It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.
29 Jun National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Shoot Me When I’m Dead
John Hughes. What a sad case: is it drugs?
He started his career with huge promise: he made films that showed he knew how to dramatise the teenage world without using teenage bluntness. These were sensitive little things that impressed not by what they were but by how gently they rested in the world they portrayed.
Then for some reason, he transmuted this into a more exaggerated more broadly drawn and more juvenile form in the “Home Alone“ stuff. These were stuffed with enough bits to keep our eyes busy, but the real magic was in how they situated us in a ten year old’s mind. Less miraculous, but still interesting.
Now he has devolved into an even more juvenile world, but the light touch is completely gone. Now, we have nothing but the jokes that fill the space. Instead of rewarding the viewer with a gentle journey into a simple world, we are hammered with puerile minievents.
Posted in 2005
Ted’s Evaluation — 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
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