National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (2006, Blu-ray)

For children, the approach of Christmas is a time of breathless anticipation. For many adults, it is a feeling of slow strangulation. There is no question that this is an adult Christmas film, best watched after everyone under about age 14 is tucked safely into bed for their long winter's nap.

Don't fill your eggnog glasses too full, however; because fifteen minutes into "Christmas Vacation" you'll be laughing so hard that you'll be wearing your Old English and J&B on your reindeer sweater. Quite simply, this movie is the most side-splittingly funny film ever made about the American tradition of all getting together in one house for Christmas and driving each other nuts.

Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is the focal point of the hilarity, caught as he is in a futile struggle to live up to his own impossible expectations about himself and his role as his extended family's new patriarch and benevolent provider. The three sets of elderly grandparents who detest each other all add to his feeling of tension and pressure; and the uninvited appearance of cousin Eddy, his family and his snot-soaked dog in a moldering, ancient RV is the final jewel in this crown of comedic genius.

Add to this equation the whining teenage daughter, the ever-patient and eternally suffering son, the boss who doesn't even know his name, the Christmas bonus check that still hasn't arrived, and the 25,000 "Imported Italian Twinkle Lights" that simply refuse to light, (or twinkle,) and you have in Clark a man who is standing, as he howls at one point, "on the brink of Hell."

Throughout it all, the exquisite and irreplaceable Beverly D'Angelo breezes around as Clark's beautiful and inhumanly loving and patient wife; proving conclusively that even being married to the perfect woman isn't enough to make a man happy when he expects the superhuman from himself.

With these ingredients and these actors alone, we have a potentially good, funny, interesting film. There is, however, a third element that pushes this movie over the top and into the realm of true, timeless greatness; and that is the sheer love it has for the often burdensome cross of family.

I challenge you to watch this and not tear up at some point. When Clark finds old 8mm film of his childhood Christmases in the '50's; when his father comes out to the laundry room to give him a loving word of advice; when the lights FINALLY come on. These are just a few of the moments where I pretend my nose is stuffed up, and keep my face turned so that my tears are invisible. This film genuinely loves Clark and his all-too-familiar family; and even though each heartwrenching moment is likely to be followed by an exquisite gag that will have you crying and choking at the same time, I challenge you not to love yourself and everyone around you (even your relatives) just a little bit more after watching this classic.

THE BEST "VACATION" OF THEM ALL!!!

THIS IS THE BEST "VACATION" MOVIE OUT OF THE WHOLE SERIES, AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A BOLD STATEMENT. AND IT HAS BECOME A CHRISTMAS TRADITION IN OUR HOUSE. WHILE OTHER STATIONS ARE PLAYING "A CHRISTMAS STORY" 24 HOURS STRAIGHT, WE WILL BE WATCHING CHEVY CHASE AND LAUGHING CONSISTANTLY FOR 90 MIN. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! NEW THIS YEAR IS THE BLU-RAY VERSION.....LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EXTRAS!!

Christmas Vacation Blu-ray

Great movie, but not worth spending the extra for blu-ray. Looks the same as regular dvd. I knew it was not a new movie so was not expecting Avatar like clarity, but A Christmas Story has a noticeable difference from dvd to blu-ray, but Christmas Vacation did not.

Great!

We love this movie! We watch it starting at Thanksgiving through Christmas every year! Chevy Chase is the star of the show, Cousin Eddie and Snotts are show stealers! Christmas lights get a new meaning after he decorates his home!

Funniest Christmas movie of all time

This is the best Vacation movie ever. The characters are very funny and it is Chevy Chase's best performance as Clark Griswold. We watch it every year at Christmas time - its a family tradition!