I'm going out on a limb here and confessing that I hate the movie CHRISTMAS VACATION.
Okay, all of you Chevy Chase fans out there who grew up adoring the movie have probably left, and now I'm surrounded by like-minded people.
It's not that the movie isn't funny. Because in a weird to slap-sticky way, it is.
But it's just too painful. I can't even root for someone as dumb as Clark. No, I want a hero worthy of my affection.
Or maybe it's not the movie, but it's the way my husband doesn't think it's Christmas unless he watches it at least three times.
Mind you, he doesn't always get to watch it. Sometimes I put my foot down.
And even when he does watch it, he doesn't enjoy it, because to really enjoy it, I have to be sitting right by him, laughing it up, too.
To which I give him that classic excuse. "Not tonight, dear, I have a headache."
Give me Dickens and his Scrooge. Now, that classic tale at least has a hero with a growth arc. He may not be swoon-worthy, but at least he's not a static character like Clark.
Of course, it could be that I am not male and I am older than 12. Last night, the movie aired on ABC Family, and my husband introduced this so-called classic to my daughter. Who is 12. And who laughed uproariously through the whole thing, at least until her bedtime. She asked me to record it so she could finish it.
Ugh. Now that's probably one movie that won't get deleted off our DVR, even though DOWNTON ABBEY enjoys no such security.
I'm with you, and I can go even further and admit I'm not all that cracked on The Christmas Story. Give me Scrooge, Bing Crosby, and 34th Street miracles every time!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the movie the whole way through. I'm a Hallmark romance Christmas movie kind of gal. LIz, I love Bing and 34th Street. I'll sit through The Christmas Carol, but only once. As for The Christmas Story, I love it. LOL, I taught some of those kids and now I have one of those kids. Plus, my husband is just like the husband on that show
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it as I tend not to like slap-sticky comedy. But it's nice there are movies out there for everyone's taste, just like there are books for everyone.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, have a good Christmas and let's hope you can escape watching it again this season.
In the history of sequels, that Vacation movie was not a good one. Give me It's a Wonderful Life and a tissue any day.
ReplyDeleteMel
Cynthia - I like Chevy Chase's older work - the movies he made with Goldie Hawn. Don't like the Vacation movies. I do LOVE The Christmas Story. Those were my neighbors, my mom said all those same things , and treated every owie first with a wet washcloth. I love White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, and hope every year for what's now an oldie, Borrowed Hearts with Eric McCormack and Roma Downey. Watched the Hallmark Channel all weekend. Merry Christmas, Cynthia!
ReplyDeleteLol! I guess I'm still 12 because I love that movie (the YA author in me comes out to wave :) but I agree that Clark is NOT a romantic hero in any way ! I always tell my husband that if I was his wife, I would leave, strangle him, or both ! I want to slap him in the Dept store scene for hitting on the lingerie clerk! But the ultimate message is a good one- about families staying together, even through disasterous times. But who am I kidding? I'm mostly watching Dennis Quaid's satiric performance as Cousin Eddy. Love those Leisure suits and the aunt who says the pledge of allegiance instead of grace. - hehe- that was 12-yr-old laugh. One of my fav Christmas comedies is Christmas with the Cranks and Walter shows such beautiful growth when he gives his cruise trip to his antagonistic neighbor who just found out his wife's cancer is back . Even though I laugh for most of that movie , I always cry when Bev takes the tickets :)
ReplyDeleteIt's all good, Cynthia! I'm not a huge Vacation fan either. Not that I don't like stupid humor. I'll admit I know pretty much every word to Billy Madison and my favorite Christmas movie is Elf. To each their own, I say!
ReplyDeleteI admit that I enjoy Christmas Vacation mostly because it was one that I watched with my dad who loved it. But the Christmas movies that touch me are the ones you mentioned: where the hero grows and changes because of the events of the story. May we all write those kinds of stories.
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