Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Brian Doyle-Murray
Review: "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now." As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), and children (Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki), as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark's employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is without a doubt, my favorite Christmas movie of all time. My family watches this movie every year on Christmas Eve. What I particularly love about this movie, is that while it's incredibly quotable and hilarious, there's also a lot of importance on the value of family. The eccentricities of all of the characters in the Griswold family are what make this movie great. Chevy Chase as Clark and Randy Quaid's cousin Eddie are the standouts here, but each character brings their fair share of laughs. I think in some way, the Griswolds remind me of my own family. Regardless of everyone's different personalities and traits, we love spending time together, especially around the holidays. Nothing brings me more joy on Christmas Eve than sitting around with 15 or so of my family members and quoting this movie from start to finish. I can't recommend this classic enough!
Fun Fact: After failing to get the Christmas lights to work one last time, Clark Griswold takes his frustration out on the plastic decorations in the front yard. Chevy Chase actually broke his pinky finger while punching Santa Claus. He resorts to kicking and clubbing the decorations after that. The film kept rolling, and the take was used.