''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by

Jeremiah S. Chechik Jeremiah S. Chechik (born 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is the film director, director of such films as ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'', ''Benny & Joon'', ''Diabolique (1996 film), Diabolique'' and ''The Avengers (1998 film), The Av ...

, written and co-produced by John Hughes, and starring

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for h ...

, and

Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in ''The Last Detail'' i ...

with supporting roles by

Miriam Flynn Miriam Flynn (born June 18, 1952) is an American voice and character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' and Grandma Longneck in ''The Land Before Time'' franchises. She has acted in other films a ...

, William Hickey,

Mae Questel Mae Questel (born Mae Kwestel, September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop (from 1931) and Olive Oyl (from 1933). She began in vaudeville, ...

Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...

, John Randolph,

E.G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and alternative rock singer. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark themes. Lewis became an "it girl" of American cinema in the early 1990s, ...

, and

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms '' Ro ...

, and special appearances by

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

Nicholas Guest Nicholas Haden-Guest (born May 5, 1951), known as Nicholas Guest, is an American actor who has appeared in various movie and television roles, including that of headmaster Patrick James Elliot in the teen sitcom ''USA High''. Since 2000, he has p ...

, Ellen Hamilton Latzen,

Brian Doyle-Murray Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...

, and

Natalia Nogulich Natalia Nogulich is an American film- and television actress and author. Nogulich was born Natalija Nogulich in Chicago, Illinois, of Serbian descent. Her best-known appearances have been on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ''Star Tre ...

. Based on Hughes' short story "Christmas '59" that was published in ''National Lampoon'', it tells the story of the Griswold family spending Christmas vacation at home with their relatives and the ensuing mayhem. The film performed well at the box office—grossing $73.3 million—but received mixed reviews from critics. It is now regarded as a classic Christmas film.

Plot

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-area resident Clark Griswold plans to have a great Christmas with his entire family. He drives his wife Ellen and children Audrey and Rusty out to the country to find a tree, ultimately choosing the largest one they can find. Realizing too late that they did not bring any tools to cut down the tree, they are forced to uproot it instead. Soon after, both Clark's and Ellen's parents arrive for Christmas, but their bickering quickly begins to annoy them. Clark, however, maintains a positive attitude, determined to have a "fun old-fashioned family Christmas". He covers the house's entire exterior with 25,000

twinkle lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom go ...

, which temporarily cause a citywide power shortage and create chaos for Clark's

yuppie Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...

neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester. Ellen's cousin Catherine and her redneck husband Eddie arrive unannounced with their children, Rocky and Ruby Sue, and their pet

Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...

, Snots. Eddie later admits they are living in the RV in which they arrived, as he went broke and had to sell their home and land. Clark offers to buy gifts for Eddie's kids so they can still enjoy Christmas. Soon afterward, Clark's

senile Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

Aunt Bethany and cantankerous Uncle Lewis arrive. Clark begins to wonder why his boss, Frank Shirley, has not given him his yearly

bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...

, which he desperately needs to pay for a new swimming pool. After a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner, during which Aunt Bethany's cat is

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

and Uncle Lewis accidentally burns down the Christmas tree while lighting his

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

, Clark finally receives his bonus. Instead of the expected money, it is a free year's membership to the "Jelly of the Month Club". He snaps and angrily wishes for Frank to be delivered to the house so he can insult him to his face. Taking Clark's request literally, Eddie kidnaps Frank, who admits to having canceled the Christmas bonuses. Clark chastises him for doing so. Meanwhile, Frank's wife Helen calls the police, and a

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team storms the Griswold house and holds everyone at gunpoint. Frank decides not to press charges and explains the situation to his wife and the SWAT leader, both of whom scold him for scrapping the bonuses. Frank ultimately reinstates them. The family goes outside when Rocky and Ruby Sue believe they see

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

in the distance. Clark tells them it is actually the Christmas Star and that he finally realizes what the holiday means to him. Uncle Lewis says that the light is coming from the

sewage treatment plant Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

, reminding Clark that Eddie had been dumping his RV sewage into the nearby storm drain. Before Clark can stop him, Uncle Lewis lights another cigar and tosses the match into the drain, causing an giant explosion which sends a Santa's sleigh decoration flying into the sky. Aunt Bethany starts singing "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" and everyone joins in as the flaming decoration flies into the distance. The entire family, along with the Shirleys and the SWAT team, go inside to celebrate while Clark and Ellen share a Christmas kiss. Clark is satisfied that he has provided a great Christmas for his family.

