Customer Reviews

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

A classic Christmas movie that I haven't been able to find in stores.....the Griswolds are a family that I love to watch. For those Big Bang Theory fans...see Johnny Galecki (Leonard)play Russell in one of his first movies. You'll recognize many of the classic one-liners and use them over and over again.

This is best Christmas movie ever made. I recommend it very highly as annual viewing for the entire family.
I bough ttwo and gave one away.

I ordered this for myself. I watch this movie every year after I have completed decorating my house for Christmas. I never get sick of watching it, even better now that I have it on blue ray DVD.

Ordered this at the last minute for Christmas, shipping was veryfast and deliveried on time! Great movie, one of the funniest produced. Worried about the quality when I ordered it but it was perfect, no problems!

This is a modern day classic and is a must buy for the Christmas holidays. It comes in a metal box with "Clarks" Santas hat, a small replica "Moose Mug",coasters depicting scenes from the movie, fake snow and a "Griswald" pin. Just pure family fun all in one box and in Blu-ray as well. 5 star all the way

The film that inspired a whole generation of exterior illuminators! Subsequent to the release of this film, houses soon began Christmas-light makeovers, which I think really adds to the atmosphere of the season! Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are superb in this John Hughes classic Christmas comedy - as is Randy Quaid. Clark W Griswold Jnr is anxious to have the 'perfect' old fashioned, fun, family Chritmas. But, as usual, nothing goes according to plan: Getting stuck under a truck in the opening minutes... becoming psychotic over the failing of the thousands of lights he's added to the building... ruining the Christmas of Tod and Margo (their yuppie, bourgesois next door neighbours)...Eddie (Quaid) kidnapping Clark's boss because Clark didn't recieve his bonus cheque, needed to pay for a swimming pool...a storm sewer exploding (and the poor cat!)...the tree getting burnt...etc...Leading to the house teetering on 'the threshold of Hell'! There are many great moments in this movie. My personal favourite is when he takes Eddie and the kids sledging: a silicone-based kitchen lubricant Clark's company invented is smeared onto his sledge, propelling him like a rocket! The scenery is so Christmassy here. I have a selection of Christmas movies I stack around the video at this time of year. Christmas Vacation takes prime position. I have seen it *so* many times yet I am still not bored with it. Note: There is mild bad language in the PG version, but for those with younger children, some versions have worse. I really don't know why Hughes had to do this; this film could be accessible to all, as with Miracle On 34th Street (Hughes' remake). As is usual with John Hughes, those typical huge mansions (as with Home Alone, Ferris Bueller and Uncle Buck) feature. The photography is very Christmassy and it just might get you in the mood... The DVD has the trailer (including the other Vacation trailers), different language options, production notes etc... I am glad to have found a site that sells those reindeer egg nog glasses too!

Christmas Vacation has more humorous scenes than any movie short of Airplane and Naked Gun and it's funnier than either of those two movies. As I sit here in February, I can't remember a single scene from Christmas Vacation that wasn't funny, most of them are cracking-up funny.

I've laughed at scenes in only two other movies in my life so hard that it brought tears - the "We're not moving!" scene from The Sure Thing, and the bathroom scene from The Cable Guy. This movie has at least four scenes that genuinely, literally had me out of breath, tears rolling down my face and chest aching from laughing so hard - the attic scene, the main catastrophy scene with Todd and Margo next door, the Aunt Bethany scene (both her gift and her jello) and the squirrel catching scene. The Christmas lights, lingerie shopping, sledding and final scenes are close behind.

Chevy Chase is a comic genious (at least in Christmas Vacation - he's been in plenty of movies with inferior writing, too many, sad to say). No other comedic actor - including such greats as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy or the Marx brothers - comes close to being as funny as Chase is with physical comedy.

