Christmas Vacation is definitely a modern classic. This movie aptly captures all that the holidays can be about: spending too much money, spending too much time with relatives (not that I have ever felt that), spending too much effort on decorating.  This is the one “Vacation” movie in which Clark, Ellen, Rusty and Audrey are presented as the relatively sane ones surrounded by craziness.

It is hard to pick a favorite scene, there are so many wonderful ones.  From Aunt Bethany reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in lieu of saying grace, to the cat and the tree, to Clark’s efforts to decorate the house, to the obnoxious neighbors, to Cousin Eddie, to …. well the list goes on and on.

How the actors kept straight faces throughout the filming of this movie is beyond me. But they did, and the reward is a fun movie that never disappoints to delight.