National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.5/10· 246K votes

Rotten Tomatoes72%

Metacritic49%

TMDb7.2/10· 3K votes

With 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.5/10 on IMDb and 49/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been positive.

About National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

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.

Cast of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

• 

  Chevy Chase

  as Clark Griswold

• 

  Beverly D'Angelo

  as Ellen Griswold

• 

  Juliette Lewis

  as Audrey Griswold

• 

  Johnny Galecki

  as Rusty Griswold

• 

  John Randolph

  as Clark Griswold Sr.

• 

  Diane Ladd

  as Nora

• 

  E.G. Marshall

  as Art

• 

  Doris Roberts

  as Francis

• 

  Julia Louis-Dreyfus

  as Margo Chester

• 

  Randy Quaid

  as Cousin Eddie

• 

  Miriam Flynn

  as Cousin Catherine

• 

  Mae Questel

  as Aunt Bethany

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation facts

Budget

$27M

Box office

$74.5M

Collection

National Lampoon's Vacation Collection

Our take on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Jeremiah S. Chechik's 1989 comedy drops the accident-prone Griswold family into the chaos of the holiday season. Clark is determined to give his wife Ellen and their two kids a perfect old-fashioned Christmas, but obnoxious visiting relatives and his own relentless bad luck turn every festive plan into a disaster. Buoyed by the promise of a Christmas bonus, he keeps soldiering on. This is broad, big-hearted farce built around domestic mishaps and a hapless dad's stubborn optimism, best enjoyed as a seasonal comfort watch. Ideal for anyone who likes their holiday comedy loud, chaotic and warmly familiar rather than sentimental.