The One With the Christmas Vacation.

Alright, this film is very important to me, so I may be a little biased. I have been watching this film once a year during the Christmas season with my parents ever since I can remember. I know most people think this film is silly but that's why I love it :) It's notably written by John Hughes and he wrote great things in the 80's and 90's as we all know, so it definitely has pizazz. It's warm and just plain fun! Christmas Vacation (1989) my favourite Vacation film by far.

Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Written by: John Hughes

This film is basically about the Griswold's and their plans for a big family Christmas. Little did they know; their Christmas will be plagued by disaster. The family consists of Clark (Chevy Chase); a family man who loves the holidays, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo); a generous woman who supports everything Clark does, Audrey (Juliette Lewis); a typical teenage girl who is worried about being seen in her pajamas outside & worried about her friends knowing she's in the toilet when they call, and Russ (Johnny Galecki); an obidient, respectful boy. In my opinion, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki are the best Audrey and Russ in all the Vacation films. This cast is entirely believable as a family.

The happenings of this film are completely hilarious and memorable for example the scene where Clark is talking with Mary; the beautiful, sexy store clerk who causes him to stumble on his every word. He declares how "nipply" it is outside. It is hilarious!
Another notable character is Cousin Eddie. Randy Quaid is amazing as Eddie. He is the best secondary character in the film. The funniest scene in the entire film is definitely when Cousin Eddie is outside unloading the "shitter" pipe in the sewer and one of the Griswold's neighbours (played by Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest) is completely horrified. The line "Merry Christmas, Shitter was full!" is just golden!

Mary (above) Cousin Eddie (below)

Being a Seinfeld fanatic, it was strange seeing Julia-Louis Dreyfus as a snooty, "rich bitch" but she completely pulled it off. She was fantastic! Also, Nicholas Guest was great as Todd. When I was a small child watching this film, I absolutely hated their characters. I thought they were assholes! That, my friends, is good acting.

Overall, this film, in my opinion, is brilliant! The acting was great and the script was great. This film has become somewhat of a Christmas classic over time and it deserves such a status. I look forward to watching this every Christmas and it puts me in a great mood. It is my favourite Christmas film ever. Laughs are 100% guaranteed :)
I give it 3.5 stars out of 4.

Watch the trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=decUIVkZ4GI

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 97 mins.

Taysha. x