Is CHRISTMAS VACATION a tradition in your family?? I wanna know!! Who thinks this is a classic that's stood the test of time?

My last name is Griswold, and my family has always been associated with National Lampoon because of it. It’s an honor 😂

“Can I refill your eggnog? Getcha somethin to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave ya for dead?”

Every Griswold vacation movie is a slow, delicious descent into madness.

In each of the Vacation films, it was a running gag that they always seemed to recast the Griswold children for each one. In this one, Rusty was played by Johnny Galecki, who would later play Leonard on "The Big Bang Theory".

You have to watch the original VACATION first to really appreciate this one

The thing about Clark is, he always wants to be the Great Provider, the best Father, Husband, even host , but he is constantly over extending himself and falling on his face

Clark griswold is the representation of any 80s/90s kid’s dad.

The physical comedy was Chey Chase's signature move on SNL.

I like Clark Griswold because he tries so hard to make things great for his family and it always goes so wrong but he keeps at it no matter what.

Mae Questel, who played Aunt Bethany, was the original voice of Betty Boop.

"We needed a Coffin....hehehe....I mean, a Tree" That line gets me every time with his physical acting and delivery

Chevy Chase's boss is played by Bill Murray's brother

“Piss my pants and forget who I was for a half hour.” Reminds me of college, tbh.

This movie is required viewing for me every Christmas. As a side note, I always imagined Beverly and Chevy being so comfortable with each other after the previous two films that they easily ad lib stuff without missing a beat.

This one I have to watch every year. It's certainly the best of the franchise.

I like Clark. He just wants everyone to be happy and have a good time. And even though he's optimistic most of the movie, he's aware of the consequences should he be wrong. But he doesn't allow himself to openly show it, so he bottles up his emotions. That's pretty compelling.

14:07 you can see her laugh when the tree crashes through the window. You need to see the original Vacation to get the whole Eddie thing.

Fun fact: the actress that played Aunt Bethany (Mae Questal) was the original voice for betty boop

For me, the “National Lampoon”-branded films are a sub-genre of a continuum of movies in a little universe that encompasses Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, John Landis, and John Hughes on the creative end and early-years “Saturday Night Live” and “SCTV” players on the performance end (plus Steve Martin and a few other hangers-on in this wacky theater company) starting with “Animal House” and continuing through “Meatballs,” “Caddyshack,” “Blues Brothers,” “Heavy Metal,” “Stripes,” “Vacation,” “Trading Places,” “Ghostbusters,” “Spies Like Us,” “Three Amigos,” “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” “Coming to America,” “Christmas Vacation,” “Great Outdoors,” “Uncle Buck,” and “Groundhog Day.” The creators (writers/producers/directors) and actors often collaborated with each other behind and in front of the camera, and so all these films feel like they’re set in the same comedic realm-and what a body of work, spanning 15 years.

“Sparky” came from, you guessed it, the original Vacation 😂

Thank's for this reaction! My family watches this movie every Christmas since 1990! It has become a Christmas tradition! 👍🎄

Julia Louis-Dreyfus first appeared as Elaine Benes on “Seinfeld” only six months after this movie was released.

You have to watch the original Vacation first to get acquainted with the characters first to get the full effect.

"Don't throw me down Clark" I love Aunt Bethany

It's been a tradition in my family to watch this movie every Thanksgiving after dinner. We've done this since I was a little kid. Oddly enough, I've never seen the other movies in this series, but kinda knew that they always existed.

The cat had 9 lives and it just spent them all 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

This is one of the best christmasmovies ever...LOVE this....its a classic... Chevy Chase does it supergreat here and the chemistry between and cousin Eddie is epic.....like the chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy in Planes trains and Automobiles. John Hughes was a genious. I like the lampoon movies,especially this one,the Las Vegas vacation and Going to Europe....

"Well, something had to come through the window! Something had to break the stereo! " "And why is the carpet all wet, Todd?" "I don't KNOW, Margo!"

Knowing his addiction to back pain pills makes it harder to watch, he’s was doing falls like that every week on SNL, it made him famous.

This is an absolute classic in our home. Clark really is the ultimate family man who always dreams big, even unrealistic, to give his family the ultimate vacation, holiday, etc. That's why he's so endearing.

All the way up to Vegas vacation

I always loved how the kids actors, ages, relative ages, etc changed every movie. It made no sense, and wasn't supposed to!

Fun fact for any Nightmare Before Christmas fan: Uncle Lewis is played by William Hickey, who voiced Sally’s father Dr. Finklestein in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Interesting fact: Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis played brother and sister in this movie and almost thirty years later, they played boyfriend and girlfriend on the Conner's.

I still think it’s wild that Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) has been nominated for an Academy Award. “The Last Detail” in 1973.

