National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation - wikipedia National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation Theatrical release poster Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik Produced by John Hughes Tom Jacobson Written by John Hughes Starring Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo Randy Quaid Music by Angelo Badalamenti Cinematography Thomas E. Ackerman Edited by Jerry Greenberg Michael A. Stevenson Production company John Hughes Entertainment Distributed by Warner Bros. Release date December 1, 1989 ( 1989 - 12 - 01 ) Running time 97 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $25 million Box office $71.3 million National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoon 's Vacation film series, and was written by John Hughes, based on his short story in National Lampoon magazine, `` Christmas ' 59 ''. The film stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid, with Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki as the Griswold children Audrey and Rusty, respectively. Since its release in 1989, Christmas Vacation has often been labeled as a modern Christmas classic. It is also the only sequel in the Vacation series to have spawned its own direct sequel : a 2003 made - for - TV release entitled National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation 2 : Cousin Eddie 's Island Adventure. The film has achieved six home video releases : VHS and Laserdisc in early 1990, a bare bones DVD in 1997, and a `` Special Edition '' DVD in 2003. A Blu - ray edition was first released in 2006. In 2009, the film was released as an `` Ultimate Collector 's Edition. '' At the same time of this release, it was also released on a simple Blu - ray / DVD combo. A steelbook Blu - ray was released in 2015. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Music 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Plot With Christmas only a few weeks away, Chicago resident Clark Griswold decides it is time to get a Christmas tree. He gathers his wife Ellen, daughter Audrey, and son Rusty and drives out to the country where he picks out a huge tree. Realizing too late that they did n't bring any tools to cut the tree down, they are forced to uproot it instead, before driving home with the tree strapped to the roof of their car. Soon after, both Clark 's and Ellen 's parents arrive to spend Christmas, but their bickering quickly begins to annoy the family. Clark, however, maintains a positive attitude, determined to have a `` fun old - fashioned family Christmas. '' He covers the house 's entire exterior with 25,000 twinkle lights, which fail to work at first, as he has accidentally wired them through his garage 's light switch. When they finally come on, they temporarily cause a citywide power shortage and create chaos for Clark 's snobby neighbors, Todd and Margo. While standing on the front lawn admiring the lights, Clark is shocked to see Ellen 's cousin Catherine and her husband Eddie, as they arrive unannounced with their children, Rocky and Ruby Sue, and their Rottweiler dog, Snot. Eddie later admits that they are living in the RV they drove, as he is broke and has been forced to sell his home. Clark offers to buy gifts for Eddie 's kids so they can still enjoy Christmas. Clark begins to wonder why his boss has not given him his yearly bonus, which he desperately needs to replace an advance payment he has made to install a swimming pool. After a disastrous Christmas Eve dinner, he finally receives an envelope from a company messenger, who had overlooked it the day before. Instead of the presumed bonus, the envelope contains a free year 's membership for the Jelly of the Month Club. This prompts Clark to snap and go into a tirade about Frank, and out of anger, requests that he be delivered to the house so Clark can insult him to his face. Eddie takes the request literally, drives to Frank 's mansion, and kidnaps him. Clark confronts him about the cancellation of the employees ' Christmas bonuses. Meanwhile, Frank 's wife, Helen, calls the police, and a SWAT team storms the Griswold house and holds everyone at gunpoint. Frank decides not to press charges and explains the situation to his wife and the authorities, who scold him for his decision to scrap the bonuses, and decides to reinstate them ( with Clark getting an add - on of 20 % of his salary ). The family head outside, with Rocky and Ruby Sue believing they see Santa Claus in the distance. Clark tells them it 's actually the Christmas Star and that he finally realizes what the holiday means to him. Uncle Lewis says the light is coming from the sewage treatment plant ; reminding Clark that Eddie had been dumping his sewage into a storm drain. Before Clark can stop him, Uncle Lewis tosses a lit match, triggering an explosion. Aunt Bethany starts singing `` The Star - Spangled Banner '' and the whole family and the SWAT