I have never seen the original "National Lampoon's Vacation." It is one of those that has never been a priority. The only movie in the series I have seen was "Vegas Vacation," so this seemed like the perfect time to watch "Christmas Vacation." I do intend to get to the other "Vacation" movies at some point.
"Christmas Vacation" is the story of a man slowly going insane over the holidays. All Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have his family over and give them a nice Christmas, but it is that family that is slowly driving him crazy. Watching Clark's slow descent into madness is half the fun of this movie, which all culminates in his rant about his Christmas “bonus.”
My other favorite part of "Christmas Vacation" is the unknow war Clark is fighting with his neighbors. This is set up when the neighbors (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest) see Clark starting to set his Christmas lights. They comment about how they aren’t lucky enough for him to die falling off the ladder. It’s not really set up why they hate him so much (unless it’s in one of the other movies). Thus, the war begins-and it’s really one-sided. When Clark finally gets the Christmas lights on his house to come on, they are so bright that they illuminate their dark bedroom, blinding them.
