Christmas Vacation is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. I've seen this a million times and I laugh my ass off every time I watch it. My family and I watch it every year and it never fails to make us laugh.
It's been a Christmas tradition to watch this since I was very young. My family and I can quote the whole film. There are so many iconic lines in this film. Each character has their own voice and dialogue and it works so well.
Letterboxd synopsis states: “It’s Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark’s continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.”
The Vacation series is iconic but I only like two of the films. Christmas Vacation and Vegas Vacation. The first Vacation is fine but not my favorite and European Vacation is just bad. I do love the wackiness of the world and the characters.
The comedic timing in this film is perfect. John Hughes wrote the script and it’s some of his best work. Like I said, there are so many iconic lines in this film. I’ll list a few of my favorites below.
"He worked really hard, Grandpa." "So do washing machines."
"It's not going in our yard, Russ. It's going in our living room."
"And why is the carpet all wet, Todd?" “I don’t KNOW Margo.”
"Hey Griswold, where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?" Clark Griswold: "Bend over and I'll show you."
“You serious Clark?”
"Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!"
Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie is the best part of this film. All of his lines are hilarious and he gives an amazing comedic performance. Every single line of dialogue is so absurd but it fits his character and Quaid nails every single line. He is by far my favorite comedic performance of all time.
What I love about this film is it takes the stress of the holidays with family and turns it up to 100 and never stops. Sure, it’s goofy but it does touch on tough subjects like that and has something to say. Clark fails a lot, yes, but in the end he succeeds in having an old fashioned family Christmas.
If you haven’t seen this then I don’t know what to tell you other than go see it now! It’s one of my favorite films and I will watch it every year!