team join in, gazing at Clark 's Santa Claus and reindeer set burning and flying into the distance. The entire family and the SWAT team members then celebrate inside the house, while Clark and Ellen happily share a Christmas kiss. Cast Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold Juliette Lewis as Audrey Griswold Johnny Galecki as Russ Griswold John Randolph as Clark W. Griswold Sr. Diane Ladd as Nora Griswold E.G. Marshall as Art Smith Doris Roberts as Frances Smith Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie Miriam Flynn as Cousin Catherine Cody Burger as Rocky Ellen Hamilton Latzen as Ruby Sue William Hickey as Uncle Lewis Mae Questel as Aunt Bethany Sam McMurray as Bill Nicholas Guest as Todd Chester Julia Louis - Dreyfus as Margo Chester Brian Doyle - Murray as Frank Shirley Natalia Nogulich as Helen Shirley Production National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation originated from a short story by writer John Hughes called `` Christmas ' 59, '' which was published in the December 1980 issue of National Lampoon magazine. `` The studio came to me and begged for another one, and I only agreed because I had a good story to base it on, '' said Hughes. `` But those movies have become little more than Chevy Chase vehicles. '' Director Chris Columbus initially was to direct the film, but due to a personality clash between him and Chevy Chase, Columbus left the film and was replaced by Chechik. Hughes eventually gave Columbus the script to Home Alone.. Principal photography began on March 27, 1989 in Summit County, Colorado, with footage shot in Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco. From there the production moved to Warner Bros. Studio Facilities in Burbank, California, where the set of the Griswold family 's house is located. Music The musical score for National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation was composed by Angelo Badalamenti. It is the only installment of the Vacation film series not to include Lindsey Buckingham 's `` Holiday Road ''. In its place is a song entitled `` Christmas Vacation '' that was written for the movie by the husband - wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and performed by Mavis Staples of The Staple Singers fame. The song was covered in 2007 by High School Musical star Monique Coleman for the 2007 Christmas album Disney Channel Holiday. Despite several popular songs being present in the film, no official soundtrack album was released. In 1999, a bootleg copy containing music featured in the film along with select cuts of dialogue dubbed as the `` 10th Anniversary Limited Edition '' began to appear on Internet auction sites with the claim that Warner Bros. and RedDotNet had pressed 20,000 CDs for Six Flags Magic Mountain employees to sell to customers entering the park. However, while the discs were individually numbered out of 20,000, only 7,000 were sold as a part of an on demand production printed at gift shop kiosks within the park. Forums on movie music sites such as SoundtrackCollector later declared the disc to be a bootleg due to its inaccuracies. For instance, the cut `` Christmas Vacation Medley '' ( claiming to be the work of composer Angelo Badalamenti ) is really a track called `` Christmas at Carnegie Hall '' from Home Alone 2 : Lost in New York by composer John Williams and does not actually contain any of Badalamenti 's Christmas Vacation score. Reception Box Office The movie debuted at # 2 at the box - office while grossing $11,750,203 during the opening weekend, behind Back to the Future Part II. The movie eventually topped the box - office charts in its third week of release and remained # 1 the following weekend. It went on to gross a total of $71,319,546 in the United States while showing in movie theaters. Critical response At the time of the film 's release, the film received mixed to positive reviews ; however, over time, many have cited it as a Christmas classic. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 64 % of 36 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.2 out of 10. The site 's consensus reads, `` While Christmas Vacation may not be the most disciplined comedy, it 's got enough laughs and good cheer to make for a solid seasonal treat. '' Entertainment magazine Variety responded positively to the film stating, `` Solid family fare with plenty of yocks, National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation is Chevy Chase and brood doing what they do best. Despite the title, which links it to previous pics in the rambling Vacation series, this third entry is firmly rooted at the Griswold family homestead, where Clark Griswold ( Chase ) is engaged in a typical over-reaching attempt to give his family a perfect, old - fashioned Christmas. '' Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review explaining that `` it will prove pater - familiar to fans of the 1983 original and