Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Blu-ray Movie Review

This Blu-ray makes the perfect stocking stuffer!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 23, 2007

If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now.

1989's Christmas Vacation is one of the more successful of modern Christmas movies, offering up ninety nonstop minutes of holiday fun. Perhaps the best and most beloved of the Vacation films, Christmas Vacation is a pleasant diversion from the avalanche of sappy Hallmark Christmas movies and the deluge of Santa-centric films like Tim Allen's Santa Clause series. Grounded in a mostly realistic plot with a few fun but never overly exaggerated comical scenarios, this film is a success because it's so very easy to relate to, especially for those coming from large families. Christmas Vacation does for the family get-together what Office Space did for the office routine, creating a film filled with laughs for everyone and the more you can relate to the situations in the film, the funnier it becomes.

And now on to the review. Drumroll please!

Christmas Vacation stars Chevy Chase (Memoirs of an Invisible Man) as Clark Griswold, a man obsessed with making this Christmas the best his family has ever seen. There's one hiccup, however: everything keeps going wrong! Clark remains mostly unaware of or indifferent to the problems, facing them with an almost childlike acceptance, bound and determined to make things right regardless of any problem that creeps up (and plenty will!). This enthusiasm falters, however, when Clark's cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid, Independence Day) and his clan show up uninvited to the Griswold home in an abused and decrepit RV, planning to spend the entire holiday season with him. Like A Christmas Story, this movie is a series of vignettes with the running theme being Clark's need to get a bonus check from his boss at work to fund a swimming pool he is installing as a surprise gift to his family. In the end, Clark learns a lesson that life's best bonuses don't necessarily revolve around a paycheck.

Christmas time or not, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a movie I always feel comfortable watching. It's got tremendous replay value as a fun, humorous comedy that ranks fairly high on my list of guilty pleasures. As a comedy, it succeeds in spades with a constant barrage of jokes that are actually funny. From finding the perfect tree that is too big for a business lobby let alone a living room to rowdy and unwelcome relatives making an appearance to the family cat electrocuting itself with Christmas lights, the humor is never dull or lacking in spirit. It all fits perfectly into the story which results in a fun film that flows, moves along quickly, and leaves the viewer's funny bone satisfied at the end. The characters are very well written, portrayed fantastically by each cast member, and it never strays away from the plausible which, to me, is what helps this comedy succeed above many others.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Brothers' 1080p, 1.851 Blu-ray presentation of Christmas Vacation is the best I've ever seen this film look. However, the image retains what has always been a rather flat look. Surprisingly, this looks fairly good overall. It's nothing spectacular, but I was expecting much less, something around the range of a 1.5-2 star rating. For a 15+ year old comedy, it looks fine. Detail is pretty high. Flesh tones look solid enough, colors are moderately vibrant, and black levels appear fine, but not magnificent. The print is mostly in good shape. There are some pops and nicks here and there, especially in long distance shots, but on the whole this one looks good. Outdoor scenes fared especially well. I can't say this is worth an upgrade if you have the recent special edition DVD, however, as any improvement gained over an upscaled presentation is almost negligible.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Christmas Vacation is presented in a Dolby Digital 2-channel audio track only. What is there to say, really? It sounds fine, all things considered. There's not much in the source material to work with, and it's very front heavy with the vast majority of the sound emanating from the center channel speaker. Obviously, there is very little ambience or activity from anything in the rear, but there are a few effects and music bleeding into the left and right front channels. There is little to no bass to be heard. As a dialogue driven comedy, not much more is to be expected. Said dialogue comes across pleasantly enough; there's nothing that ever really distracts from or hinders it. I cannot say this is a disappointing soundtrack because I expected so little from it. As such, this Blu-ray disc sounds fine.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only supplement to speak of is a feature commentary track with actors Randy Quaid, Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Miriam Flynn, director Jeremiah Chechik, and producer Matty Simmons. This is a pretty fun, none too serious track. We get discussions about ice skating lessons, hairstyle choices, and facial hair. There is just a bit of actual filmmaking tidbits, and they are interesting (such as deciding to edit a scene without cuts versus with cuts) and it allows for a brief respite from the nonstop humor of the track. This commentary supplements the movie well, fitting right in with the theme, pace, and style of the movie. A recommended listen. Please note that accessing the special features from the pop-up menu will stop the movie and take you to a static menu. You may resume playback from your last spot, however. Also included is a 480p trailer for the film.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation has cemented its status as one of the funniest Christmas movies ever, and it has tremendous replay value. There is hardly a scene that won't bring a smile to your face, and it is well worth your holiday movie watching time. This Blu-ray edition sports mediocre video and audio quality, but Christmas Vacation wasn't a slick, expensive blockbuster to begin with, and what we have is adequate for this film. I have no doubt this is the best we're ever likely to see this movie look and sound. Supplements are lacking, but the commentary was a nice treat and worth a listen. If you are searching for that last-minute Christmas gift for your favorite Blu-ray fans, pick this up for them! Recommended.