ENTERTAINMENT

Here's where to watch 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' on TV, streaming

Chad Murphy
Record-Courier

Do you dream of the glow of 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights? Do you dread your cousin and his family pulling into the driveway, unannounced, in their dilapidated RV? Does your hunt for the perfect tree take you deep into the forest?

If so, you may be looking for where you can get your next "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" fix.

Beverly D'Angelo, far right, in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" with co-stars Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki and Chevy Chase.

Classic 1989 comedy stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki

In the film, Clark Griswold is the dad who can’t quite get Christmas right: As played by Chevy Chase, Clark struggles with affixing lights to his house, gets himself stuck in the attic and seriously overestimates his Christmas bonus.

In an interview with The Dispatch, Columbus native Beverly D'Angelo, who plays sensible, practical, elegant Ellen Griswold, discussed the film's enduring legacy.

The original “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” released in 1983, was intended as a comedy with a hard edge. “The first ‘Vacation’ was R-rated and it was a satire — not quite a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit, but certainly an extension of something like that,” D’Angelo said. “But . . . they discovered immediately that people were taking their families because they identified with the Griswolds.”

Consequently, subsequent films in the series were designed to be more family-friendly, including “Christmas Vacation.” “When ‘Christmas Vacation’ came out, it was again: Who are we and how do we do Christmas?” D’Angelo said. “There was a lot to relate to.”

How to watch 'Christmas Vacation' on HBO Max, Amazon Prime, TNT or TBS

The movie airs at 9 p.m. Nov. 12 and 6:05 p.m. November 13 on TBS, and 8 and 11 p.m. November 14 on TNT.

The movie can also be streamed on services including HBO Max and Amazon Prime.