National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoon's Vacation film series.

Summary
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The acting is spectacular, especially from Chevy Chase as Clark.
 * 2) The opening scene where Clark and his family are trying to find the “perfect Christmas tree”.
 * 3) Many unforgettable and well-executed hilarious moments, like the scene where Clark gets trapped in the attic and tries to find a way out or the scene where Clark sleds all the way to a Walmart parking lot.
 * 4) Likable and interesting characters, especially the Griswold family.
 * 5) It manages to keep the funny and memorable tone that the other Vacation films have.
 * 6) There's a ton of great sight gags, such as Clark's gift to his boss being the same size and shape as the others and Ellen quickly flinging a piece of turkey off her fork.
 * 7) The scene where Clark lights up the entire outside of the house with Christmas lights is awesome, if not also amusing.
 * 8) There's a scene where Clark finds a shaky railing, a nice homage to It's A Wonderful Life, but whereas George finds joy in the imperfection, Clark instead saws it off entirely, which is just hysterical.
 * 9) Cousin Eddie is such a hilarious character.
 * 10) A wonderful soundtrack that fits the tone of the movie very well.
 * 11) The scene where Clark wears a hockey mask and holding a chainsaw is cool.
 * 12) “Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!”

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) In the scene where the family is running upstairs to get away from the squirrel, in one shot you can clearly see the ceiling in the kitchen looks unfinished, giving away the set.

Reception
The movie got mixed-to-positive reviews at its premiere date, but over time, many people praised it as one of those Christmas classics. The film has a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes.