The 1989 movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation made its debut at number 2, behind Back to the Future Part II. It soon rose to number 1, however, in spite of mixed critiques, and grossed a total of more than $71 million dollars. It went on to being cited amongst modern Holiday classics. It was inspired by a short story titled, “Christmas ’59”, initially published in the National Lampoon Magazine.
It features Chevy Chase in the role for which he is most remembered as Clark Griswold, a typical middle-class family man who is determined to have a perfect old-fashioned Christmas in spite of the family tensions that begin the moment the in-laws arrive. In one famous scene, Grisowld decorates the house with thousands of Christmas lights. These use up so much electricity that a power outage spreads over all of Chicago.
This dinner scene, while funny, seemed rather appropriate in today’s national climate, reminding us that humor and solemnity share a similar power: the ability to connect us. Merry Christmas!
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