Vegas vacation is lit too

Christmas vacation and Vegas vacation are my faves

Love the Neverending Story music in the beginning! I haven't seen that movie since I was a child 30 years ago, but still recognized it immediately.

This movie along with A Christmas Story and The Polar Express are my favorite three Christmas movies.

It's the third movie, most people knew who both Clark and Eddie were well before this movie came out.

Shanelle this video was so amazing keep up the good work love you

Clark simply wanted a big old fashioned family chrstmas. I'm kinda old fashioned like that around the holidays too lol 😎🎄

Mae Questel who played Aunt Bethany was the original voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl and the guy who played her husband was Dr. Finklestein in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Shitter was full! I can't say or watch that without laughing. I'm sure a good bit of my affinity for this movie is nostalgia, but I'm 42 so I was the perfect age when I saw this and it's stuck.

RANT AT THE END IS LEGENDARY

Clark always wants the "perfect" vacation for his family. And we all know that there are no perfect vacations! Lol

I think this one is your best reaction so far Shanelle..I really like your facial expression as you go along with your reactions...and this movie is super fun...

Very fair assessment of how we don't get much of a look into Clark's character in the beginning, but if you had seen NLV first, you'd come in knowing his undying dedication to trying to make his family happy despite himself is his charm.

Clark Griswold is a family man, who truly loves his family. He always gets idealistic, grandiose ideas for his vacations, and they never go the way he wants them to. He is not perfect, and has obvious flaws, but is emotionally invested in his family. Often to the annoyance of his children.

This movie works as a stand alone. You should never have to do "homework" to appreciate a movie. I think John Hughes knew that, and the movie is one of his best.

Hey, As an Aussie, gonna confirm that trivia point at 19:36. Growing up in Newcastle, there was one house that went all out every year that was colloquially called "The Griswold House" by all the locals. They actually moved house one year after building a replica of Elvis Presley's "Graceland" and the yearly trek became one to "Graceland" instead, however the fact remains that the Griswolds was well established in our culture.

You’ve become like my favorite reactor! I can’t believe you only have 30k subs. Keep going cuz you’re gonna blow up soon!

My fav Christmas movie ever lol 😂 so good ❤️🙌💯 thanks for reacting

This is the first movie of my Christmas season every year, and every year I'm reminded of how much heart this movie really has.

Clark Griswold is a great character. He is a family man through and through, he wants his family to be happy and fulfill, what he thinks there expectations are. But he messes it up, like we all often do, we try our hardest and it just doesn’t works out, well sometimes it does, but never as planned.

14:31 That was adorable what u said... "chipmunk? 🐿" 😂

Who needs a Christmas bonus when you have Beverly D'Angelo calling you 'Sparky'! - ooh I'm all aflutter!

The interesting thing about John Hughes is that his movies followed one certain age group. The teenagers that loved Sixteen Candles were given a more mature High School movie the following year, with The Breakfast Club. Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off were both really about transitioning out of High School (following year), and the next year we got Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, which is the first time Hughes really treated those kids watching like adults. So I think a lot of people that got into Hughes as a young teenager, and followed him through their High School years, were jarred when he put out Home Alone and Christmas Vacation, which both felt like they were going for a younger audience (despite some adult content). Then he found this weird space, where he just wrote for 7 year old kids. I'm sure there's a story about why his writing took such a turn.

When Clark delivers the present to his boss his boss calls him greaseball. LOL This IS my Christmas movie every year

"Physical hurt comedy" is fantastic. And in this film, it's some of the funniest content.

You can see her smile and almost laugh when she turns away from the window right toward the camera.

Cousin Eddie and his family first appeared in Vacation, which is why you were so lost when Eddie appeared. They next appeared after this in Vegas Vacation. They are the relatives that no one in real life would admit to. Love Clark! You aren't familiar with him as of this viewing, that's why he confuses you. Most of us were very familiar with him already as the everyman always wanting to do the right thing and succeed for his family but being the most unlucky guy ever. For me, this is one of a handful of Christmas movies that must be watched every year. The humor never gets old for me and the family.

I love your reaction videos! Always fun and interesting 😘

Chris Columbus’ fall out with Chevy Chase is what led him to direct home alone. John Hughes felt bad for Columbus and promised him that he was going to make another Christmas movie and wanted him as director

Watching Christmas Vacation first, is like watching Return of the Jedi first, and know exactly what's going on.

This was a yearly family requirement as a kid. Now, I feel the same about Bad Santa. What a surprise.

My favorite scenes are the squirrel in the house and when Ruby Sue is asking Clark about Santa. Thanks for doing this movie.

