5 Gags You May Have Missed In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Posted on December 23, 2011 by journey

Holiday films fall into two categories: those with at least a hint of magic and the supernatural (The Santa Clause, It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol) and those that leave the mystical behind and focus on family gatherings (dysfunctional or otherwise). National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation falls into the latter category, and it’s arguably the best of the subgenre: classic comic timing from Chevy Chase in his best role; hilarious comedy setpieces; zingy, fun dialogue from John Hughes; and just the right dose of Yuletide heart.

If you’re like me, you notice subtle little gags every time you watch the movie. Here are a few that I picked up only after repeat viewings:

Clumsy Cousin Eddie: When Clark and Cousin Eddie are shopping at the supermarket, watch Clark repeatedly attempt to put delicate objects like light bulbs into the cart, only to have them smashed when Eddie plops big bags of dog food on top of them.

Fashion Sense: Take a look at Cousin Eddie’s outfit when he and Clark are chatting in front of the Christmas tree shortly after Eddie’s arrival. True to his clueless, country bumpkin form, Eddie is not only wearing a far-too-tight white sweater, he’s also combined it with a painfully obvious black mock turtleneck.

Great Minds Think Alike: When Clark enters boss Mr. Shirley’s (Brian Doyle-Murray, brother to Bill Murray) office to give him a Christmas present, take a look at the gifts on the table from the other employees… they’re all exactly the same shape.

“It’s just a little dry”: The dinner table scene is full of subtle bits of physical comedy that are easy to miss if you don’t happen to be looking at the right part of the scene. Some highlights: Ellen surreptiously flicks the inedible turkey from her fork, Clark accidentally wipes his mouth on his holiday tie, and Cousin Eddie amuses himself by playing the old “here is the church; here is the steeple” game.

Only in France: Next time you watch, flick on the French subtitles. In France, the film is known by the rather bawdy title of Le Sapin A Des Boules. Translation? The Fir Tree Has Balls. Hmmmm.

Giving Thanks.. Or Something

Posted on November 23, 2011 by alex the spaz

So, might be a little late to the party on this one, but figured it was worth a post anyway. Tomorrow is the day we American’s celebrate coming together and giving thanks by eating too much food, watching parades, t.v specials and football. No, not Christmas (not yet anyway) but Thanksgiving. So in honor of the great Turkey Day, I’ve pulled together a list of some Thanksgiving movies for the family to enjoy. (And hey, maybe they’ll learn something too!)

Going to start off with a classic: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Since there is a Charlie Brown special for almost every holiday is it really any wonder I’m starting here? Charlie Brown gets stuck having to produce a Thanksgiving feast for all his friends, and make to his grandmother’s house in time for his family’s celebration. It’s the typical kindhearted Charlie Brown story that just make you feel good during the holidays.

Next up we’ve got Pieces Of April, starring a young Katie Holmes as April Burns the eldest daughter in a dysfunctional family, who decides to have the whole bunch come to her small tenement apartment in Manhattan for Thanksgiving. It’s funny, and probably a good way to see that your family isn’t really that bad…. unless of course it is.

Steve Martin can do (almost) no wrong and this is definitely one of his best comedies. Planes, Trains and Automobiles stars Steven Marin and John Candy as fellow travelers trying to make it to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Ending up paired together they overcome many obstacles (many brought on themselves), to get home and find that they may have little in common but they can still be friends. (Cue the “Awwwww”).

Home For The Holidays, is a classic but entertaining holiday film. Parents, siblings, spouses and kids are all sources of frustration for Holly Hunter, who stars as a recently fired single mom. This family will probably just barely make it through the Thanksgiving holiday, but then they’ll do it again the next year. Proving, that you can’t escape no matter how hard you might try.

And now last, and possibly least is ThanksKilling a comedy-horror movie about a killer turkey who has just had too much! So he decides it’s time to get revenge on mankind. A good post dinner treat.

Even adults can be children.

Posted on November 9, 2011 by alex the spaz

I am a picky comedy watcher, I am not a fan of a lot of the supposedly funny movies that have been coming out lately. However Carnage, which will be released to select cities on December 16th, 2011, gives me hope that there is still a chance for the comedy genre.

What got my attention right away was that one of the stars is John C. Reilly, one of my favorite actors, whose recent work has kept me home rather than pushed me to the theater. So it’s exciting to see him in something that seems like it will be a little different. That’s not to say that the rest of the cast is not a draw in their own right. Carnage also stars the fabulous Jodie Foster, the stunning Kate Winslet and Christopher Waltz, who appears to be making a name for himself in American film after his role in Inglourious Basterds.

