National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Summary

“If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”

Warner Bros. has given film lovers an excellent gift for this Christmas. They have given three of their very best Christmas films new 4K UHD releases – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and Elf. These are three holiday films that our family watches yearly, so I was excited to be able to own these releases in the 4K format. In my opinion, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is the best holiday comedy of all time, so it was the very first of the three new releases I wanted to check out. I am very familiar with the prior releases of the film on Blu-ray, so I was looking forward to seeing what difference the HDR and Dolby Vision would make.

In December of 1989, Christmas Vacation was released into theaters. The budget for the film was fairly high at $25 million, but the film justified that budget when it achieved $73 million at the box office. John Hughes wrote the script for the film. This was his first time returning as screenwriter since writing the original Vacation film. The directing duties were handled capably by Jeremiah S. Chechik after Christopher Columbus departed the project due to conflicts with Chevy Chase. In an interesting side note, Hughes passed along the script of Home Alone to Christopher Columbus when he departed the film. Christmas Vacation has been a mainstay on television around the holidays ever since its release. I have watched the movie countless times with my parents and siblings, and now with my wife and children. It is in many ways a rite of passage for our family. We consider it to be a family requirement to be able to quote the film religiously. Like every year, I was excited to revisit the film, but this year I was even more excited to see what the 4K UHD treatment would bring out in the film.

The plot revolves around the holiday exploits of Chicago native Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) and his family – wife Ellen (Beverly D’ Angelo,) daughter Audrey (Juliette Lewis,) and son Rusty (Johnny Galecki) – as they attempt to celebrate Christmas. Clark and Ellen have decided to bring both of their families together for Christmas. Nothing goes according to plan as they deal with exterior illumination issues, unpleasant conversations and claustrophobic living conditions with their in-laws, numerous animal issues, and a surprise visit from their trailer trash Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family. While navigating all of the comedic mishaps that befall the family reunion, Clark anxiously awaits a Christmas bonus from his boss (Brian Doyle-Murray) to cover the spiraling cost of the Christmas celebration and the down payment he has secretly made on installing a pool.

Christmas Vacation is not just one of my favorite holiday comedies, it is one of my favorite comedies of all time. It is safe to say that John Hughes was a genius. Keep in mind that I love The Breakfast Club, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Sixteen Candles, The Great Outdoors, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, and the other holiday classic Home Alone, but I believe this is his greatest script. Rarely has a comedy ever struck so many perfect notes. The film brilliantly pinpoints all of the hilarious irritations that come along with all the joy of the holiday season. John Hughes makes the jokes seem effortless, but the film is a nonstop stream of hilarious dialogue and holiday related mishaps that has not been equaled by other screenwriters. An easy example would be when all of the in-laws arrive at Clark’s house, and they immediately start talking to everyone about their numerous ailments. The difficulty that Clark faces with lighting his house is a difficulty that people face every year, just taken to extreme heights. The lack of comfortability between Clark and his in-laws and distant relatives is something that people face to varying degrees everywhere. John Hughes manages to make all of those holiday related elements completely hilarious. Are there a few weak moments in the film? Sure. I would say the sled sequence has aged poorly, and there might be a couple jokes that feel a bit flat, but aside from that, the film is a pure delight.

Chevy Chase is at his absolute best in the film. When I think of Chevy Chase, my mind immediately goes to this role and specifically this film. Chevy Chase will always be Clark Griswold to me. Chevy Chase would go on to appear in some films in the Nineties and a notable role on the television series Community, but this was the last time that Chevy Chase was a true comedic movie star. It is his best film (yes – better than Caddyshack) and he is wonderful in it. Beverly D’Angelo reprises her role as Clark’s loving spouse Ellen. She is very good in the part. Playing the children, Johnny Galecki takes on the role of Rusty and Juliette Lewis plays Audrey. Both were talented child actors and handled their roles well. The film relies on an amazing cast of supporting characters. Randy Quaid reprises his role as Cousin Eddie and the film really hits its stride once his character arrives. The banter between Clark and Eddie provides the funniest lines in the film, and Randy Quaid delivers every single ridiculous line with the conviction of a Shakespearean actor. It is a fantastic comedic performance and a perfect foil to Chevy Chase. Miriam Flynn plays Eddie’s wife Catherine. Doris Roberts and E.G. Marshal play Ellen’s parents. Their obvious disdain for Clark provides some great comedic moments. Diane Ladd and John Randolph play Clark’s loving parents. Brian Doyle Murray plays Clark’s boss. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest play the Griswolds’ yuppie next door neighbors. Rounding out the cast, William Hickey and Mae Questel play Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany. Their two roles deliver some of the biggest laughs in the film, including an extremely patriotic prayer. Jeremiah S. Chechik capably brought the very best out of the entire cast, and the film’s pacing is tight. 

Every year I watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and every year I am delighted to do so. I am thankful that Warner has brought the film to 4K so that I can retire the Blu-ray!

Video

Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation looks much better than ever before. The film does not try to wow the audience with its cinematography, but the film has a nice cozy look to it that evokes the holidays thanks to the cinematography of Thomas E. Ackerman. There are some moments that look a little soft or hazy, but that was the intent of the director and cinematographer. The 2015 release on Blu-ray looked much better than the early Blu-ray release, and that 2015 transfer is the basis for this 4K representation. The 4K is still leagues ahead of the 2015 release in terms of grain resolution and fine detail. Fans of the picture should be extremely pleased with the work that Warner has done on this transfer. This will be the preferred way to watch the film moving forward!

Audio

Warner Bros. has presented Christmas Vacation with a solid new remastered DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is more than capable of bringing the soundtrack and numerous slapstick elements of the film to life. I had always found the prior track to suffer a little bit from the “soft/loud” syndrome, and this track does a good job of leveling out things a little bit. For completists, Warner has also included a DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo track to replicate the theatrical experience.

Supplements:

4K DISC

• Audio Commentary – Actors Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki, and Miriam Flynn with director Jeremiah Chechik and producer Marty Simmons.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary – Actors Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki, and Miriam Flynn with director Jeremiah Chechik and producer Marty Simmons.
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5 

Audio – 4.25/5

Supplements – 2/5

Overall – 5/5

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is not just one of the best holiday films, I believe it to be one of the best comedies ever made. Out of all the holiday movies, this is the one that I love the very most. The script by John Hughes, despite a few small hiccups, is one of the most brilliant comedy scripts ever penned. The dialogue is lightning fast with  jokes on nearly every line and the slapstick comedy is blended in with tremendous skill. Everyone in my family quotes this film constantly for good reason. The ensemble cast is made up of incredible comedic talents who all add something special to the film. Chevy Chase was never better than he was as Clark Griswold. In my eyes, the film is essentially a perfect comedy. Fans of the film will be extremely pleased to see how much better the film looks and sounds in the UHD format. This release is light on supplements, but still easily earns our highest recommendation based on solid technical merits and the love I have for the film itself.