Beverly D’Angelo Reflects On The Enduring Chaos Of Christmas Vacation
The actress looks back at the Griswolds’ wild holiday legacy and why the 1989 classic still feels like family after all these years.
Los Angeles, November 12 EST: Beverly D’Angelo still sounds a little surprised that people can’t get through December without the Griswolds. She figured National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation would come and go like any other late-80s comedy. Instead, it became a holiday ritual one of those movies that keeps running long after the wrapping paper’s been trashed.
The Griswolds Are Basically Family Now
Talking to People, D’Angelo laughed about how none of them saw it coming. “Honestly, I never imagined it… nobody imagined that… the Griswolds would be part of our culture,” she said. You can hear that mix of gratitude and disbelief from someone who’s watched a goofy family comedy turn into a generational handshake.
Released in 1989, the movie wasn’t meant to be deep. It was slapstick chaos, anchored by Chevy Chase’s wide-eyed optimism and D’Angelo’s straight-faced calm holding the house together. But that balance hit a nerve. The mess, the family tension, the total overcommitment it all felt too real.
And it still does. “Everybody identifies with some Griswold character there’s just something about that family,” D’Angelo said. She’s right. You don’t even have to like Christmas movies to get it. The Griswolds are basically everyone’s relatives after two eggnogs.
A Movie That Refused To Fade
The film didn’t explode on release, but it grew slowly, stubbornly. Cable marathons in the ‘90s turned it into background noise for wrapping gifts. Then came DVD box sets, memes, ugly sweaters, and TikToks quoting Cousin Eddie. Somewhere along the way, Christmas Vacation became part of how people celebrate.
D’Angelo realized it when her kids’ classmates recognized her not from anything new, but from that. “That’s when I understood it wasn’t just nostalgia it was generational,” she said.
Nostalgia With A Side Of Marketing
Now, D’Angelo’s leaning into the legacy, teaming up with Wyndham Rewards for a holiday travel promo that nods to the Griswolds’ knack for chaotic vacations. It’s an easy fit. And to her credit, she’s not treating it like a cash-in. “What I like about it is I have an opportunity to say ‘I see you, I hear you,’ and an autograph is just like a memento,” she told People.
That’s part of her appeal. She still speaks like someone who remembers what it felt like to film it before it became a phenomenon.
Why People Still Care
What keeps the movie alive isn’t the slapstick; it’s the truth underneath. Everyone’s chasing some version of the perfect holiday and failing spectacularly. Clark Griswold is the dad who won’t quit. Ellen is the mom quietly saving the day. The kids roll their eyes but stay close anyway. The chaos is the point.
That’s why people rewatch it every year. It’s comforting, familiar, and weirdly honest about how family works. The lights never go up the way you planned. The dinner burns. Someone cries. And by New Year’s, it all feels worth it.
The Studio’s Quiet, The Fans Aren’t
No word from Warner Bros. or National Lampoon about any kind of reunion, but fans don’t need an anniversary special to keep it alive. Every December, clips flood timelines, and quotes resurface like carols. “We’re gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas” hits harder when your own house looks like a scene out of the movie.
Still Holding Up
There’s no reboot, and maybe that’s a good thing. Hollywood would have to try too hard to recreate the accidental magic of Christmas Vacation. D’Angelo knows that. She’s just happy people made it their own. “It’s beautiful to me that people made it part of their families,” she said.
That’s the real legacy here. It’s not a perfect movie it’s a perfectly flawed one, like the holidays themselves. Messy, loud, funny, and sincere enough to survive another 30 years of reruns.
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A bi-coastal pop culture critic and former indie screenwriter, Gia covers Hollywood, streaming wars, and subculture shifts with razor wit and Gen Z intuition. If it’s going viral, she already knew about it.
