Every Law Broken In Christmas Vacation

Christmas Vacation is a beloved holiday film, but an astonishing number of laws are broken and crimes committed throughout its 97-minute runtime. The struggles of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) to reconcile his idealized version of Christmas with the reality of unexpectedly hosting his dysfunctional extended family in Christmas Vacation is a relatable one, even if the family antics are heightened to absurdity. Everyone can empathize with Clark’s desire to recreate the Christmas he remembers from his childhood, his struggles with his cheapskate boss shorting him a holiday bonus, and trying to maintain his patience with his less socially aware relatives.

While it’s easy to relate to Clark and his struggles in Christmas Vacation, there’s no doubt he went way too far in his overreactions when his plans for the perfect Christmas in the suburbs of Chicago were thwarted. So far, in fact, that he was guilty of breaking numerous laws and code violations throughout the movie. Clark wasn’t the only member of the extended Griswold family to potentially break the law, but he was certainly the worst offender. As YouTuber and lawyer Legal Eagle explains, from minor violations to serious criminal acts, Christmas Vacation is one crime-fueled holiday classic.

Related

Where To Watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a holiday classic, and it’s important to know where to look to stream, rent, or buy it.

8 Reckless Driving

Clark put his family’s life, and the lives of other drivers, in danger.

The very first indication that Clark Griswold doesn’t exactly handle setbacks in a calm and mature way is right in the opening scene. Clark’s temper and immaturity lead to a span of reckless driving that very well could have gotten himself or his family killed. It starts when Clark flips off a trucker and cuts him off. That in and of itself isn’t illegal, but the game of highway one-upmanship Clark engages with after the fact, leading him first to get stuck under a moving semi and then sending the family station wagon airborne, is. Considering Illinois’s laws for reckless driving are quite broad, Clark’s negligence and dangerous maneuvers would be more than enough for a cop to pull him over.

7 Cutting Down The Christmas Tree

It was never clear Clark had permission to be on that land.

Clark’s reckless driving is one thing, but as it turns out, what he is driving to may also be a criminal act. Cutting down a tree that’s not on one’s own property or in a designated area, such as a Christmas tree farm, can carry consequences. If that property belongs to someone else, cutting down the tree could very likely be seen as damage or theft of property. If it was a tree that the owner could have sold as hardwood or for lumber, that’s also something to consider: Clark might owe him or her for the value of the tree. Considering it was a huge, old tree, the property owner might be owed a fair sum. Even if it’s land owned by the federal government, there’s no guarantee that the area is free to cut. In any case, Clark should have gotten permission before cutting down the big pine.

6 Criminal Property Damage

Margo and Todd had every reason to hate Clark Griswold.

Clark’s neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) may be stuck-up yuppies, but they had every reason to hate Clark Griswold; Clark is unquestionably a nightmare neighbor and a walking HOA violation. Throughout Christmas Vacation, Clark does significant damage to their property, whether through negligence or erratic behavior. The first time is admittedly not intentional on Clark’s part. After all, it was impossible to predict that part of his gutter would fly off the roof, crash through Todd and Margo’s window, and smash their new stereo system.

The second time Clark smashes their just-repaired window, however, is more serious. This incident is entirely Clark’s fault. Clark’s aggressive decision to cut down a tree in his front yard was clearly risky, especially with the tree being so close to his neighbors’ house. By every metric, Clark should have foreseen that damage to his neighbors’ property was not only possible, but likely. Whether it’s accidental or negligence doesn’t matter, however. Clark’s actions destroy Todd and Margo’s property multiple times throughout the movie.

5 Multiple Code Violations

Clark’s house was a potential death trap.

Clark Griswold is a walking code violation throughout the duration of Christmas Vacation. He’s certainly on his HOA’s bad side, but he also might be on the wrong side of the law when it comes to his Christmas lights. His lights being so powerful that they momentarily drain the city’s power grid is played for comedy, but in real life it would earn him a hefty fine–at the very least. The way he has the lights rigged up also violates multiple safety codes: his electrical panel is too overloaded, he has too few outlets for too many cords and surge protectors, and all of it leads to multiple fire code violations. It’s a miracle Clark’s cobbled-together electrical grid doesn’t catch fire and burn the house down.

4 EPA Code Violations

Cousin Eddie’s sewer situation was a problem.

Electrical and fire codes aren’t the only safety regulations neglected during the film. In one of the rare instances in the movie where Clark actually acknowledges the illegality of an action in Christmas Vacation, it’s when he observes Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) dumping his toilet chemicals directly into Clark’s storm sewer. This violates multiple environmental safety codes, including in Illinois. Illinois state law (and likely some Illinois counties) prohibits the open dumping of waste and not properly disposing of it. It further prohibits dumping anything into a storm sewer. Cousin Eddie has no regard for environmental law – or for the Griswolds’ neighbors, who almost certainly have some legal recourse for his actions.

3 Financial Fraud

Clark shouldn’t write checks he can’t cash.

This is one of the nitpickier items, but it’s still technically a crime. As his family gathers around, Clark casually mentions that until his bonus check arrived, he didn’t have enough money to cover the down payment he’d deposited to build a swimming pool. His wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), is alarmed to learn this. In the context of the scene, it’s because she’s clearly worried he’s overdrawn their bank account. However, she might have more to worry about: under Illinois law, it’s illegal to write a check knowing one doesn’t have the money to cover it, and is considered theft of a financial institution. It’s not likely that Clark would ever be caught or punished for this, but the practice of check-kiting is very much in violation of state financial fraud law.

2 Domestic Battery

It was played for laughs, but Margo did assault Todd.

Margo finally storms over to the Griswolds’ intending to give Clark a piece of her mind–and rightfully so. She suffers the indignity of being attacked by a fleeing squirrel, and then by Cousin Eddie’s pet Rottweiler, Snots. Limping back home defeated and furious that her husband didn’t back her up, she storms into the house and punches Todd right in the face. It’s another scene played for laughs, but if Todd wanted to, he’d have a valid legal reason to press charges against Margo for domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor under Illinois state law (assuming Margo had no previous charges filed against her).

1 Aggravated Kidnapping

The worst crime of all that would call for serious jail time.

The final act of the movie finds Clark’s family committing the worst crime of all, and one that brings down law enforcement, literally and figuratively, on the Griswolds’ collective head. After Clark learns his supposed bonus check is a cheap gift subscription, he goes on an unfiltered tirade and he mentions that a great Christmas gift would be his cheapskate boss, Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle Murray), tied up in front of him. Dimwitted but loyal Eddie takes this seriously and takes it upon himself to kidnap Mr. Shirley and deliver him, tied in a big red bow, to Clark.

While other crimes go unnoticed, law enforcement can’t let the kidnapping of a wealthy CEO on Christmas Eve slide. The SWAT team swarms the Griswolds’ home and the entire family is held at gunpoint. Frank Shirley is ultimately shamed by his cheapness and tells them he’s not pressing charges. In reality, Cousin Eddie would likely have done some significant prison time for aggravated kidnapping. It’s also possible that Clark might have been charged, as well, had law enforcement and prosecutors believed that his tirade had been instructions for Cousin Eddie. Of all the crimes in Christmas Vacation, the kidnapping of Frank Shirley was by far the most serious.