Posted on 12/22/2014 5:37:59 PM PST by Drew68
It started as a continuation of the misadventures of the Griswold family; it ended up becoming one of the most surprisingly popular and oft-quoted holiday movies of all time. This month marks the 25th anniversary of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, in which beleaguered patriarch Clark Griswold played by the inimitable Chevy Chase tries to engineer the picture-perfect seasonal festivities: the best naturally procured tree, the biggest and brightest (literally) Christmas-light display on the block, the end-of-the-year bonus from his Scrooge-like boss. It's the only comedy to appeal to those who live for that deck-the-halls spirit, viewers who are dyed-in-the-wool Grinches ("Well, I don't know what to say, except it's Christmas and we're all in misery") and folks who appreciate the genius of Randy Quaid in his underwear, exclaiming "Shitter's full!"
In honor of the film's quarter-of-a-century milestone, we've asked the cast and creators to weigh in on the seasonal classic. From the intricate planning behind the films zany antics to freak snowstorms and cast freak-outs, this is the untold, no-holds-barred story of Christmas Vacation.
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(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
Clark was a dolt at home, but successful at work. Does that mean he was greedy and unfeeling?
I Understand what you’re saying, and it’s often true. But it just does not apply to this particular film.
I guess I'm thinking about how much the cast from the BBT makes and how huge a hit it is and in syndication. Heck when I went to the UK last year and turned on the TV in my hotel room, what was on? The Big Bang Theory.
Many years ago my now ex-husband used to work for a commercial construction company and the owner waited until 6:00 PM on Christmas Eve (and yes, they made them work a full day on Christmas Eve, until 5:00 PM) and then made them attend an afterhours Christmas Eve party at the office that consisted mostly of soda and pretzels and chips and dip just to get handed their Christmas bonus. And if you werent present at the party to smile and grovel for the boss - no bonus for you!
Some years it was a generous hand written check for anywhere from $50 to, in some years several hundred dollars, but being that the banks were closed by then as were most of the stores, was not very helpful for actually using it for Christmas live alone making the employees get home late on Christmas Eve whatever the bonus was. And in some years the bonus was a frozen turkey (Yea! A rock solid frozen turkey that wont thaw out until at least New Years). One year, the boss handed out Christmas cards with nothing at all in it except for his sincere thanks that was clearly written by his secretary. Of course we learned not to count on getting anything so anything we got was more than we expected. But the bonuses seemed to have little or nothing to do with how profitable the company was that year or on how well anyone performed. It was completely random and at the whim and mood of the owner so it was like playing a roulette reel of how much or how little of a jerk is he going to be this year game.
Years ago I worked at a restaurant in Tulsa. Our Christmas bonus/gift from the owner was a $10 gift certificate to a western wear store. In Oklahoma City, where the flagship restaurant was located.
I'd never watched the BBT and didn't realize just what a huge show this was, but reading the full story and Chevy's comments that Galecki makes "$100 million a year" I googled him and figured it out.
I guess I'm behind the times.
BBT is one of those shows that you get or don’t get. Like Seinfeld, there is a lot of inside humor.
I never watched Seinfeld or Christmas Vacation but I have watched BBT. I don’t watch television.
Aww, no Gremlins?
I still have nightmares from that microwave scene. Ewwww...
LOL! I was overseas when it came out and I just never got around to it. I liked the original one, though. I’ve seen Home Alone. I didn’t think that Home Alone 2 would be any good. Thanks for the recommendations.
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