National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

"Yule crack up!"

1989 1h 37m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

72%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 2,812🍅72%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 246,464

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.

“Yule crack up!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Chevy Chase
Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo
Ellen Griswold
Juliette Lewis
Audrey Griswold
Johnny Galecki
Rusty Griswold
John Randolph
Clark Griswold Sr.
Diane Ladd
Nora
E.G. Marshall
Art
Doris Roberts
Francis

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Writers: John Hughes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "National Lampoon's Vacation Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, shot by Thomas E. Ackerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Angelo Badalamenti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Gerald B. Greenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and Juliette Lewis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Yule crack up!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jeremiah S. Chechik directs. Thomas E. Ackerman behind the camera. Angelo Badalamenti scores. Gerald B. Greenberg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

137 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "National Lampoon's Vacation Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, shot by Thomas E. Ackerman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Angelo Badalamenti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Gerald B. Greenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo and Juliette Lewis carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Yule crack up!".
8IMDB entry: tt0097958 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "squirrel", "holiday", "boss", "rottweiler".
10Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Thomas E. Ackerman
Original score: Angelo Badalamenti
Editing: Gerald B. Greenberg
Production design: Stephen Marsh
Costume design: Michael Kaplan
Makeup / hair: Kaye Pownall
Sound: Doug Hemphill
Stunt coordinator: Charlie Picerni
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $27,000,000
Box office: $74,542,088
Return: 276% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 72% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 246,464 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Part of

National Lampoon's Vacation Collection

This collection of movies features everyone's favorite family, the Griswolds! It includes National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), and Vegas Vacation (1997).

Also by

Jeremiah S. Chechik

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2025-02-05
★ 7/10
<em>'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'</em>, unlike predecessor <em>'National Lampoon’s European Vacation'</em>, is more akin to the original. A good watch it is, if still off from the first flick. The festive vibes are there, it's perhaps a bit too mean-spirited at times but overall works. The cast are the cast, I don't think anyone stands out as being a great performer but they are all satisfactory. Chevy Chase is the obvious lead, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't rank his performance as anything overly higher than his co-stars. Interesting to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus appear, by the way. All in all, there's enough there to entertain. The ending is suitably watchable, which is something I did feel was missing from the previous film.
honeybee <32026-08-30
★ 10/10
My cousin can do an impeccable impression of Uncle Lewis saying "the blessing" (5/5, originally reviewed 12/21/24)