I've seen two sorts of non-positive reviews for this movie. The first sort comes from people who found this movie too lowbrow for them. It's not sophisticated or dry humor like This is Spinal Tap or Best in Show (both among my favorites, incidentally), nor is it cutesy humor, such in a Hugh Grant romantic comedy. Christmas Lampoon is flat-out, ridiculous humor. It is so poignantly ludicrous, absurd, childish and downright silly that it is hilarious. A lot of other silly humor - Adam Sandler and David Spade movies come to mind - has nowhere near the level of clear focus on the ridiculous and that explains why Christmas Vacation is so funny.

The second group of people are complaining about the "Special Edition" additions to the DVD. Some are explaining that their low ratings are on the DVD, not the movie, and that is fair, while others seem to think that the movie itself is of secondary importance to the special features on the DVD. Now I've not seen the Special Edition (I just jumped to the first result from an Amazon search of "Christmas Vacation"), but what most people are complaining about is the voice-over commentary on the SE DVD. I've probably listened to the commentary on maybe four DVD's out of the hundred or so I've rented or bought, and I really cannot understand how that one feature could make or break the movie so significantly. In my opinion, the commentary, whether it is the best or the worst ever made, can only effect the overall ratings by maybe one star at the most.

Oh, between the laughs, the movie also has a nice Christmas theme of treating everyone well and being generous during the holidays.

In summary, if you can't crack at least a few smiles watching Christmas Vacation, have the paramedics bring the electric paddles, because you have no pulse.

INTRODUCTION:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was the third film in the Vacation series of films. For many years, the first film has been hailed as a comedy classic, but this one gets plenty of praise as well. Is it one of the better entries in the series, or one of the weaker ones? Read on for my review.

BASIC PLOT:
The storyline of the film goes something like this. The Griswalds are staying home for Christmas, and their non-immediate family members are coming to stay with them for the holidays - including cousin Eddie and his family. Yes, believe it or not, this is a Vacation film that doesn't involve the Griswalds traveling! Soon enough Clark Griswald finds himself dealing with both an ungrateful boss, as well as his entire family - which more than has their share of problems.

FILM OPINIONS:
This film is a masterpiece. I'm even going to go so far as to say this film is as good as the original Vacation. The acting, once again, is great. Like any entry in the Vacation series, you've got to see this one to appreciate it.

DVD:
The DVD is severely lacking as far as extras go despite the "special edition" tag. We get commentary and trailers, and that's about it. There's really not much other than these things, things that every DVD should have. It's the lack of extras that cost this film half a star, not the film quality itself. Still, the actual film is good, and it makes up for this.

OVERALL:
Overall this film is a comedy masterpiece - and don't you dare deny it! If you want to laugh, pick it up. You'll be glad you did.

First of all, to all the nit-picky reviewers complaining about the lack of widescreen or more special features, the special edition of this movie just came out. So go get that, and spare us your tired diatribes.

Now, onto the movie. To me and my family, nothing says "christmas" like Christmas Vacation. In my house, it is NOT the holiday season until we've watched it a couple of times. It's a holiday classic, not to mention a comedy classic. It reminds me a lot of christmas at my house. It's the best christmas movie ever made. Period. END OF SENTENCE!!

We all remember the Griswolds, don't we? Well, it's christmastime, and Clark (Chevy Chase) wants nothing more for his family than the best christmas ever. Of course, if your IQ is higher than your shoe size, then you should know it's not exactly smooth sailing. Burnt-out bulbs, oversized trees, and Ellen's wacky Cousin Eddie are just a few of the many mishaps along the way to the 25th. So many memorable scenes, so many memorable lines. (Check out the scene where Clark encounters a VERY attractive saleslady in a department store while shopping for lingerie. Priceless.)

All in all, this movie IS christmas in my household, and it should be in yours. Definitely buy this on DVD. Don't even think, just do it.

A Christmas is not a Christmas without Christmas Vacation.

I enjoy every minute of this movie, nothing beats a great laugh at Christmas Time!!

I would not hesitate to recommend this movie for everyone.