There will always be a special place in my heart for Jeremiah Chechik’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. In my adult life, I have made it a Christmas eve tradition to rival any sappy joy-filled movie you may watch with your family. Whether I’m hundreds of miles from home or right next to close friends and family, this movie reminds me of the best Christmas years of my own life. Large family gatherings, plenty of food and yes, plenty of Auxillary Nuclear power-required mishaps. There is no Christmas like a Griswold Family Christmas. And to celebrate this love, our weekly Scenes We Love entry takes a look at one of Clark Griswold’s most iconic and explosive moments.

Earlier this week we showed you the horrific short film made by the marketing folks at HomeAway featuring the Griswolds, Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo). It was a train-wreck. This was clear, even to someone like me, who is a bigger fan than most of the Vacation franchise. Apparently it wasn’t clear to New Line…

Ride along as The Griswolds hit the road again. This time they’re on their way to see Rusty at his vacation rental. They stop at a hotel and typical Griswold madness ensues. Okay, I’ll bite. My love for the National Lampoon’s Vacation series of films is well-documented. Why not give it a shot?

Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) just wants to have a good ole’ fashioned family Christmas at his place, but Karma (or some other unstoppable, twisted force) is working against him.

Sometimes I feel like I’m just getting back from Wally World. I’m tired, irritable, and there’s an unseasonably high urine count in my sandwiches.  But with the news that Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are teaming up for a Superbowl commercial, I have to wonder if we should really be saving up for a real family vacation. Don’t get me wrong. I love Superbowl commercials because 1) they are a colossal let down and 2) I’m usually watching the Puppy Bowl instead (after the NFC championship, don’t we sort of already know who’s going to win the Superbowl?), but I would much rather see that dynamic duo hit the big screen again. I know I’m usually pretty negative toward the lack of creativity that this decade will be marred by, but if we’re in for a penny, why not be in for a pound? Let’s just sequelize everything. All of it. Some possible downsides to a National Lampoon’s Vacation sequel in the here and now: National Lampoon, like the magazine that spawned it, has become one of the least funny producers of The Funny around. With John Hughes gone, who could possibly write it? Year One Some urine-soaked food for thought. What do you think?

Any movie that involves a trip to the Playboy Mansion and a cast of relatively hot, somewhat nubile actresses is going to attract some attention from the fellas, including my very manly self. That said, I have some observations to make.