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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation represents the point in the series where Clark Griswold goes from blithely befuddled dope to exasperated klutz ready to blow a gasket, and it's a crucial switch in tone that doesn't always sit well. The breeziness of the first installment, notably the happy-go-lucky Chevy Chase, was what made it such a hit, and while the second one couldn't duplicate the original's charms, it also didn't abandon the idea of Griswold as an essentially upbeat goof. Here, John Hughes' overstuffed script finally gets the better of Chase's Griswold, and it's just plain painful more often than blackly comic. When Chase finally breaks down into bug-eyed shouting, it's a release for the audience as well, by now rightfully fed up with how many rooftops he must fall from and burning Christmas trees he must douse before being given a break. The backwoods idiocy of Randy Quaid's unwelcome Cousin Eddie joins the chorus of exaggerations that characterize this second sequel. Although you'd think they'd be pretty gun-shy by this point, the Griswolds gave it one final go in 1997 with Vegas Vacation, with equally disastrous results for both them and the audience.