Like all the movies in the Vacation series, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is comedy grounded in the concept that what can go wrong will go wrong - and will be funny because of it. Screenwriter John Hughes (who also wrote Vacation and European Vacation) was a master at creating this type of comedy (witness the utterly brilliant Planes, Trains and Automobiles). I must admit I am a big fan of this type of humor, but Christmas Vacation rises to another level for one reason: it has heart. It is hilarious and absurd, but never does it fail to capture the spirit of the holiday upon which it is built.

Chevy Chase’s Clark W. Griswold is the hero of every Vacation movie, the endearing but disaster-prone man who is always finding trouble, but only because he tries so hard to make his family happy. Clark’s heart is always in the right place even when he’s angry because he only wants the best for his family. That’s what makes him such a lovable character. You cannot help but root for a guy who puts others ahead of himself, especially when comedy is the result.

Christmas Vacation was the third film in what should have been a trilogy, but since it did not end there, I have found life is better if we just ignore the existence of Vegas Vacation and Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure (which features none of the Griswold actors from the original, but curiously does feature the Audrey from the first Vacation). It seems that Clark learned a lesson from his misadventures in the first two films, so he and wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) decided to stick around home for this Christmas season. Of course, Clark cannot steer clear of trouble, especially when family comes to visit.

And what a family it is. Clark and Ellen’s extended families are full of strange characters. The casting here is outstanding with such greats as Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Miriam Flynn, Mae Questel (the original Betty Boop!), Brian Doyle-Murray (I still miss Get a Life), and the brilliant William Hickey as Uncle Lewis, the man responsible for torching the Christmas tree. Uncle Lewis is something of a folk hero in my family. We quote him year-round. “What is it?” His voice is awesome.

Of course one-time Oscar nominee Randy Quaid (The Last Detail) steals every scene in which he appears. His Cousin Eddie is fantastically funny as the black sheep of the family, the guy you would never want to invite anywhere, but in the end we have to remember that he is the one who saves Christmas. I think this important detail gets lost in the shuffle, but his appreciation for Clark’s generosity inspires him to kidnap a man to save Christmas. It doesn’t get better.

No discussion of the Vacation series would be complete without thoughts on the Griswold children. I always found it funny that the children changed in each film with no regard to ages or looks. This pairing of Juliette Lewis (who had not yet engaged in underage sexual relations with Brad Pitt) and Johnny Galecki is one of the better sibling sets in the series. Lewis is my favorite Audrey, but I still think Anthony Michael Hall was the best Rusty with Galecki a close second. All things being equal, Hall has The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles while Galecki has Roseanne. You do the math.

One of the best things about Christmas Vacation is that there is never a moment where a gag isn’t being executed or in development. And, yes, the gags are silly, but who cares? They’re funny because they’re creative and over-the-top. We’ve got Uncle Lewis’ hairpiece, the sledding sequence, the car stuck under the truck, the vicious squirrel, the turkey that blows up, and Clark getting stuck in the attic, just to name a few. It’s all hilarious.

And if all that is not enough, there is a hilarious peripheral subplot about a stereotypical ‘80s yuppie couple (TV’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jamie Lee Curtis’ brother-in-law, Nicholas Guest) who are constantly inconvenienced by Clark’s oblivious antics. Who could forget the flying ice log or the obnoxious lights or the tree through the window?

I should also mention that Christmas Vacation is easily my favorite movie featuring an electrocution of a cat. It’s never been done better.

Video
By default, it looks a whole lot better than Warner Brothers’ first DVD release of Christmas Vacation, which was a pan & scan hack job. This release features an anamorphic widescreen transfer which is pretty good for the most part. The print is clean and free of dirt, but there is noticeable grain present throughout the picture. It’s nothing distracting, but do not expect this to look like anything special.

Audio
It sounds just fine. The Dolby 2.0 English track does nothing to work out the surround speakers, but it does everything it needs to, which means the dialogue is clear and there are no flaws present. This is a late-‘80s comedy so be happy with what you get here.

I did not listen to the French track. Sorry. My sister’s degree in French did not rub off on me.

Extra Features
Feature Length Audio Commentary with Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Miriam Flynn, Director Jeremiah Chechik, and Producer Matty Simmons – This was a moderately enjoyable track. It’s not very informative, but do you really need to learn more about this movie? No, you don’t. These folks mostly just reminisce about the experience of working together, which is fine because I like listening to people talk about good times. It was interesting that these people didn’t seem to remember a lot of the film. I got the impression that some of them haven’t seen it since it was released which I guess shouldn’t be a surprise. But I could not believe it when Quaid said he didn’t know that the Griswolds lived in the Chicago area. How could he not know that?

There are two notable people missing from this commentary track: Chase and Hughes. I can’t imagine that Chase had something better to do that day. It would have been nice to hear him reminisce with D’Angelo. And Hughes should have had his own track. His commentary on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the best commentaries I’ve ever listened to on DVD.

Theatrical Trailer - Trailers rarely do anything for me. This one was no different. I can happily report that the trailer is shown in anamorphic widescreen, but it does not look as good as the movie.

Cast & Crew - Please do not confuse this with a useful feature. This is simply a text listing of the cast and crew. No biographies or filmographies for the key participants. Nothing. Just names. What a waste of space.

Parting Words
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is my favorite Christmas movie and one of my favorite comedies of all-time and easily my favorite in the Vacation series. While I’m immensely pleased with this DVD in comparison to the previous release, I have to say I am a little disappointed by this so-called Special Edition. With only one real noteworthy extra feature, it feels a little lacking. Still, I love the main feature and that is what truly matters. This DVD is well worth its minimal cost.