Cast

as Clark W. "Sparky" Griswold Jr. *

as Ellen Griswold *

as Audrey Griswold. Audrey was previously portrayed by

Dana Barron Dana Barron is an American actress who is best known for her role as the original Audrey Griswold in the 1983 film ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' which she reprised in 2003's '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adv ...

and

Dana Hill Dana Hill (born Dana Lynne Goetz; May 6, 1964 – July 15, 1996) was an American actress. She was known for playing Audrey Griswold in ''National Lampoon's European Vacation'', and also known for her roles in ''Shoot the Moon'' and '' Cross Cree ...

in the last two films and later by

Marisol Nichols Marisol Nichols (born November 2, 1973) is an American actress, known for her roles as Nadia Yassir on the Fox series '' 24'' and Hermione Lodge on the CW drama series '' Riverdale''. Early life Nichols was born in the Rogers Park neighbor ...

in ''

Vegas Vacation ''Vegas Vacation'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Stephen Kessler in his feature directorial debut. It is the fourth installment in '' National Lampoon''’s ''Vacation'' film series, and was written by Elisa Bell, based on a story by ...

'' *

as Rusty Griswold. Russ was portrayed by

Anthony Michael Hall Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor best known for his leading role as Johnny Smith in '' The Dead Zone'' from 2002 to 2007. He also rose to fame starring in films with ...

and

Jason Lively Ronald Jason Lively (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for ''European Vacation'' (1985), ''Night of the Creeps'' (1986), and ''Ghost Chase'' (1987). Early life Ronald Jason Lively was born on March 12, 1968 in Carroll ...

in the previous two films and later by

Ethan Embry Ethan Embry (born June 13, 1978) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Mark in ''Empire Records'', Preston in '' Can't Hardly Wait'', The Bass Player in ''That Thing You Do!'', and as Bobby Ray in '' Sweet Home A ...

in ''

''. Notably, this is the only film where Russ the exact same age as Audrey, hence Lewis being taller than Galecki. * John Randolph as Clark Griswold Sr., Clark's father *

as Nora Griswold, Clark's mother *

E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

as Arthur "Art" Smith, Ellen's father *

as Frances Smith, Ellen's mother *

as Catherine Johnson, Ellen's cousin *

as Eddie Johnson, Catherine's husband *

Cody Burger Cody Michael Burger (born August 4, 1983) is an American former child actor and network engineer whose noteworthy acting credentials include portraying Cousin Rocky Johnson in '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989), an appearance on t ...

as Rocky Johnson * Ellen Hamilton Latzen as Ruby Sue Johnson * William Hickey as Uncle Lewis *

as Aunt Bethany. This was Questel's final film role before her death in 1998 *

Sam McMurray Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

as Bill, Clark's co-worker *

as Margo Chester, the Griswolds' yuppie neighbor *

as Todd Chester, Margo's husband *

as Frank Shirley, Clark's boss *

as Helen Shirley, Frank's wife * Nicolette Scorsese as Mary, a lingerie counter clerk * Alexander Folk as Lead SWAT Officer * Jeremy Roberts as cop * Woody Weaver as cop * Doug Llewelyn as the voice of the Parade Announcer * Keith MacKechnie as delivery boy * Rick Stevens as Ralph, Ellen's awkward cousin

Production

Development and writing

''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' originated from a short story by writer John Hughes called "Christmas '59", which was published in the December 1980 issue of '' National Lampoon'' magazine. "The studio came to me and begged for another one, and I only agreed because I had a good story to base it on," said Hughes. "But those movies have become little more than Chevy Chase vehicles." Director Chris Columbus initially was to direct the film, but due to a personality clash between he and Chase, Columbus left the film and was replaced by Chechik. Hughes eventually gave Columbus the script to ''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...

''.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 27, 1989, in Summit County, Colorado , with footage shot in Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco. From there the production moved to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

Facilities in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, where the set of the Griswold family's house and street is located.

Music

The musical score for ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' was composed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

. It is the only installment of the ''Vacation'' film series not to include

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

's "

Holiday Road "Holiday Road" is a 1983 single composed and recorded by American guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham. Written for the 1983 film '' National Lampoon's Vacation'', it was also used in the film's sequels National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985 ...

". In its place is a song entitled "Christmas Vacation" with songwriters

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

and performed by

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

fame. The song was covered in 2007 by ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

'' star

Monique Coleman Adrienne Monique Coleman (born November 13, 1980) is an American actress known for her role in Disney's ''High School Musical'' movies, in which she plays Taylor McKessie. Early life and education Adrienne Monique Coleman was born in Orangebu ...

for the 2007 Christmas album ''

Disney Channel Holiday ''Disney Channel Holiday'' is a 2007 holiday album released on October 16, 2007. The album features musical artists associated or popularized by Disney Channel singing their own versions of holiday songs. Some songs were recorded prior to the pr ...

''. Popular Christmas songs featured in the film include

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...

Hawaiian-themed "

Mele Kalikimaka "" () is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase , meaning "Merry Christmas". One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sis ...

", and, during the climax of the film,

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

's "

Here Comes Santa Claus "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song written and originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Claus as "Santy ...

