National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

63% of critics liked it

83% of users liked it

Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo
In theaters Dec 01, 1989
PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Movie Info

Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mae Questel, William Hickey
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik, Jeremiah Chechik
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hr. 37 min.
Genre: Comedy
Theater Release: Dec 01, 1989
DVD Release: Nov 18, 1997
Synopsis: Chevy Chase, star of National Lampoon's Vacation and its sequel, is back as the paterfamilias of the Griswold family (including Beverly D'Angelo as his missus) to skewer the Yuletide season. Chevy mugs, trips, falls, mashes his fingers and stubs his toes as he prepares to invite numerous dysfunctional relatives to his household to celebrate Christmas. Amidst the more outrageous sight gags (including the electrocution of a cat as the Christmas tree is lit) the film betrays a sentimental streak,

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety
    Solid family fare with plenty of yocks. More...
  • Janet Maslin, New York Times
    The new film does little more than reintroduce these familiar characters (with new actors playing the children, who would otherwise be college age by now) and let them get on one another's nerves in earnest. More...
  • James Berardinelli, ReelViews
    One of the great unanswered questions in Hollywood is how Chevy Chase still gets work. More...
  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
    Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow doesn't work. More...
  • Rita Kempley, Washington Post
    Christmas Vacation may not be a fancy package, but it is a diverting stocking stuffer. More...
  • Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
    [A] fairly perfect blend... of cartoon violence and mayhem and the pleasant lightness of a Christmas movie. More...
  • Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
    John Hughes wrote the screenplay for this silly, warm little guilty pleasure that nails most of the trials and tribulations of spending the holidays with family. More...
  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide
    With enough sight gags to please slapstick fans and enough good-natured Christmas cheer to qualify as a good holiday film, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation should keep most viewers occupied and provide 97 minutes of goofy entertainment. More...
  • Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com
    Easily the funniest of the four Vacation movies. Just try keeping a straight face when the uncouth Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) is on screen. More...
  • Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
    hilarious, a classic More...