![]() ![]() The biggest laughs in the franchise tend to come from blowing relatable situations into their biggest, ballsiest version, and there’s nary a moment in the “Christmas Vacation” that doesn’t strike some sort of chord with anyone who has ever a) had a family and b) tried to celebrate a holiday with them. The only film to keep the Griswolds rooted in just one location - there’s no Wally World here, no jaunt to Europe, no attempt to win big in Vegas - the Hughes-penned feature instead brings the madness to them, as their sprawling suburban Chicago home is overtaken by hordes of truly insane relatives during the hap-hap-happiest season of the year. ![]() Chechik’s 1989 banger is ultimately the best film in a franchise that’s far better than most people are willing to admit. ![]() Yes, this might be a controversial pick, particularly for those “Vacation” purists who think the first film is the best (a school of thought that’s certainly not wrong in many aspects, and one that often carries over to many different franchises), but pound for pound, joke for joke, emotional beat for beat, Jeremiah S. Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) Pack up the Family Truckster, kids, we’re going ranking. They’ve also gifted us some of the best gags in American comedy and did it with a wacky edge of familial love. Over the course of four decades and five films, the Griswolds have seen (and destroyed) the world, re-cast (and re-cast and re-cast) their own kiddos, celebrated holidays (and their own foibles), and eaten a lot of truly awful food. These are people who so fundamentally should not be going on a road trip that they literally can’t even walk off the lot with the right damn car before they embark on it. They’re… just like us? Sort of? A typical American family prone to absolute disaster and iconic gags in equal measure, the Griswolds just want to have a good time (ideally, together), but life and their own hang-ups continually get in the way. (Of note for this particular ranking: we’ve opted to include the four original features starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo, plus the 2015 reboot in which they also appeared, though we’ve eschewed odd offshoots like the 2003 made-for-TV joint “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2” and the “short film” that’s really an ad, “Hotel Hell Vacation.”) In honor of a two-pronged celebration - that would be the height of summer and the fortieth anniversary of the release of the first “National Lampoon’s Vacation” feature - it’s high time for the kind of ranking that’s literally been in the works for decades: each of the “Vacation” films. ![]()
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