Some movies are instant holiday classics; some take a bit longer to snuggle up to the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere ("It's a Wonderful Life," we do believe, falls into this latter category).
But "Christmas Vacation" seems to have caught the spirit not long after its 1989 release. Thank the heyday of home video -- just about everyone had a VCR by the end of the '80s -- and thank the "Vacation" films that preceded it (that would be simply titled "Vacation," of course, and the one in Europe, with that Stonehenge-tipping-over scene).
We also think its popularity is due to it being more cringe-provoking than heart-warming. A few cringes around the holidays puts a bit of bite in all the sugary bon-bons, right?
It's playing at ArcLight Hollywood on Monday, Dec. 13, and director Jeremiah Chechik will talk about the making-of. Once again making LA the #1 city where DVD behind-the-scenes featurettes frequently come to life.
We're thinking everyone should don a scratchy red snowman sweater, just to get into the Griswaldian spirit of the evening. Do not arrive with a string of blinking lights wrapped around your head, because that'll bother the people in the row behind you.
