Christmas Vacation (1989) review

This movie is listed as a farce/comedy. I had heard the term farce before but wasn't exactly sure what it meant. Here's the definition: a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. This perfectly describes this movie. For every hilarious moment there's another really stupid moment.

The cast totally makes this movie. Without the really memorable characters like Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase at his wise cracking best), the yuppie neighbors Todd and Margo and most memorable Uncle Eddie (played brilliantly by Randy Quaid - he should've been nominated for an Oscar) the movie would be forgettable. Even the side characters played by Beverly D'Angelo and Doris Roberts are terrific.

Good moments: Clark buying lingerie at Marshall Field's, every scene with Uncle Eddie especially when he's grabbing huge bags of dog food at Wal-Mart and wearing extremely tight pants, Clarks rant about "Bing Crosby tap-dancing with Danny fucking Kaye...when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down the chimney he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse", Ellen grabbing Clark's crotch when the SWAT team busts into their house and when Ruby Sue is talking about "shitting bricks...shitting rocks".

Dumb moments: Clark forgetting to bring a saw to cut down the enormous pine tree in the middle of nowhere so they ostensibly dig it up with their hands, the way to long sled scene, Uncle Lewis getting burned by the flammable Christmas tree, Uncle Lewis getting blown away by explosive sewer gas, the flying squirrel scene and Clark hitting himself in the face with lumber in the attic.

For a lot of people this is a holiday classic. I give the movie some leeway because it's a comedy and I would definitely watch this around Christmas but fast forward to the good parts. Fortunately there are a lot of them. Even little moments where Chevy is muttering to his coworkers, "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, kiss my ass, kiss his ass..." or when he his neighbor asks where are you gonna put that tree and he replies "bend over and I'll show" then "I wasn't talking to you" and the camera pans to the wife.