National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - A National Tradition

The Christmas season is a really a gauntlet of tradition. People scurry to buy their eggnog and advent calendars and peppermint schnapps, to light the tree and string the house, to attend their kid's holiday school concert, to send off a dozen different Christmas cards. But most importantly, it’s about binging on the best Christmas movies before the big day comes!

And there are so many. From the golden age masterpieces of It’s a Wonderful Life to the modern milestones of A Christmas Story and Home Alone, there’s plenty for the holiday diehard to watch. And that’s even before one considers going down the Hallmark Channel’s own holiday line. It’s never been more exhausting curling up in front of the TV.

Recently, I revisited one of these modern triumphs; National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has long become essential viewing come December-time, joining that elite tier of Christmas films that might long outlive its capable cast. And for good reason. The movie’s incredibly well-crafted, snapping between jokes and gags and follies before shrewdly stalling for a moment of heartfelt calm…only to suddenly zoom again into another calamity. It’s akin to a zany cartoon mixed with a bit of classic, heartfelt cinema. It’s ridiculous and poignant, dumb and meaningful, all at the same time.

Indeed, the movie’s opening credit sequence is a cartoon, featuring Santa himself bumbling into the Griswold household. It seems a strange, asymmetrical entryway into what’s an inescapably live-action film. And yet, on reflection, it sets the tone with perfect aplomb. This is an unapologetically wacky movie of absurdist proportions, but its characters are altogether real, with a sympathetic Santa foreshadowing Clark’s own looming struggles in serving the Griswold family. Coupled with that infectious Christmas Vacation theme song (why isn’t it on iTunes?!), audiences are introduced, then instantly immersed, into the zany drama to come, making the transition from a Looney Tunes-esque Santa to a caroling Clark Griswold feel oddly natural. It’s an unorthodox, even experimental, blending of art forms that works exceptionally well. And a technique few other movie-makers have attempted to implement.

It's also, simply, a more endearing film than its forebears. Although the first Vacation movie is often considered the most quintessential, it’s hindered by a significantly less likable Clark. The Clark of this reality is defined only by his obsessive desire to reach Wally World, the mecca that drives his almost religious zeal. Everything and everyone else is secondary, even expendable, from the dog to Aunt Edna. It’s not his family that matters--not really--but his crusade. And though viewers are happy to see him reach his promised land in the end, an alternate outcome in which he failed would have been equally as fitting. Even poetic.

But not here. Had Clark’s loved ones abandoned him at his lowest point, ruining his dream for a perfect family Christmas, the audience would have been left as devastated as the poor patriarch. The Clark of this reality is worth rooting for. This Clark deserves his victory. And gratefully, he gets it.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is easily the best film in the series. And one of the best Christmas films. May we all achieve that perfect family Christmas.—D

Thanks to Film Scene for the image.