National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Christmas Vacation barely has a story. It’s a string of holiday disasters stapled together, and the last stretch, when an actual plot finally shows up, is the weakest part of the movie. Somehow that doesn’t matter. Chevy Chase plays Clark Griswold as a man whose holiday spirit is one tangled strand of bulbs away from a breakdown, and his slow-cracking smile drives every scene. The lights sequence is a classic: Clark stapling bulbs to every inch of the house, asking the family for a drumroll, then plugging in to total darkness. Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie arrives uninvited and never quite leaves, and he gets the biggest laughs with the least effort. The dried-out turkey and Aunt Bethany’s version of grace are perfect little gems. Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki get very little to do. It made $75.5 million domestic on a reported $25M. A 6.9 because it’s a holiday ritual, not a great movie. $1,037 says you plug in your lights this December, ask everyone for a drumroll, and get nothing but eye rolls.

What works: Chevy Chase’s slow-boiling Clark is comic gold, and set pieces like the lights and the turkey dinner are holiday classics.

What doesn’t: There’s barely a plot, and the frantic final act is the least funny part of a movie built on small, perfect bits.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever fought a strand of lights and lost, and wants a December rewatch tradition.