One Big Happy Family
Warner Bros. (1989)
By R. J. F.
It isn’t Christmas until you lose your shit from holiday cheer.
Chevy Chase is pretty good at playing the bumbling dad, Clark Griswold, from the plethora of National Lampoon’s Family Vacation movies, of which there are six. I have to say that National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is probably the best out of all of them, and is definitely one that needs to be viewed every Christmas season. Despite the rumors and chatter about Chase being an onset (and probably offset) asshole, his performance as the grumbling and often off-put Griswold brings a tinsel-covered chuckle.
In this version of NLFV, the Griswold family is going to spend the holidays with both sides of their extended family under one roof. This includes both sets of in-laws, one set of great aunt’s and uncle’s, and an uninvited, hillbilly cousin and his family. Clark is looking forward to a big holiday bonus from his boss, the kids are forced to go along with any and all family outings, and his wife, Ellen, played by the stunning Beverly D’Angelo, is the evermore supportive wife to her mostly idiotic husband. When this movie came out, it was the third installment of the series and was still considered relevant and funny. As audiences had seen before, Clark was hell bent on having a festive time with his family despite all of the mishaps and complaining.
My dad was nothing like Clark, and I didn’t have any friends with a dad like him, either, or that I knew of. Clark refuses to heed to his family’s protests and carries on doing his own thing despite lessons learned from past mistakes. If Clark wants to cover every inch of his house in Christmas lights, that’s what he’s going to do. If he wants to drive his family out into the wilderness in the middle of the freezing snow for an obviously too large Christmas tree, he’s going to make them go along and enjoy it. If Clark wants to make sure that his snow sled will be the fastest on the hill by rubbing it with grease until it shines, he’ll take as much time needed to wax it to perfection, even if the result means he takes off like a wild beast into the cold night.
Because of these attributes, I find Clark to be a frustrating character. He doesn’t know when to quit, things always fall apart, and then he loses his shit because of his own willful and misguided ways. I can’t help but internally scream that his family needs to give him some kind of ultimatum about his behavior. Lucky for Clark, he has a family that is willing to put up with his bullshit and stand by his side when the chips are down.
On the other hand, there are redeeming qualities that Clark embodies even if he’s a total mess. He cares about his family and giving them a memorable holiday, he opens his house up to extended family even though they make him insane, he tries his best to look at the bright side of things when it’s all crumbling around him, and he genuinely wants to enjoy the season with his loved ones; he just seems to do all of this in a chaotic and selfish way.
Even though the NLFV franchise fizzled out down the line and became completely redundant, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation still has a fandom. People like to dress up their houses in the Griswold fashion with thousands of lights, they even make it complete with a Cousin Eddie RV, and the movie still shows during the Christmas season on streaming services.
As far as holiday comedies are concerned, this film seems to be a staple after 33 years, and it will most likely continue to be one for years to come.