National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Short description
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation follows Clark Griswold as he tries to give his wife Ellen and their children the old-fashioned family Christmas he has been longing for. He plans an extravagant display of lights for the house and invites a large group of relatives to celebrate. Nothing goes as intended: the decorations cause problems, the visiting family members bring their own chaos, and Clark's hopes come to rest on a Christmas bonus he expects from his employer. The film is a comedy built on the gap between Clark's sentimental expectations and the reality of a crowded house at the holidays.
Jeremiah S. Chechik directed the film, his first feature, released in 1989. John Hughes wrote the screenplay and produced with Tom Jacobson. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo return as Clark and Ellen, with Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki as the children, and John Randolph and Diane Ladd among the relatives. It is the third entry in the National Lampoon vacation series.
Made for 27 million dollars, the film took about 75 million worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds 7.5/10 from roughly 247,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2/10 from far fewer, around 2,800. A film critics' rating of 6.3/10 from 58 reviews sits below both audience scores, so viewers have valued it more highly than reviewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- When the Christmas lights in front of the house wouldn't turn on, Clark Griswold began to take out his frustration on the plastic decorations. Chevy Chase, the actor playing the role, broke his little toe on the first kick at Santa Claus and continued to kick and beat the decorations, simply letting go due to the pain.
- Producer John Hughes (1950-2009) initially hired Chris Columbus as director. Columbus realized in time, however, even before filming began, that he wouldn't be able to work with Chevy Chase. And although he desperately needed the job at the time, Columbus decided to leave the project. He was very worried about his future, but Hughes soon gave him the opportunity to direct a comedy based on his own screenplay, "Home Alone" (1990), which became incredibly popular, earning six times more at the box office than "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" with a smaller budget.
- The film is set near Chicago, but was filmed in Burbank, California at the Warner Bros. studio. Some outdoor scenes were decided to be shot in Breckenridge, Colorado, where there is usually suitable snowfall at this time of year. However, upon arriving there for filming, the filmmakers found that there was no snow outside at all, so they had to bring it in by truck. As soon as the snow was brought in from elsewhere, it began to snow in Breckenridge itself, making it almost impossible to film due to the abundance of snow. They even had to get to the filming location by snowmobile.
- In one scene, Clark, with sticky resin on his fingers, attempts to read 'People' magazine in bed; the cover features a photo of Matty Simmons, the producer of this film.
- The Griswold's neighbors' house is the same house where the Mertau family (Danny Glover) lived in all of the "Lethal Weapon" films. The street with these houses is located behind the Warner Brothers studio.
- Filming took place from March 27 to June 30, 1989.
- The old Dodge pickup that Clark chases with his family at the beginning of the film was previously used as the truck for Kurt Russell's character in "Overboard" (1987).
- At one point, you can see Audrey wearing a t-shirt with the words “I love you” written on it in Russian.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
