National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a classic in many households for its slapstick comedy and chaotic charm. Buried beneath all that chaos is a soft message about the joys of spending Christmas with relatives—even if they’re all a little crazy. Still, parents should note that some light nudity and other sexual themes appear in the movie, as does a whole lot of crude language.
All Clark Griswold wants is a perfect Christmas. Is that too much to ask?
Well, if his relatives have anything to say about it—yes. And boy, they sure do have a lot to say.
Both Clark’s and his wife, Ellen’s, parents are staying with them this Christmas—and neither couple can stand the other. Cousin Catherine and her redneck husband, Eddie, showed up with their family (and dog) and decided to call the Clark household home for the month. And, just when the house is bursting at the seams, that’s when Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis pop in.
That’s far too much personality under one roof, which is why Clark decides to maintain his perfect Christmas by hanging out on the roof—making sure his Christmas lights work, for instance. He also finds reasons to, well, just be anywhere the rest of his extended family isn’t.
Because where his family goes, chaos follows. And where chaos is, so too does the threat of losing that perfect Christmas.
Unfortunately for Clark, chaos tends to come with him wherever he goes.
Clark longs for the perfect Christmas. Of course, when his family gets involved, it’s not long before that Christmas becomes anything but. Clark spends much of his time away from his family in the hopes that, despite their intrusion, he might make Christmas special. However, it’s only when he embraces the chaos and rejoins his clan that he eventually starts enjoying the holiday. Clark finds that the family doesn’t need Christmas to be perfect; it’s made perfect just by being with each other.
A man has a change of heart when he sees how his selfish action has affected others.
Ellen prays the start of the Lord’s prayer, and then says, “And forgive my husband; he knows not what he does.” A woman tries to lead the family in saying grace. But because she is confused, she instead says the Pledge of Allegiance.
We hear a variety of Christian Christmas music throughout the film. Clark wishes someone a happy Hanukkah. As someone watches It’s a Wonderful Life, we hear the iconic phrase, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” We hear lyrics from “That Spirit of Christmas” by Ray Charles referencing Jesus.
A man describes someone as “ugly as sin.” Someone describes his situation as being “at the threshold of hell.”
Clark meets a woman selling lingerie, and he becomes flustered when he sees her low-cut top, making various misspeaks that relate to her breasts. He deceives the woman by saying he is divorced. She sells him lingerie, and she pulls up her skirt to the side of her hip to show how hidden her underwear is. Later, Clark fantasizes about her, imagining her taking off a swimsuit in front of him; we see her breast from the side.
A man wears a shirt and speedo. A woman’s bra is visible under her robe. We also see a woman on a poster wearing revealing clothing. A man states that he plans to take off his clothes and kiss a woman’s body. We later see the two (clothed) in bed, kissing before being interrupted. A man and woman kiss.
Clark’s daughter, Audrey, is upset she has to share a bed with her brother: “I have nightmares about what he does in his bed alone when I’m not lying right next to him,” she says. A man hopes to share “private time” with his wife.
We see a poster of two turtles having sex in the background of one scene. A man comments on the size of his dog’s genitals. He also warns someone that his dog likes to hump others, and if he does, “it’s best to just let him finish.”
We hear a crude reference to testicles. When asked where he plans to put a large Christmas tree, Clark retorts, “Bend over, and I’ll show you.” Someone references a TV preacher who had sex with hockey players. A woman grabs a man’s crotch.
We see a variety of slapstick content. Plenty of characters suffer falls, smacks and hits. Clark, in particular, suffers a couple of painful falls. In one instance, the attic ladder falls down and smacks Clark in the head, knocking him to the ground. Someone falls down the stairs.
A woman attacks her husband. A cat is unintentionally electrocuted when it bites down on a wire, leaving a cat-shaped black stain on the carpet as the cat’s only remnant. A man flies through the air due to an explosion. Clark’s greased-up sled causes him to fly at lightning speed through town, even smashing through a wooden shack.
Ice shoots out of Clark’s gutter, smashing through his neighbor’s window and breaking the man’s stereo. Someone asks if the company Clark works for had killed “all them people over in India not long ago.” People wish that Clark would fall off his ladder and break his neck.
Someone kidnaps a man.
We hear the f-word once, and we hear the s-word 11 times. Throughout the film, we also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—,” “d-ck,” “p-ss” and “crap.” God’s name is used in vain around 17 times, including four instances paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is likewise used in vain twice. Someone displays his middle finger.
People drink liquor, beer and wine. They also smoke cigars and cigarettes.
Someone sprays poop into the street. A woman mentions her hemorrhoids.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation seems to follow the same suit as many family-based movies from the 1980s. It’s over the top. It’s got a nice message. And you can bet your Santa cap that someone’s going to get smacked in the face for humor’s sake.
As for being over the top, chaos reigns throughout the film. The characters are zany and selfish, and poor Clark suffers the most from their antics. Bless the man for holding out as long as he does.
As for the nice message, it’s all about embracing those familial ties despite the chaos they bring. Christmas, the movie posits, can never be made perfect via Christmas lights, well-cooked food or the perfect tree. Rather, it’s made perfect simply by spending that time with relatives.
However, that message is a bit hard to see. That’s because, for the majority of the movie, there really isn’t a message to be had at all, as the viewer simply endures or enjoys the chaos for its own sake. That makes National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation perfect for someone who wishes the home invasion sequence from Home Alone was the focus of the film rather than the climax.
And included in that chaos are a number of crude words and sexual scenarios (including partial nudity) that unscrew a few of the Christmas lights in this winter classic and make it one of the more difficult movies to show the kids.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
