to the characters that make this movie stand out as a true Christmas classic.
The Griswold family is entering the holiday season and Clark is more than excited to have a perfect traditional family Christmas with all of his family coming together and celebrating everything good and wholesome in this world. Of course, being a family with a ton of bad luck on its shoulders, things go hilariously wrong as family members show up and cause destruction, Clark has trouble trying to get his house lit up with Christmas lights, and Clark impatiently waits to get his Christmas bonus from his boss so he can use the money to put in a swimming pool. Much Chaos ensues as the Griswold's try to keep everything under control so they can try to have a nice relaxing Christmas vacation.
Much like Home Alone, Christmas Vacation knows how to write great slapstick comedy while at the same time grounding our characters in emotional realism which makes this comedy more than just a laugh a minute gag type film. There’s a good moral behind all the silliness and the slapstick comedy is over the top but also relatable to situations that most any Christmas party host has likely gone through. John Hughes’s writing shines in its characterizations and many characters from the original vacation do make an appearance and they are honestly funnier and better than they were in the first movie. Luckily, it’s not required to see the first movie to understand the characters and their personalities as they are as funny and memorable as they were in the original vacation.
The Cinematography is decorated with some lovely Christmas imagery and the way they shoot the comedic slapstick is almost like something out of a cartoon. One of my favorite scenes is when Clark tries to set up the Christmas lights but has a lot of trouble in doing so. I also like that in-between scenes when they show a Christmas Advent calendar and a hand opening up the days of Christmas There is also an animated segment at the very beginning movie which is both funny and captures the excitement of what you’re going to be in for with the rest of the movie. The main theme music sung by Mavis Staples is a great tune and can be put up there with some of the other modern Christmas songs and the rest of the music has the wacky manic energy that makes the movie so much fun and hilarious.
It’s weird to admit that I’m not a fan of National Lampoon’s Vacation, but I think Christmas Vacation is what I think the original movie should have been like. It’s humorous slapstick, wacky shenanigans, and its surprising amount of heart make this a Holiday classic worth viewing every Christmas. If you’re a fan of movies like Home Alone and you’d like to see other great Christmas comedies, this is a perfect movie to have a good laugh even with no knowledge of the original vacation being required to see this solidly crafted sequel.
(Final Grade A-)