the European Vacation sequel. Only it 's a bit more whimsical. '' Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a mediocre review explaining that the `` third look at the quintessentially middle - American Griswold family, led by Clark and the very patient Ellen is only a weary shadow of the original National Lampoon 's Vacation. '' Maslin went on to say that `` the best thing the new film does is to bring back Cousin Eddie, the wily, scene - stealing slob whose disgusting habits are a source of considerable amusement. '' Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun - Times gave the film two out of four stars saying, `` The movie is curious in how close it comes to delivering on its material : Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow does n't work. '' See also List of National Lampoon films List of theatrical Christmas films References Jump up ^ Harmetz, Ajean ( December 7, 1989 ). `` It 's Fade - Out for the Cheap Film As Hollywood 's Budgets Soar ''. The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 19, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Yule Love ' Em ''. Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 2004. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Durrett, Mike. `` Top 10 Christmas and New Year 's Comedy Movies ''. About.com. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Leo, Alex ( December 16, 2012 ). `` The 10 Funniest Christmas Movies Of All Time ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Quin, Eleanor. `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment. Retrieved August 18, 2015. Jump up ^ Ham, William. `` Straight Outta Sherman : An Interview with John Hughes ''. Lollipop Magazine Online. Archived from the original on August 19, 2000. Retrieved August 18, 2015. Jump up ^ Madison, Ira III. `` Chris Columbus Directed Home Alone Instead of Christmas Vacation Because He Met Chevy Chase ''. Vulrure. Retrieved 10 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. afi.com. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2015. Jump up ^ `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) - Locations ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 16, 2015. Jump up ^ Blake, Lindsay ( December 24, 2013 ). `` Scene It Before : The Griswold House from National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. Los Angeles. Emmis Communications. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2015. Jump up ^ Willis, John ( December 8, 1990 ). `` Screen World : 1990 Film Annual ''. Screen World. Crown Publishing Group. 41 : 121. Jump up ^ Lace, Beverly ( January 30, 2011 ). The Musical Life of Monique Coleman. p. 5. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Stitzel, Kelly ( December 5, 2009 ). `` Soundtrack Saturday : `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation '' ``. Popdose. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation - 10th Anniversary Movie Soundtrack ''. mapsshops.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Christmas Vacation - Soundtrack Details ''. SoundtrackCollector. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Weekend Box Office Results for December 1 - 3, 1989 ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved August 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. Variety. 1989. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Kempley, Rita ( December 1, 1989 ). `` ' National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ' ( PG - 13 ) ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Maslin, Janet ( December 1, 1989 ). `` Reviews / Film ; On Vacation Once Again ''. The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2012. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( December 1, 1989 ). `` National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved December 20, 2012. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation on IMDb National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation at AllMovie National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation at the TCM Movie Database Links to related articles National Lampoon 's Vacation Films National Lampoon 's Vacation ( 1983 ) National Lampoon 's European Vacation ( 1985 ) National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) Vegas Vacation ( 1997 ) National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation 2 ( 2003 ) Vacation ( 2015 ) Miscellaneous `` Holiday Road '' National Lampoon Hotel Hell Vacation National Lampoon Productions from National Lampoon magazine ( 1970 -- 1998 ) J2 Communications ( 1991 -- 2002 ) National Lampoon, Inc. ( 2002 -- present ) Magazine National Lampoon magazine Radio The National Lampoon Radio Hour Theater Lemmings National Lampoon 's Class of ' 86 Books and Special editions The Best of National Lampoon No. 1 The Breast of National Lampoon Would You Buy a Used War from This Man ? The Best of National Lampoon No. 3 The National