". For the latter song, Autry's re-recorded 1957 Challenge Records version is used. Despite several popular songs being present in the film, no official soundtrack album was released. In 1999, a bootleg copy containing music featured in the film along with select cuts of dialogue dubbed as the "10th Anniversary Limited Edition" began to appear on Internet auction sites with the claim that Warner Bros. and RedDotNet had pressed 20,000 CDs for

Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a amusement park located in Valencia, California, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newha ...

employees to sell to customers entering the park but that only 7,000 had been sold and now the remainder were being made available to the public. However forums at movie music sites such as SoundtrackCollector later declared the disc to be a bootleg due to its inaccuracies. For instance, the cut "Christmas Vacation Medley" (claiming to be the work of composer Angelo Badalamenti) is really a track called "Christmas at Carnegie Hall" from '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' by composer

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

and does not actually contain any of Badalamenti's ''Christmas Vacation'' score.

Release

Home media

The film has been released on home media several different times: VHS and Laserdisc in early 1990, a bare bones DVD in 1997, and a "Special Edition" DVD in 2003. HD DVD as well as Blu-ray editions were released in 2006. In 2009, a second Blu-ray of the film was released as an "Ultimate Collector's Edition". A steelbook Blu-ray was released in 2015 with remastered picture quality, and a second steelbook was released in 2019. On November 1, 2022, the film was released on 4K Ultra HD for the first time.

Reception

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 2 at the

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...

while grossing $11,750,203 during the opening weekend, behind ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ' ...

''. The movie eventually topped the box-office charts in its third week of release and remained #1 the following weekend. It went on to gross a total of $71,319,546 in the United States while showing in movie theaters. It was the highest-grossing film in the series, until the release of ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

'' in 2015.

Critical response

At the time of the film's release, the film received mixed to positive reviews; however, over time, many have cited it as a Christmas classic. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports that of film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of . The site's consensus reads, "While ''Christmas Vacation'' may not be the most disciplined comedy, it's got enough laughs and good cheer to make for a solid seasonal treat." Another review aggregation website,

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, assigned the film a rating of 49 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Entertainment magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' responded positively to the film stating, "Solid family fare with plenty of yucks, ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is Chevy Chase and brood doing what they do best. Despite the title, which links it to previous pics in the rambling Vacation series, this third entry is firmly rooted at the Griswold family homestead, where Clark Griswold (Chase) is engaged in a typical over-reaching attempt to give his family a perfect, old-fashioned Christmas." Rita Kempley of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave the film a positive review explaining that "it will prove pater-familiar to fans of the 1983 original and the ''

European Vacation ''National Lampoon's European Vacation'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane. The second film in National Lampoon's ''Vacation'' film series, it stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, ...

'' sequel. Only it's a bit more whimsical."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave the film two out of four stars, saying, "The movie is curious in how close it comes to delivering on its material: Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow doesn't work."

Other media

Sequel

The fourth film in the series, ''Vegas Vacation'', would follow in 1997, without the involvement of either Hughes or National Lampoon.

Spin-off/sequel

In 2003,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

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

reprise their roles from the previous ''Vacation'' films alongside series newcomers

Jake Thomas Jake Thomas (born January 30, 1990) is an American actor and director, perhaps best known for his role as Matt McGuire, the title character's younger brother, in the Disney Channel show ''Lizzie McGuire'' (2001–04). In 2002, he won a Young Ar ...

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

Sung Hi Lee Sung-Hi Lee ( Korean:이승희) is a South Korean model and actress based in North America. She has been featured in ''Playboy'' magazine as well as in many other magazines and some commercial advertising. Early life and education Born in Gi ...

, and

Fred Willard Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Wai ...

In popular culture

In 2012, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and Juliette Lewis reunited for ''Christmas Vacation''-themed ads for

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

. The series of ads also featured the other actors who portrayed past versions of Russ and Audrey. In 2020, Chase and D'Angelo reprised their roles as Clark and Ellen in a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

commercial for the

Ford Mustang Mach-E The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Ford. The vehicle was introduced on November 17, 2019, and went on sale in December 2020 as a 2021 model. The vehicle uses the Mustang nameplate, with a Mach-E ...

spoofing the house lighting scene. The movie has inspired the theme for various Christmas lights and decoration displays over the years.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1989 films 1989 comedy films 1989 directorial debut films 1980s black comedy films 1980s buddy comedy films 1980s Christmas comedy films 1980s English-language films American black comedy films American buddy comedy films American Christmas comedy films American sequel films Films about vacationing Films based on American short stories Films directed by Chris Columbus Films produced by John Hughes (filmmaker) Films scored by Randy Newman Films set in Chicago Films shot in Burbank, California Films shot in Colorado Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker) National Lampoon's Vacation (film series) Warner Bros. films 1980s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

Development and writing

Filming

Music

Release

Home media

Reception

Box office

Critical response

Other media

Sequel

Spin-off/sequel

In popular culture

See also

References

External links