Movie Night–“Christmas Vacation”

I’m almost on break!  I love this time of year and can’t wait to slow down and relax a bit.  Tonight’s Christmas film is “Christmas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase.  I love this one.  It’s hilarious if you’ve never seen it.  Here’s some fun trivia about the film, check it out and let me know how you like it!

• The house in which the Griswolds’ neighbors, Todd and Margo, live is the same house where Murtaugh and his family lived in all 4 ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies (1987-98). The houses on this street are on the Warner Brothers Studios back lot. Ironically, in each Griswold ‘Vacation’ movie, Rusty and Audrey are played by a different pair of actors while in all 4 ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies, the 3 Murtaugh kids were played by the same actors.
• Final film of Mae Questel, whose film career began in 1930 as the voice of Betty Boop.
• Chevy Chase appears in some scenes wearing a navy blue Chicago Bears ball cap. He wears the same Chicago Bears cap throughout all four Vacation movies.
• The old Dodge pickup that tailgates Clark and the family in the opening scenes of the movie was previously used as Kurt Russell’s work truck in the movie Overboard (1987).
• After Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) unsuccessfully attempts to demonstrate his handiwork with the house Christmas lights to his family, he asks his son, Rusty (Johnny Galecki), to help him check all the light bulbs again. Rusty looks at his bare wrist, pretending to have a watch, and excuses himself. Looking at a bare wrist and pretending to have a watch is one of Chevy Chase’s trademark gags.

• A minor earthquake occurred when they were filming the scene where Uncle Louis and Aunt Bethany arrive at the Griswold house.
• The movie is based on John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ’59”, the second Vacation story to be published in National Lampoon’s Magazine (the first was “Vacation ’58”, which was the basis for the first Vacation movie). The Christmas story was printed in December 1980. The label on the home movie reel that Clark finds in the attic is labeled “Xmas ’59,” a further allusion.
• When Clark is in bed trying to read the People Magazine with sticky fingers from the tree sap, the person shown on the cover of the magazine is Jeremiah S. Chechik, this film’s director.
• According to Randy Quaid, many of cousin Eddie’s characteristics (most notably the clicking of the tongue) were based off a guy that Quaid knew from when he grew up in Texas years ago who had similar traits.

• According to an article on the making of Home Alone (1990) in Chicago Magazine, Chris Columbus states that he was the original director of this movie. Although he filmed some second-unit establishing shots (which he claims are still in the finished film), he left after two meetings with Chevy Chase and told writer/producer John Hughes, “There’s no way I can do this movie. I know I need to work, but I can’t do it with this guy.” He was sent the script to Home Alone in its place.
• When Clark and Cousin Eddie are talking in the living room, they are drinking egg nog out of Wally World mugs. Wally World was the destination of the Griswold’s in the original National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983).
• When Eddie barges in the house with Clark’s boss, Ellen jokingly tells him this is the family’s first kidnapping, which is actually wrong. In National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Clark holds the security guard at Walley World hostage and forces him to take the family on the rides.
• Cousin Eddie explains to Clark that his older kids couldn’t make it because his daughter was “at the Clinic getting cured off the Wild Turkey” and his son was preparing for his career as a carnival worker. This is a reference to Cousin Vicky and Cousin Dale from National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983). Cousin Vicky would return once again in the following film, Vegas Vacation (1997), as well as Ruby Sue from this film (though played by a different actress).

• After failing to get the Christmas lights to work one last time, Clark Griswold takes his frustration out on the plastic decorations in the front yard. Chevy Chase actually broke his pinky finger while punching Santa Claus. He resorts to kicking and clubbing the decorations after that. The film kept rolling and the take was used.
• This movie has four Saturday Night Live (1975) alumni: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brian Doyle-Murray, Randy Quaid and Chevy Chase.
• In the scene when the police storm into the Griswolds’ house, the song “Here Comes Santa Claus” sung by Gene Autry is used for the background music. Randy Quaid (cousin Eddie) is the third cousin of Gene Autry.
• All the presents that are on the credenza when Clark goes in to give his to Mr. Shirley are identically shaped and likely the same gift. It is a desk organizer. When this movie came out, pen sets came in an L-shaped arrangement. The writing instruments were on the flat part and the raised section held post-it notes. Paper clips and other holders were also a possibility.

• The scene where the cat bites on the Christmas lights cord and gets electrocuted was nearly cut from the movie. Prior to the first test screening, the studio executives wanted the scene taken out, fearing that it might offend some viewers, but producer Matty Simmons begged them to leave the scene in and they eventually gave in to his request. After the first test screening, the test audience scored the cat electrocution scene as their No. 1 favorite scene throughout the entire movie.
• Chevy Chases 30-word rant against the boss was completely unscripted.

All trivia courtesy of IMDB