This 80’s flick was meant to be just another chapter in the misadventures of Clark W. Griswold and his family. It has become one of the most surprisingly popular and oft-quoted holiday movies of all time. So dig up your oversized Christmas tree, fill up your Wally World glass mugs with eggnog, and make sure your RV’s "you know what"-er isn’t full as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Bethany Wells, discuss “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback podcast!
Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
- The scene where the cat bit the Christmas lights cord and got electrocuted was nearly cut from the movie. Prior to the first test screening, the studio executives wanted the scene taken out, fearing that it might offend some viewers, but producer Matty Simmons begged them to leave the scene in, and they eventually gave in to his request. After the first test screening, the test audience scored the cat electrocution scene as their number one favorite scene throughout the entire movie.
- When Clark Griswold takes out his frustration over his 25,000 Christmas lights malfunctioning on a plastic front-yard diorama of Santa and his reindeer, you’ll notice he begins to punch the decorations before pausing and resorting to kicking them instead. That is because, as the cast members featured on the commentary track reveal, Chevy Chase actually broke his pinky when he punched the reindeer but managed to stay in character, resulting in the take you see in the theatrical cut.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes
https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/national-lampoons-christmas-vacation-10-behind-the-scenes-facts-about-the-holiday-movie
https://www.ranker.com/list/christmas-vacation-behind-the-scenes/natalie-jonah
https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/xmas-or-bust-the-untold-story-of-national-lampoons-christmas-vacation-173969/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60330/27-things-you-might-not-know-about-christmas-vacation
Intro & Outro Music: "Total Eclipse" by Nathaniel Wyver
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