Is Clark's total disregard for common sense and the actual feelings of his family a noble effort to give them the perfect traditional Christmas he believes they deserve, or is he a selfish Control Freak on a shallow nostalgia trip? The talk he has with his father following his Freak Out about how this insane perfectionism is literally driving him mad and ruining potentially happy memories for his children, and the elder Griswald admitting that Christmas really wasn't that much easier for them when Clark Jr. was a child, implies that it's a little of both. However, Clarkâs own wife tells him that he "set[s] standards that no family activity can live up to", and when he questions her on it, she lists so many that she's still going on after he tells her good night.
Ellen's parents' sour mean-spirited attitude towards Clark, to the point of pointing out what a waste of time and resources Clark's initial failure (getting all the lights in the house to light up) to the children. Is this just another example of Clark's bad luck, mixed with the usual spouse-disliking in-laws? Or is their sour desposition towards him fully justified, due to Clark dumping Aunt Edna's body in Ellen's brothers' backyard in the pouring rain during the first movie? Edna was Ellen's aunt, which would make Edna either Art's or Francis' sister. Notice that Art is much friendlier to Eddie, the in-law of an in-law, than he is to Clark.
Angst? What Angst?: Played for Laughs. Ellen seems only mildly annoyed by her husband's chainsaw-wielding Freak Out, viewing it as merely one of his many inane habits when trying and failing to keep order. She even smiles when he gives her a reassuring kiss.
Awesome Music: The title theme by Mavis Staples is a modern classic and a popular alternative to the usual holiday songs for fans of the film.
Character Rerailment: Audrey and Russ' personalities are closer to their original Deadpan Snarker characterizations from the first film, after European Vacation turned them into an insecure Big Eater and a skirt-chasing horndog, respectively.
Crosses the Line Twice: The cat scene. The director had to beg the producers to keep it in the film, and they only relented when test audiences gave it the biggest laugh.
Cousin Eddie, who is often considered to be the funniest character in the film.
Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany only appear in the final act, but they provide some of the film's best laughs.
Even Better Sequel: Many see it as an improvement over even the original National Lampoon's Vacation. This is helped along massively by the film keeping with the basic premise of "family man's vacation goes hilariously awry" while avoiding the usual comedy-sequel pitfall of simply recycling the original movie's plot and most memorable gags.
Any scene with Eddie and his dog became this, after Randy Quaid became a fugitive in Canada from animal abuse charges.
Aunt Bethany's dementia-like state becomes less amusing to watch after it was revealed that Mae Questel was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some time after filming.
In the beginning, Clark can be seen drinking coffee from a Taz cup. Miriam Flynn, who played Catherine in the film, would voice Taz's mother in Taz-Mania.
Asking someone to say grace before Christmas dinner will likely get the line: "Grace died 30 years ago!" in response.
Narm Charm: In the scene where Clark watches his old family Christmas videos in the attic, Chevy Chase looks like he's trying to get as many different facial expressions on camera as he can instead of having them actually correspond to the film. And yet, this scene is considered to be one of the movie's emotional highlights.
Nightmare Fuel: The deranged look in Clark's eyes while staring down Rusty before he cuts down the replacement tree.
During the flaming toupee sequence, William Hickey is rather blatantly replaced by a stunt double.
With Hi-Def televisions, a bald cap where his toupee is supposed to go becomes rather obvious compared to the original release.
When the flaming ornamental sleigh passes in front of the moon, the matte box is clearly visible.
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Held by fans as a marked improvement over the mostly dull European Vacation, and a more worthy follow-up to — if not even better than — the original Vacation.
Unintentionally Sympathetic: While not to the point of them being designated villains, Todd and Margo Chester do end up being this. While they're vain, stuck-up, condescending yuppies, the worst they do to Clark is (possibly jokingly) expressing hope that Clark breaks his neck while decorating. Yet they're constantly victims to Clark's destructive festivities, with frequent collateral damage causing them much physical and emotional distress. One could even assume that dealing with these kind of shenanigans year round is the exact reason they hate Clark.
Clark spending money on a down payment for a swimming pool he couldn't afford already came off as a well-meaning but boneheaded mistake when the movie was released, but several decades later, spending money you don't have on something as non-essential as a pool comes off as very financially irresponsible and borderline unthinkable.
The very idea that Clark anxiously waiting for his Christmas bonus so he could pay to have an in-ground pool built at his big, beautiful suburban home would be a relatable, everyman type of problem illustrates how much things have changed since the Eighties.
The cringe-worthy "Mall lingerie counter" scene.
When the film was made in 1989, Clark's suggestive dialogue and actions toward the attractive woman behind the lingerie counter were seen as somewhat immature and juvenile, but humorous. Since the "Me Too" movement, they're seen as borderline harassment, and the employee would likely exercise her rights to either walk away, or call for a manager to tell Clark to leave.
Clark lying about being divorced to gain her sympathy was seen as merely dishonest then, but now makes Clark look positively sociopathic.
The very idea of her demonstrating how you "can't see the line" to Clark, would be nigh-unimaginable today.
The subsequent sequences where Clark fantasizes about her were mildly eyebrow-raising "horndog humor" in the late 1980s. But it would be difficult to imagine a modern film, 30-40 years later, including these sequences, while also trying to paint Clark as a "family man".
Clark banking on his Christmas bonus only to be screwed over by "cost-saving" measures by his company is a frustration everyone can relate to, even decades later.
Mr. Shirley: I guess a healthy bottom line doesn't mean much if to get it you have to hurt the ones you depend on.
Vindicated by History: Although the film was well-received when it was released, its reputation in the years since has held up, making it one of the most beloved Christmas movies of the late 20th century after A Christmas Story, and is a traditional viewing in many households.
It's hard not to feel sorry for Clark at times. All he wants is to give his loved ones a perfect family Christmas like the ones he had when he was a kid, and it results in one disaster after another.
Eddie and his family, as obnoxious as they might be, mean well. The reason they showed up in Clark's driveway in their RV is because they were kicked out of their home, and they're so poor that Eddie had to tell his kids that Santa doesn't bring everyone presents.
