Review of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) by Jenny E — 02 Jan 2012

Hilarious Christmas Classic! I don't think I've seen any other movie as many times as I've seen this perennial favorite. It's a merry mix of nostalgia, slapstick comedy and dysfunctional family get togethers with memorable scenes and recitable lines throughout.

To be fair, the movie isn't perfect, some of the acting is pretty bad (*Rusty*ahem) and it sometimes feels like a collection of scenes instead of a cohesive storyline. However, criticisms aside, this movie has me laughing every single time.

From problems on the road to the exploding sewer system, the movie is stuffed full of misfortunes and misfits. I think we universally find joy in seeing everything go so wrong, because we've been there (thankfully, not usually all at one time, however.) Also, the hurt is tempered with the optimistic Clark Griswold trying his best to be a sincere and decent family man. But everyone has their breaking point... and Sparky has one of the best doosies of a breakup ever seen on celluloid!