The National Lampoon's Vacation Movies Ranked
It's time to rent a Family Truckster, cue up Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road," and hope our wife doesn't catch us checking out a mysterious hot babe in a sports car — because it's time to rank all of the films in the "Vacation" franchise. Part family drama, part romantic comedy, part slapstick showcase, and 100 percent a showcase for Chevy Chase to prove why he's Chevy Chase and we're not, National Lampoon's "Vacation" series is home to some of the best bits in American comedy cinema.
Whether they're staying at home for the holidays, pressing their luck in Vegas, traveling cross country, or flying overseas, the Griswolds have set the bar hellishly low for family vacations (which means the only place to go is up for the rest of us). Sure, some of the jokes have seen better days, but the longevity of the series lies with the relatable family audiences have been following for over 40 years. With four direct films, a legacyquel, and a direct-to-DVD spin-off sequel, the series spans a wide range of vacations gone wrong ... and an equally wide range of quality. Here are the "National Lampoon's Vacation" movies, ranked.
6. Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003)
Listen. "Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure" is barely a movie, but it's technically a part of this franchise, so I must mention it. There's a chance you didn't even know this film existed, and I deeply apologize for being the bearer of bad news. Your life was better before I burdened you with this information. I've even written about this film before for a list of classic Christmas films with unnecessary sequels — and since this film honestly owes me for having written about it more than once, I'm going to just repeat verbatim what I said before. I meant it then, and I mean it now:
You know what absolutely no one on planet Earth has ever needed? A spin-off movie centering on Randy Quaid's "Cousin Eddie" of the "Vacation" franchise. Have I seen this film? Unfortunately, yes. Was it because of my wonderful National Lampoon-loving father who didn't understand this film was made as a cash grab, and I had to watch a grown man be extremely let down when the film was a total turd? Also yes. Regardless of how anyone feels about "Christmas Vacation," the fact that someone convinced Ed Asner, Eric Idle, and Fred Willard to star in a made-for-TV sequel focused on the character who put the expression "sh*tter's full" into our pop culture lexicon is astounding. This is a real rough one, and there's not enough eggnog in the world to make it enjoyable.
5. National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
Let me open this entry by saying director Amy Heckerling is a goddess among mere mortals and Chevy Chase was a massive jackass to her during the production of "European Vacation" and bashing the film publicly to the point that it motivated her to focus on screenwriting for five years has nothing to do with why this film is my least favorite of the major "Vacation" films. No, my dislike of "European Vacation" has everything to do with Robert Klane and John Hughes' screenplay.
Hughes is viewed as a demigod in the eyes of many film lovers, and considering I host a teen girl movie podcast, I've spent a lot of time interrogating his work. The man was a genius, yes, but he was also a dyed-in-the-wool Reaganite, and sometimes those sensibilities leaked into his screenplays. It's painfully obvious in "European Vacation," where the jokes outside of the familial hijinks mostly boil down to "HAHAHA, AREN'T EUROPEANS WEIRD?!"
The film tries to present itself as a critique of ignorant Americans traveling overseas, but the punchlines are usually not at the expense of the family; they're of the people they encounter on vacation. It's also home to Hughes' worst sex comedy impulses (I'm looking at you, "Sixteen Candles"), where a lack of consent is played for laughs. It has more in common with a film like "Eurotrip" than it does a "Vacation" film, and it's a bummer because the jokes outside of the ones that have aged like milk in the sun are genuinely great.
4. Vegas Vacation (1997)
"Vegas Vacation" has a lot of haters, but I am not one of them. In fact, I personally rank this film as my #2, but I know I'm in the vast minority and am smart enough to know I'll be ridiculed in the town square of Film Twitter if I dare rank it above beloved faves. That said, "Vegas Vacation" is the "Vacation" film that speaks the most honestly about the Griswold family. The harsh reality is that Ellen Griswold should have left Clark years ago, and "Vegas Vacation" is the closest Clark ever comes to realizing he's ruining his life and destroying his family with his own hubris. Audrey has been stifled for her entire life, and this is the film that finally allows her to spread her wings and experience life. Rusty has been talked down to as the youngest family member throughout the entire franchise, and this film finally gives him a taste of independence and his very own story arc. And Ellen? She's finally showcased as the sexy, resilient, absolute catch of a wife that she is.
