‘Tis the season for everyone’s annual holiday movie watch (and/or re-watch), that magical time of year where we gorge ourselves on all manner of films that take place in and around the holidays. For some cinephiles, this means delving into the darkest depths of “is it a Christmas movie because it has one scene with a decorated tree in it?,” while for others, it means a first-time or 70th-time viewing of canonized holiday classics. One of the joys of watching a vintage Christmas film for the first time is seeing some of your favorite actors turn up looking impossibly young. For instance, this writer just watched 1995’s “Home for the Holidays” the other night, and was delighted to see a younger Robert Downey Jr. doing his signature motormouth patter.
While that film is a bit obscure in the holiday canon, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is a movie that almost needs no introduction. The film has become a holiday season standard, so it’s no surprise that the movie has been blowing up on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform Max right now in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with the film bested only by the family-friendlier “The Polar Express” and “Elf” (which are all Warner Bros. movies, naturally). In addition to the reputation enjoyed by “Christmas Vacation” by itself, there may be another reason viewers are flocking to it: “The Big Bang Theory” is still a hugely popular show thanks to its ubiquitous reruns on TBS, and that show’s co-star, Johnny Galecki, counts Rusty in “Christmas Vacation” as one of his earliest roles.
The revolving door of Rusty (and Audrey) in the ‘Vacation’ films
“Christmas Vacation” was indeed one of Galecki’s first jobs in the business, being only his fifth appearance in a motion picture. Ironically, the film was one of two holiday movies Galecki appeared in during 1989, the other being the “E.T. but with a reindeer” fantasy drama “Prancer.” Given the popularity of “Christmas Vacation,” it may sound strange that Galecki only played Rusty Griswold once, but that one-and-done is all part of the series’ charm. The original Rusty was played by Anthony Michael Hall in 1983’s “Vacation,” while an older, teenage Rusty was played by Jason Lively in 1985’s “European Vacation.” The gag of the “Vacation” films’ recasting isn’t limited to Rusty, either; his sister, Audrey, is played by Juliette Lewis in “Christmas Vacation,” Dana Barron in “Vacation,” and Dana Hill in “European Vacation.” For 1997’s “Vegas Vacation,” Rusty and Audrey were recast again with Ethan Embry and Marisol Nichols, and once again when they turned up as adults in 2015’s “Vacation,” played by Ed Helms and Leslie Mann.
The first three “Vacation” films were based on short stories written by John Hughes for the National Lampoon magazine, and the writer adapted them into screenplays for the movies. Each story was intended to be a snapshot of a moment in time in a typical middle-class American family, rather then one part of a continuing saga. As such, each film was made with that ethos in mind, meaning that while Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) shared some qualities from film to film, each version of Rusty and Audrey feels different. Galecki’s Rusty has his quirks — he seems to have no problem sleeping in the same bed as his sister and hogging the bedsheets, for one thing — but for the most part, he acts as the smirking, eye-rolling voice of reason to his kooky family. It’s these qualities that Galecki would put to good use when playing off of Jim Parsons’ Sheldon on “The Big Bang Theory.”
The enduring popularity of ‘Christmas Vacation’
Even though “Big Bang” reruns might very well be contributing to the current viewership of “Christmas Vacation,” the film’s popularity seems evergreen regardless. At the time of its release in December of 1989, “Christmas Vacation” was the second sequel in the already very successful “Vacation” franchise. It earned $73 million over a $25 million budget upon its initial theatrical run, making it a bona fide hit at the box office. The film’s lasting success really happened given its Christmas movie status, of course, as home video, television airings, and eventually downloads and streaming helped it become a perennial favorite. Now, “Christmas Vacation” has arguably supplanted the original “National Lampoon’s Vacation” as the most beloved and watched entry in the series. Its pop culture visibility refuses to go down — major retailers stock new versions of “Christmas Vacation” merch every year, the chicken finger chain Raising Cane’s did a tie-in promotion for the film’s 4K release a couple years ago, and this year, the Connecticut-based law firm Goff Law hired Chase, D’Angelo, and Randy Quaid for a massive TV commercial and highway billboard campaign.
Although 2015’s “Vacation” was a critical and commercial disappointment, the enduring popularity of the franchise, and especially “Christmas Vacation,” means that another entry in the series could still potentially happen. (To get it out of the way: yes, “Christmas Vacation” got its own side-quel in 2003’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure,” but let’s just forget about that now, okay?) Given the plethora of stars like Galecki who’ve appeared in the films, perhaps some sort of “Avengers: Infinity War” film for “Vacation” might happen, maybe with all the various Rusty’s and Audrey’s included somehow? Whatever happens, we certainly haven’t seen the last of “Christmas Vacation” in pop culture by any means. It’s just one of those gifts that keeps on giving, you know, like enrollment in the Jelly of the Month Club!
This post was originally published on here