Rusty went on to co star in Roseanne and The Big Bang,g Theory

@Shanelle Riccio As a 10 year old boy (born in 1966) I remember seeing a book on our coffee table called "Bored of the Rings" which was published in 1969 by Signet for the Harvard Lampoon. This was the first time I saw the word "Lampoon" and it made a lasting impression on me, so when the NL movies started hitting the screen, I was prepared for the hilarity that would ensue. Seeing that you didn't seem to be aware of the existence of the National Lampoon brand prior to the films, I decided to do a little research and refresh my memory. Sorry for the length. I promise, this is the "Abriged Version". The Harvard Lampoon was established in 1876 as a long-standing tradition of the campus, influencing the later National Lampoon Brand in its evolution from illustration-heavy publications to satirical wit, ranging from short fiction to comic strips. National Lampoon was started by Harvard graduates and Harvard Lampoon alumni Doug Kenney, Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman in 1969, when they first licensed the "Lampoon" name for a monthly national publication. It was an American humor magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998. The magazine started out as a spinoff from the Harvard Lampoon. National Lampoon magazine reached its height of popularity and critical acclaim during the 1970s, when it had a far-reaching effect on American humor and comedy. The magazine spawned films, radio, live theatre, various sound recordings, and print products including books. Many members of the creative staff from the magazine subsequently went on to contribute creatively to successful media of all types. Now here's the link to the movies ... During 1975, the three founders (Kenney, Beard, and Hoffman) took advantage of a buyout clause in their contracts for $7.5 million. About the same time, writers Michael O'Donoghue and Anne Beatts left to join the NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). Also at that time, the National Lampoon Show's John Belushi and Gilda Radner left the troupe to join the original septet of SNL's Not Ready for Primetime Players. The magazine was a springboard to the cinema of the United States for a generation of comedy writers, directors, and performers. Various alumni went on to create and write for SNL, The David Letterman Show, SCTV, The Simpsons, Married... with Children, Night Court, and various films including National Lampoon's Animal House, Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, and Ghostbusters. As some of the original creators departed, the magazine remained popular and profitable as it had the emergence of John Hughes and editor-in-chief P.J. O'Rourke, along with artists and writers such as Gerry Sussman, Ellis Weiner, Tony Hendra, Ted Mann, Peter Kleinman, Chris Cluess, Stu Kreisman, John Weidman, Jeff Greenfield, Bruce McCall, and Rick Meyerowitz. In 1989, the magazine was acquired in a hostile takeover by a business partnership of producer Daniel Grodnik and actor Tim Matheson (who played "Otter" in the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House). In 1991, the magazine (and more importantly, the rights to the brand name "National Lampoon") were bought by a company called J2 Communications, headed by James P. Jimirro. J2 Communications' focus was to make money by licensing out the brand name "National Lampoon". The company was contractually obliged to publish at least one new issue of the magazine per year to retain the rights to the Lampoon name. However, the company had very little interest in the magazine itself; throughout the 1990s, the number of issues per year declined precipitously and erratically. The magazine's final print publication was November 1998, after which the contract was renegotiated, and in a sharp reversal, J2 Communications was then prohibited from publishing issues of the magazine. J2, however, still owned the rights to the brand name, which it continued to franchise out to other users. In 2002, the use of the brand name and the rights to republish old material were sold to a new, and otherwise unrelated, company which chose to call itself National Lampoon, Incorporated. Which is where we stand today. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon_(magazine)#:~:text=National%20Lampoon%20was%20started%20by,for%20a%20monthly%20national%20publication.

“It’s the gift that keeps on giving Clark”

The original vacation is an 80s comedy classic.

My younger sister and I have been sent to movies together while the adults were partying since we were really young; with this one it was the first time I drove us, I just got my license and we laughed so hard it hurt!!!!!!! I wish we still laughed together like that!!!!!!!

It didn't make it into this video, but I have always thought the cleverest and funniest moment of this film is when Clark inadvertently says "coffin" when he means "Christmas tree."

Clark's rant is one of my favorite lines of all times.

I know your channel is relatively new but for me it already stands out for a couple of reasons. First, your knowledge of film production is apparent and adds a unique dimension to your commentary. And second I really appreciate your commitment to understanding the overall context of when a film was released. A completely unrelated point: you have a twin out there. I have a coworker friend who looks exactly like you and has similar mannerisms too. And her dad’s family is pure Italian.

This is one of my Dad's favorite movies. He can recite all of Chevy Chase's lines from memory.

Just pick up a copy of the magazine 'National Lampoon' and you can see how the humor here is closely approximated in the film. But you still have to go back to the first year of SNL to see how Chevy Chase got his start as a "bungler!"

The light switch in the basement also controlled the power to the outlet Clark was using for the exterior Christmas lights, and people kept flipping it on and off. That's what was going on there.

Well, for us 80's kids, Clark is iconic and we still quote him to this day.

This movie just gets more and more popular every year. It was funny and different in 1989 but has become an essential Christmas classic over the years.