Lampoon Encyclopedia of Humor Letters from the Editors of National Lampoon National Lampoon The Best of No. 4 National Lampoon Comics National Lampoon The Best of No. 5 1964 High School Yearbook Parody This Side of Parodies The Job of Sex The Very Large Book of Comical Funnies National Lampoon Art Poster Book Official National Lampoon Bicentennial Calendar 1976 The Gentleman 's Bathroom Companion The 199th Birthday Book The Iron On Book National Lampoon Songbook The Naked and the Nude National Lampoon Presents French Comics The Up Yourself Book Gentleman 's Bathroom Companion 2 The Book of Books Animal House Book Sunday Newspaper Parody Tenth Anniversary Anthology 1970 -- 1980 National Lampoon 's Doon Books about the magazine Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead A Futile and Stupid Gesture Going Too Far If You Do n't Buy This Book, We 'll Kill This Dog ! Mr. Mike : The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue That 's Not Funny, That 's Sick Recordings Radio Dinner Lemmings The Missing White House Tapes Official National Lampoon Stereo Test and Demonstration Record Gold Turkey Goodbye Pop 1952 -- 1976 That 's Not Funny, That 's Sick Greatest Hits of the National Lampoon National Lampoon White Album The Official National Lampoon Car Stereo Test & Demonstration Tape Sex, Drugs, Rock ' N ' Roll & the End of the World Buy This Box or We 'll Shoot This Dog Films Animal House Movie Madness Class Reunion Joy of Sex Loaded Weapon 1 Senior Trip Repli - Kate Blackball Jake 's Booty Call Gold Diggers Dorm Daze Barely Legal Going the Distance The Almost Guys Adam & Eve Cattle Call Electric Apricot Pucked The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell Stoned Age Totally Baked : A Potumentary Bag Boy RoboDoc One, Two, Many Endless Bummer The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Ratko Transylmania Snatched The Vacation series Vacation ( 1983 ) European Vacation Christmas Vacation Vegas Vacation Christmas Vacation 2 Vacation ( 2015 ) The Van Wilder series Van Wilder The Rise of Taj Freshman Year Made - for - TV films Disco Beaver from Outer Space Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women Favorite Deadly Sins Dad 's Week Off The Don 's Analyst Men in White Golf Punks Thanksgiving Family Reunion Professor Pepper 's School of Good Stuff Direct to video Last Resort Dorm Daze 2 : College @ Sea Pledge This ! TV : The Movie Electric Apricot : Quest for Festeroo Films about the magazine National Lampoon : Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead A Futile and Stupid Gesture Television Delta House National Lampoon 's Funny Money Related links Deteriorata Dick Ballantine The Harvard Lampoon O.C. and Stiggs Films directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) Arrive Alive ( 1990 - 1991, unfinished ) Benny & Joon ( 1993 ) Tall Tale ( 1995 ) Diabolique ( 1996 ) The Avengers ( 1998 ) Meltdown ( 2004 ) The Bronx Is Burning ( 2007 ) The Right Kind of Wrong ( 2013 ) John Hughes Director and writer Sixteen Candles ( 1984 ) The Breakfast Club ( 1985 ) Weird Science ( 1985 ) Ferris Bueller 's Day Off ( 1986 ) Planes, Trains and Automobiles ( 1987 ) She 's Having a Baby ( 1988 ) Uncle Buck ( 1989 ) Curly Sue ( 1991 ) Writer only National Lampoon 's Class Reunion ( 1982 ) Mr. Mom ( 1983 ) National Lampoon 's Vacation ( 1983 ) Nate and Hayes ( 1983 ) National Lampoon 's European Vacation ( 1985 ) Pretty in Pink ( 1986 ) Some Kind of Wonderful ( 1987 ) The Great Outdoors ( 1988 ) National Lampoon 's Christmas Vacation ( 1989 ) Home Alone ( 1990 ) Career Opportunities ( 1991 ) Dutch ( 1991 ) Beethoven ( 1992 ) Home Alone 2 : Lost in New York ( 1992 ) Dennis the Menace ( 1993 ) Baby 's Day Out ( 1994 ) Miracle on 34th Street ( 1994 ) 101 Dalmatians ( 1996 ) Flubber ( 1997 ) Home Alone 3 ( 1997 ) Reach the Rock ( 1998 ) Just Visiting ( 2001 ) Maid in Manhattan ( 2002, story ) Drillbit Taylor ( 2008, original character ) Related Do n't You Forget About Me ( 2009 documentary ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Lampoon%27s_Christmas_Vacation&oldid=855191908 '' Categories : 1989 films English - language films American films 1980s comedy films 1980s sequel films American buddy films American Christmas films American comedy films American sequel films Directorial debut films Films about vacationing Films based on short fiction Films set in Chicago Films shot in Colorado National Lampoon 's Vacation ( film series ) Warner Bros. films Films scored by Angelo Badalamenti Films produced by John Hughes ( filmmaker ) Films with live action and animation Screenplays by John Hughes ( filmmaker ) Christmas comedy films Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Català Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 August 2018, at 15 : 20 ( UTC ). 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Question: who played russ in national lampoon's christmas vacation
Answer: Johnny Galecki