This is the first film not written by John Hughes, with screenwriter Elisa Bell instead behind the keyboard, and it shows. Why? Because Bell wasn't afraid to call out Clark as the crappy husband he is, and the film is better for it. Most of the "Vacation" films see the Griswold family thrown into wild circumstances (usually because Clark is a stubborn clown) that would destroy any other family, but they always manage to make it out stronger because, well, they're Griswolds. "Vegas Vacation" doesn't have time for that style of afterschool special pleasantries; it makes them all work for it. We love the Griswolds because they feel relatable, but "Vegas Vacation" is the first time their conflict resolution also finally feels genuinely relatable.
3. Vacation (2015)
Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley made a pretty dang good "Vacation" movie; it just wasn't the one the National Lampoon purists wanted. No shade to the wonderful Audrey (Dana Barron/Dana Hill/Juliette Lewis/Marisol Nichols) and Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall/Jason Lively/Johnny Galecki/Ethan Embry) performances that came before, but adult Rusty's children Kevin (Steele Stebbins) and James (national treasure Skyler Gisondo) are funny enough to justify their own spinoff. In fact, I sincerely believe that if people revisit this film now, years removed from the immediate snark upon release, audiences will see that there's a whole lot here to love.
There's a sincere sweetness in the story because adult Rusty (Ed Helms) is trying his hardest to keep his family together but without any of the mean-spirited cynicism of his father. Rusty is still as dorky as ever, he's just now got adult responsibilities. His wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate), is a fantastic addition to the Griswold family of characters, and the laugh she lets out after a group of sorority girls has the audacity to call her "old" is comedy gold.
It also perfectly captures the spirit of the "Vacation" films that came before by adding bizarro side characters that only the Griswolds would ever encounter, like a suicidal rafting instructor played by Charlie Day and Chris Hemsworth as Audrey's husband "Stone Crandall," who is shown to be eye-poppingly well endowed ... with comedic timing. Honestly, the only real blight against "Vacation" is that "We're the Millers" came out two years earlier, which already felt like the spiritual successor to the "Vacation" franchise (and also features Ed Helms!) and therefore drew a lot of unfair comparisons.
2. National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Once upon a time, John Hughes wrote a short story about a middle-class Midwestern family just trying to make it to Disneyland but had to deal with luggage falling off the car, an annoying great Aunt, a dead dog, driving off a cliff, mechanics ripping them off, dad robbing a motel, sibling rivalry, a staggering amount of anti-Indigenous racism, and a showdown involving a dad buying a gun and threatening to hold Mr. Disney hostage unless he opened up the park. This story is what eventually became "National Lampoon's Vacation," and the Griswolds quickly became America's most relatable family. Anyone who has ever taken a cross-country road trip with their family can attest that something always goes wrong, but the luck of the Griswolds makes Charlie Brown look like Indiana Jones.
Directed by Harold Ramis, "National Lampoon's Vacation" is one of the best examples of a domino comedy, where stakes keep getting higher and more absurd as time goes on, to the point where you completely understand why a dad would hold an entire theme park hostage. National Lampoon had been trying to chase the success of "Animal House" for years, and the combination of familial romps in "Vacation" with the raunchy, R-rated humor National Lampoon was known for was their ticket to the top. Over time, it's become heralded as a classic and a staple of the "If it's playing on cable, I won't change the channel" subgenre of cinema.
And with good reason — it's a damn funny road movie.
1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Ah, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," everyone's go-to answer whenever someone asks if there's ever been a good third entry in a film franchise and one of the most merchandised films ever made. Rather than send the Griswolds on some grand adventure away from home, "Christmas Vacation" brings all of the chaos under their roof in suburban Chicago during the supposed most wonderful time of the year. The success of the first "Vacation" film was heavily rooted in the relatability of a dysfunctional albeit loving family, but "Christmas Vacation" feels like a film pulled directly from the collective nightmares (or lived experiences) of middle-class America. The neighbors? Awful. The extended family? Grating. The food? Inedible. The gifts? Disappointing. Yep! It certainly sounds like Christmas!
But "Christmas Vacation" never veers into futility, keeping that joyous spirit of the holiday season alive no matter how terrible things get. It's also the film that handles Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) better than any other film, and the majority of the jokes have stood the test of time. All of the "Vacation" films introduced comedy bits that have been done and redone countless times, but references to "Christmas Vacation" are hidden everywhere (from Christmas horror films like "Krampus" to your mom's favorite Hallmark holiday rom-com). It's the film that does the best job of reminding us why the Griswolds stick together when the forces of the universe seem so hellbent on ruining their lives, and it's the film that shows how deep Clark's love for his family truly is.