Oh I love this film. I watch it every Christmas. At least once. The impact on me is it doesn’t even feel like Christas until I’ve watched this, Scrooged, and A Christmas Story.

Wow, I didn't realize it was possible to put captions on the time segments. Love that.

Aunt Bethany the lady that prays the Pledge is Mae Questel, She was the voice of Betty Boop.

As much as i love Christmas Vacation, I love Vegas Vacation the most. I hope you get to watch and review it if you haven't already. Keep up the good work !

This movie is a thanksgiving tradition in my family. Christmas doesn’t get started till after we eat and watch it. My brother and I and out of with this movie backwards and forwards.

Just like A Christmas Story, I watch this movie every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe it is because I was a young kid in the 80's, or just my love of all things 80's, but this movie gives me that great, warm feeling all day after seeing it. John Hughes passed way too soon.

I blow a lot of people’s minds with this fact: Chevy’s real name is Cornelius, after his grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who adopted Chevy’s mother as he married his grandmother. It was the second marriage for both and she was from a wealthy NY family as well. The Chase’s (his fathers side) are also quite an old and wealthy family. His grandmother started calling him Chevy after a character in her favorite play or sonnet. He had already inherited millions by the time he was on SNL, and the character he played on Caddyshack was basically just himself. I just think it’s interesting and may explain why he is so difficult and arrogant.

Vacation is a top-twenty level film comedy. Check it out European Vacation is about as bad as film gets. Christmas Vacation is a pretty solid comedy.

I watch this movie every Holiday Season. My Fav! I haven't watched this movie as many times as Star Wars.....but it is definitely up there in views! Great Review Shanelle!

The dickey that you can see through Eddie's shirt is one of my favorite movie sight gags ever.

John Hughes grew up in Chicago's North Shore and graduated from New Trier so he was familiar with the very affluent neighborhoods around Lake Michigan, which is why so many of his movies are not only in Chicago but revolve around people from the same class. He loved John Candy as well and so he included Candy in as much of his stuff as he could, so as a result, Candy (who was Canadian) became a sort of adopted son of Chicago and the city mourned publicly when he died in 1994.

It is a traditional movie for my family - quick background, my family has been involved in a local theatre group for 3 generations so my brother adapted it to the stage and my family has put on this adapted play 2 times already (3 years apart for a our local theatre troup to the great joy of our audiences). I played Clark, my son played rusty and my niece and nephew played the cousin kids. It was such great fun putting on the play and the audiences just loved it. we added a few little scenes with the neighbor couple to flesh out their characters though we had to cut a few bits (leaving it up to the audiences imagination - for example we couldn't do the sledding scene so the actually sledding occurs off stage and there is no climbing on the roof and we do the ice through the neighbors window in a different way of course (e.g. Clark in looking for Christmas lights finds a golf club and hits an ice ball accidentally through there window - ALA Bill Murray in the Caddyshack scene). We were able to pull off very well the squirrel scenes with a fake stuffed squirrel though, but the dog Snots is only heard off stage. We actually made a mini-RV van with Eddy and his wife inside - kids pushing it from behind - that is able to fit down the center aisle of the theater for when when the cousins arrive. Still it was great fun to perform this show as a whole with all these iconic Christmas comedy scenes in it. Memorizing all these great lines was a big challenge but so much fun to do. It is certainly the iconic Christmas comedy that has withheld the test of time - so many people remember the scenes and relate to at least parts of the show - esp. the parent who wants to make Christmas the"Best" one ever and goes over board, plus the theme of Christmas as being much more than the festive trappings.

Please never stop with these reactions, you are so entertaining. The algorithm will pick up your channel soon.😀

This movie is an absolute must every year around Christmas time. Usually multiple times

I don't know why, but there is a small part when Aunt Bethany arrives that always makes me laugh. Clark is walking her inside and she say "Don't throw me down, Clark."... gets me every time! :D

Chevy Chase did such great physical comedy on SNL and I remember when my parents allowed me tostay up late to watch I laughed so hard at him I was crying... I do like it but there are very few who can achieve that kind of comedy effectively.... The best ones I remember... keystone cops,Chevy, and Jaleel White as Steve Urkel... I enjoy it, because I loved Tom and Jerry growing up.

Are you kidding?! Clark W. Griswald is the ultimate family man/ father! He over does everything when it comes to family! He’s so loving yet sarcastic… hilarious! Always reminded me of my father. Lol 😂

I have a silly obscene quirky sense of humor so I loved Christmas Vacation. Seeing Clark do stupid stuff was hilarious and it's my favorite of the Vacation movies.

If you watch the original Vacation movie, you realize very quickly that Clark Griswold is just a father who wants the best for his family. I think getting Chevy Chase to play Clark was genius, because most fathers are well intention, bumbling teddy bears like Clark. :D