The plot of the movie is relatively simple one. Winslet and Waltz are Nancy and Alan Cowan, while Foster and Reilly are Michael and Penelope Longstreet. Both couples have young boys who are going to the same school, the boys get into a fight and in an effort to mend the fence and find out exactly what happened they agree to have dinner together at the home of the Longstreet’s. In comedic fashion, a simple dinner turns into a battleground over parenting techniques and personal habits as these couples start revealing more and more about themselves to the other couple, and even to their spouses. I really hope that my first impression is right and that it doesn’t turn out to be yet another gross-out “comedy”. I plan on giving this movie a chance when I get the opportunity, and I’ll come back and tell you what I thought!

While you wait for it to come out in your area, check out the official trailer!

American Pie redux

Posted on November 8, 2011 by journey

American Pie: Reunion will be released next April, capping the popular ’90s sex comedy series. This presumably means another round of sexual hijinks, more mugging from Seann William Scott, more awkwardness from Jason Biggs and another eye-rolling batch of pie puns in the media. The movie centers on a high school reunion, a set-up that lends itself to nostalgia but very little narrative innovation. Can Pie 4 score with such a formula?

Straight-to-video sequels aside, the franchise has been dormant since American Wedding in 2003, which had strong ticket sales but did not match the high-water mark of American Pie 2 in 2001.

The large cast from 1999′s American Pie is re-assembled almost in full for Reunion. The careers of most of these original players have flattened out to an extent, so it’s not hard to see why they re-signed for this final (?) installment. Eugene Levy, the only actor to appear in all the original films and the DVD-only spin-offs, also returns as Jim’s (Jason Biggs) dad.

Here’s a look at the first trailer:

Perhaps the R-rated portions, not permitted in this green-band trailer, will offer something fun, but the film still looks essentially like a feature-length curtain call for the original trilogy. The trailer doesn’t give us much to excite interest and instead seems to be content saying things like “Remember Stifler? Wasn’t he funny back in the day?” This is fine, as long as audiences are in the mood for nostalgia.

The filmgoers who made the initial Pie films box office hits came from an overlap of two generations. It caught the first few cohorts of the Millennial Generation and the last couple from Gen X, meaning its original audience is somewhat diffuse. Will this group, now in their late 20s and early 30s, feel enough residual fondness to make Reunion a box office success? ‘90s redux sequels haven’t fared particularly well (Scream 4, anyone?), but they didn’t trade as explicitly on nostalgia as Reunion seems to. The movie has a distinct “hey, remember shop class?” feel to it, and this might play in its favor. Who doesn’t love seeing an old friend after years apart? Sure, you both might be graying a little at the temples, but that old chemistry and sense of fun is still there. At its best, American Pie: Reunion will be like that pal from years past.

Total Animation

Posted on November 3, 2011 by alex the spaz

Something about heading towards the end of another year got me thinking about cartoon shows of the past, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite animated shows from over the years.

I’m going to start off with my top 5 favorites, these one all have a special meaning for me, I watched them almost religiously when they were originally on and I will watch them again and again.

Animaniacs: There is really no way to really describe this show if you haven’t seen it. Yako, Wacko and Dot are the Warner siblings, though just what species they are is a mystery (Although dog and bunny are popular guesses.) The best way to describe this show is as a collection of animated shorts starring a cast of recurring characters, and was the starting place of “Pinky And The Brain”. I highly recommend it to everyone. Ever.

Daria: This was my favorite show when I was in high-school and I actually dressed as Daria for Halloween one year. (Wasn’t hard, I already wore boots everyday, and had glasses). What I love about this show are the quick one-liners and all the exaggerated high school stereotypes. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends: What happens to imaginary friends when they’re no longer needed? Well they go to a foster home of course! They can live there, have fun and be cared for. The main character is Blooregard Q. Kazoo AKA Bloo who is the imaginary friend of Mac, who hangs out at Foster’s a lot because he didn’t really want to give Bloo up. It’s funny, it’s cute and something about imaginary friends brings me right back to being a kid.

The Real Ghostbusters: I couldn’t possibly do a post about my favorite cartoons without including this show. The Real Ghosbusters was created, no surprise, to capitalize on the movie. It started in 1986 and ran until 1991. It keeps pretty close to the movie with the same set of characters, although they added Slimer as a good guy who can sort of talk. I loved this show, had VHS tapes of episodes (only 3 per tape!), and watched it constantly. I can still clearly remember plots, and even some dialogue from episodes.

Gargoyles: Stone Gargoyles frozen in time for a thousand years in Scotland, wake to find themselves in the totally new world of New York City and have to fight old evil, as well as new plots to destroy them and the city. I watched this show before going to school every morning, the stories where great, the characters were people you’d actually cared about and it had some great voice actors over the years including Jonathan Frakes as the voice of the main villian, and Marina Sirtis as Demona. . It’s definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it, and a re-watch if you have.

Those are my top 5 favorites, but you should check out these totally awesome animated shows too!

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Tag Archives: comedy

5 Gags You May Have Missed In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Giving Thanks.. Or Something

Even adults can be children.

American Pie redux

Total Animation