Christmas Vacation: Yule die laughing

by Chris Riley

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

It's become something of a Christmas tradition at out place for the family to gather and watch the movie on Christmas Eve.

In fact, I had one of the first copies of the DVD which wasn't available in Australia at the time, and was in the old square 4:3 format.

Released in 1989, Christmas Vacation is the third film in the National Lampoon series and one that never fails to get a laugh at the Riley residence.

Based on the John Hughes short story "Christmas '59" that was published in National Lampoon magazine, it tells the story of the Griswold family Christmas.

Chevy Chase stars as Clark Griswold, with Beverly D'Angelo as his wife Ellen and Randy Quaid as Eddie Johnson (husband to Ellen's cousin Miriam).

Christmas Vacation is the only film in the series where they spend their vacation at home and the only one not to include Lindsey Buckingham's song "Holiday Road" as its signature tune.

In its place is "Christmas Vacation" with music by Barry Mann, lyrics by Cynthia Weil and performed by Mavis Staples of The Staple Singers fame.

The film debuted at number two at the box-office, behind Back to the Future: Part II but has gone on to become a modern classic and highest grossing film in the series, until the release of Vacation in 2015 (a second class attempt to restart the series).

Originally Chris Columbus was supposed to direct the film, but due to a personality clash with Chevy Chase, whom he described as difficult to work with, he was replaced by Jeremiah S. Chechik.

Columbus was worried his decision to leave might mean the end of his career, but Hughes later offered him the script to Home Alone which turned out to be a much bigger hit.

Other characters include Juliette Lewis as the Griswold's daughter Audrey and Johnny Galecki as their son Russ.

Playing the Griswold's parents are John Randolph as Clark's father Clark Sr, Diane Ladd as Clark's mother Nora, E. G. Marshall as Ellen's father Art Smith and Doris Roberts as Ellen's mother Frances Smith.

Clark's grouchy cigar-smoking uncle Lewis and lovely but senile aunt Bethany are played by William Hickey and Mae Questel.

Not to forget the Griswold's yuppie neighbours, Todd and Margo Chester (Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

Interestingly, only two Christmas themed movies were released in 1989: Prancer (1989) and this film.

Johnny Galecki appeared in both and went on to bigger and better things as a star of the hit series The Big Bang Theory.

Set in Chicago, Christmas Vacation finds Clark as an executive in the food industry in Chicago, who's looking forward to spending a good, old-fashioned family Christmas with the family.

He's decorated the house with 25,000 Christmas lights and sets off to find the perfect Christmas tree, a massive tree that he has trouble fitting in the living room.

Clark plans to surprise the family with news that he's put a down payment on a pool for the coming summer, which he plans to pay for with his Christmas bonus.

But, as often happens, things don't go according to plan.

While it's nice to host his parents, in-laws, and elderly aunt and uncle, it's a tight squeeze in the Griswold home -- and becomes even tighter with the sudden arrival of Ellen's cousin Miriam, husband Eddie, their two kids and slobbering Rottweiler Snots.

The lights won't work, tempers begin to fray and Clark becomes increasingly concerned because his bonus doesn't turn up.

Ellen is patient with him, a sulking Audrey doesn't want a bar of it and Rusty while supportive is not happy about helping his father to get the lights to work.

After a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner, along with Bethany's cat getting electrocuted and Uncle Lewis accidentally setting fire to the Christmas tree, a courier finally turns up with a letter for Clark that he failed to deliver the day before.

Instead of the bonus he is expecting, however, the envelope contains a free year's membership to the "Jelly of the Month".

Clark snaps and goes into a tirade, demanding his boss Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray) be delivered to him, gift wrapped -- so he can tell him exactly what he thinks of him to his face.

Taking Clark's request literally, Eddie drives over to Shirley's mansion on the hill and kidnaps him.

Christmas Vacation includes some classic moments, including the tirade when Clark finally loses it.

It's rumored that the rant was ad-libbed and while this is partially true, members of the cast supposedly held queue cards, each with one word written on them -- some of which Clark uses to describe his boss.

Also worth mentioning is the scene towards the end of the movie where Ellen grabs Clark by the crotch.

Beverly D'Angelo later revealed it was improvised, that she did it on the off chance it made the final cut -- which it did.

And what of the mysterious shop assistant/girl in the pool (and girl of Clark's dreams)?

That would be Sean Penn's one-time girlfriend Nicolette Scorsese (no relation).

Last spotted at an art show in 2006, no one really knows what she is up to now.

She'd be 68 now . . .

In 2003, NBC aired a spin-off called National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 which featured Cousin Eddie's family on a Christmas vacation in the South Pacific.

Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, and Dana Barron reprise their roles from the previous Vacation films alongside series newcomers Jake Thomas, Edward Asner, Sung Hi Lee, and Fred Willard.

Again, it wasn't a patch on the original.

The impact of Christmas Vacation can be gauged by the fact "Griswold House" soon became a part of the American and Australian vernacular, as a term used to describe a house that is overly decorated with Christmas decorations.

In case you missed Clark's tirade here it is again.

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. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber on Melody Lane with all the other rich people, and I want him right here with a big ribbon on his head. I wanna look him straight in the eye and tell him what a cheap, lying, no good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, in-bred, overstuffed, ignorant, bloodsucking, 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?

Chase earned a reputation for being notoriously hard to work with.

Interestingly, he has perfect pitch and is a huge fan of jazz music (plays piano, drums and saxophone).

One of his best friends is musician Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel fame who he appears alongside in the music video "You Can Call Me Al" -- lip-syncing all of his lines.

You can catch Christmas Vacation on Binge, Foxtel Now or Stan.