“Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?”— Clark Griswold to cousin Eddie
In these times of world crises and various dysfunctional governments around and about the globe, it would be easy escapism to select a thoroughly heart-warming, sentimental, clean-cut, old-fashioned Christmas movie, such as Miracle on 34th Street (1947) or one of the better versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
A challenge taken up in the other direction would be Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation from almost thirty years ago. No real tugging at the heartstrings here. If perhaps only momentary, any deep sentiment is assumed to be unintentional. Here is all the confusion that can come with the Christmas season from an inept family head who sets out to have a “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.” While he fails miserably until the last scene, there’s a lot of humor, slapstick and a “bit” of foul language before the dust settles on the last catastrophe. Family catastrophe—it’s all in the family here.
And it’s something of a family affair among a cast which features some old-timers, some actors making their last appearances on film—John Randolph, E. G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Mae Questel and William Hickey.
Disaster starts from the beginning. Even chopping down a tree in the snowy woods can be a problem for the hyper Clark Griswold (Chase), out with his family—wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), daughter Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and son Russ (Johnny Galecki). Because someone forgot to bring the necessary tools for tree-cutting, they uproot it and strap it to the roof of the car.
The first of the guests to arrive are Clark’s and Ellen’s parents, Clark, Sr. (Randolph) and wife Nora (Diane Ladd), and the Smiths, Art (Marshall) and Frances (Roberts).
Clark covers the house exterior with 25,000 twinkling lights, which first fail to work, then, with some adjustment, do light, causing a city-wide power outage. The neighborhood is plunged into darkness. Clark goes berserk and kicks all the lawn decorations.
About this time, who should appear . . . a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer? . . . no, uninvited and in a beat-up RV, it’s Ellen’s cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her husband, Eddie (Randy Quaid) and two “adorable” children, Rocky (Cody Burger) and Ruby Sue (Ellen Latzen) . . . and the family Rottweiler, Snots.
The family, Eddie says, is living in the RV, being broke and compelled to sell their home. When the generous Clark takes Eddie shopping, so, he says, that everyone can enjoy Christmas, Eddie loads the cart to overfilling, including a 50-lb. bags of chow for the dog.
The Christmas dinner proceeds as perhaps expected in the Griswold household. The cat chews into an electrical cord and electrocutes itself and a squirrel from the woods, unseen in the tree until now, bolts from hiding and causes havoc.
When aged Aunt Bethany (Questel) is asked to say grace, she first responds, “Grace? She passed away thirty years ago!” Uncle Lewis (Hickey) corrects her: “The blessing!” She commences to recite the pledge of allegiance.
All this time, Clark has wondered why he hasn’t received his annual bonus check from his boss Mr. Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray). He announces that he had used the expected money on a down payment for a swimming pool, and, without it, the family faces bankruptcy.
At that moment the postman delivers an envelope from Shirley. No, it’s not a bonus, but membership in a jelly-of-the-month club. Clark calls his boss every dirty name he can think of and wishes to insult him face to face.
Goodhearted as he seems to be, Eddie takes the thought literally, drives off in his RV and returns with a kidnapped Shirley. Meanwhile, Shirley’s wife (Natalia Nogulich) has called the police, and a SWAT team storms the house. Shirley decides not to press charges, to reinstate the bonus practice and, besides, give Clark a twenty percent salary increase.
Everything seems back to a Griswold family “normal” and everyone, including the SWAT team, go outside to admire the Christmas Star. Uncle Lewis tosses a lit match into the storm drain where Eddie had been dumping his sewage. There’s an enormous explosion. Aunt Bethany starts singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and everyone joins the sing-along and watches Clark’s Santa Claus and reindeer display fly off into space.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBTTipJX-h4[/embedyt]